Q&A with CIO Sheryl Sypek, Part 3: “We’re Uniquely Positioned for Value-based Care.”

When you go from a large, integrated health system in the northeast to a Florida-based organization focused on hospice, palliative care, and home health, there are going to be some glaring differences. But for Sheryl Sypek, who took on the CIO role at Chapters Health System three years ago, the biggest contrast she saw was in the EHR market, which is “far less mature” than in the acute care hospital world.

As one can imagine, it made for a much different vendor selection process. But it also resulted in both an education, and a bonding experience, for her team. Recently, we spoke with Sypek about how she learned to navigate the brave new world of palliative and hospice care, why she made the move, and how she and her team plan to continue to forge a new path in this growing sector. Sypek also talks about how her time in consulting made her “a better CIO,” why Chapters is uniquely positioned to thrive in a value-based care world, and why giving back is so important.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3



* Consulting experience – “It made me a better CIO.”

* The “gift” of being passed up

* “You have to ask, ‘what could I have done better?’”

* Colin Powell’s leadership philosophy

* Transition to value-based care – “We’re uniquely positioned for that.”

* Hospice’s “interdisciplinary team approach”

* Benefits of volunteering: “Sometimes you have to step back and participate.”



LISTEN NOW USING THE PLAYER BELOW OR CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO OUR iTUNES PODCAST FEED

Bold Statements

I did a lot of reflection on why I was no longer with the prior organization. Once I stepped away, it was easy to see where I could improve and do better.

You have to be able to step away from that. You have to take what you can from the organization and reflect on, ‘Where could I have done better? Why didn’t the CEO know the challenges we faced in IT?’

From my perspective, it’s about preparation, hard work, and learning from failures. That’s what leads to success. All of us in IT can point to distinct challenges in our career that we learned from and were able to apply going forward, and it ensured our success.

Hospice, since its inception, has been based on an interdisciplinary team evaluating the patient’s needs and ensuring they have a quality experience, that health across our patient population is improving or that the quality of their life is what they want it to be, and ultimately, doing that for a specific reimbursement.

Gamble:  Before you came to Chapters, you were doing consulting. How did that experience help prepare you for this role?

Sypek:  I came to consulting the way a lot of my peers do — by virtue of my CEO determining that I was not the person he wanted as the CIO moving forward. It happens frequently to my colleagues and to other people in these roles. But it had never happened to me, so it was a bit of a life-changing experience. I came to consulting because I could. For the first time, I was at a point in my life where all of my children are adults. I could travel if I wanted to, and I felt like I could bring my experience to bear for other organizations.

To answer your question, I think the consulting experience made me a better CIO. First of all, I did a lot of reflection on why I was no longer with the prior organization. Once I stepped away, it was easy to see where I could improve and do better.  

I had the opportunity to work with some great CIOs and some not so great CIOs as a consultant. But I can tell you,