McFarland, Kravitz and Yeager Elected to CHIME Board

CHIME has elected three leaders to its Board of Trustees: Sheree McFarland, John Kravitz, and Rusty Yeager.

McFarland, CHCIO, has more than 28 years of healthcare IT experience, including 21 years with Hospital Corporation of America (HCA). In 2005, she became the CIO of HCA’s Palm Harbor, Fla.-based West Florida Division, with includes 16 hospitals. She has been a member of CHIME for more than 20 years and is a Fellow and Lifetime Member of CHIME.

Kravitz is senior VP and CIO at Geisinger Health System in Danville, Pa., where he is responsible for all areas of IT and all IT strategic planning, operational effectiveness, and efficiencies. His resume includes more than 25 years of healthcare IT experience. Geisinger is an integrated health services organization recognized for its innovative use of EHRs and the development of innovative care delivery models. It serves more than 3 million residents throughout 45 counties in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Rusty Yeager also has more than a quarter-century of industry experience, including more than 16 years of increasing responsibilities at HealthSouth in Birmingham, Ala., where he is SVP and CIO. HealthSouth is one of the nation’s largest providers of post-acute healthcare services, serving patients in 33 states and Puerto Rico. His IT team supports 125 inpatient rehabilitation hospitals, 230 home health/hospice locations and more than 34,000 employees. Earlier in his career, Yeager served a Medical Services Corps officer specializing in healthcare IT and cybersecurity for the US Air Force.

“The quality of the candidates for this election was outstanding,” said CHIME Board Chair Liz Johnson, CIO of Acute Care Hospitals & Applied Clinical Informatics at Tenet Healthcare Corporation. “We are blessed to have so many highly respected healthcare leaders who are willing to commit their time and expertise to advancing our industry. These three CIOs share a passion for giving back to CHIME and to their communities and thinking broadly about how healthcare IT can improve patient care.”

CHIME also announced the election of Steve Eckert, president of Divurgent, to the CHIME Foundation Board. Eckert has more than two decades of experience in senior and executive-level leadership positions at multiple organizations. He has been an active member of CHIME for more than 10 years and served as an appointed Foundation Board member in 2017.

All four will begin their terms on the CHIME Board of Trustees starting Jan. 1, 2018.