Tressa Springmann, VP & CIO, LifeBridge Health, Chapter 2

There was a time when Tressa Springmann didn’t think she was well-suited to the CIO role, because she believed customer service, strategic alignment, and communication were just as much a part of the job as the more technical aspects like storage management and virtualization. Fortunately, she stayed the course, and the role has evolved into more of a strategic leader than an IT leader.

In this interview, Springmann talks about the challenges she faced when created a data governance strategy, why having repeatable processes is critical, and why she believes digital health “is a function of the CIO role.” She also talks about the importance of persistence when driving change, how she’s working to balance stability with growth, and why CIOs need to encourage “the messiness around innovation and change.”

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

• Digital health as “a function of the CIO role”
• Marketing’s role – “They understand the community as consumers.”
• 3 key CIO traits: Vision, comfort with change, and adaptability
• Balancing stability with growth
• The CIO evolution
• “Leaders are taking on a much broader strategic role.”
• Change management – “We have to be willing to make ourselves vulnerable”

Bold Statements

I’m talking about the patient as an IT-enabled individual, and that’s a whole different concept. IT shops don’t usually interact with people in the community or patients to understand what they like or don’t like about the app they’re using. The people we serve are clinicians and business leaders.

You can hire a Digital Health Officer, but digital is a function of the CIO role. If we don’t lean into that and become an executive leadership partner around the organizational transformation — not with our IT hat on, but as a business leader who understands enabling technologies — then we’re doing the role of CIO a disservice.

We have to continually balance the tension between change and innovation with standard work, change control, and best practices, and that’s really tough.

A lot of days, I feel like I’m scratching my way forward and trying to challenge different ways of doing things, and that’s tough. All of us get confidence from what we’re good at, and yet we’ve also have to be willing to make ourselves vulnerable and step into these risky, messy areas.

Gamble:  You mentioned digital health as one of your key priorities going forward. As we know, that can be an all-encompassing term. When you say ‘digital,’ what aspects of are you focusing on?

Springmann:  I’m talking about the tools that are in the hands of our customers, consumers, or patients. I’m talking about the patient as an IT-enabled individual, and that’s a whole different concept. IT shops don’t usually interact with people in the community or patients to understand what they like or don’t like about the app they’re using. The people we serve are clinicians and business leaders.

 

Gamble:  So it’s a whole different approach that needs to be employed, because you’re not just dealing with users who are part or organization, but also people who are using these tools in their home.

Springmann:  Correct. And really, there’s a lot inferred with the categories I mentioned. With population health, there’s the EDW, there are registries, there’s aligning your EMR, there’s GPRO (Group Practice Reporting Option) reporting, and there’s enterprise care management. With telemedicine, you’re supporting strategic areas like population health, redesigning care delivery, and leveraging and extending mid-level resources. So it’s a tactic that can support several different strategies.

Digital health is the same. If you look at healthcare organizations like LifeBridge, we have 12,000 associates, maybe 50 of whom work in marketing. And who best understands consumerism? Probably those 50 people, and yet they need to help lead our way forward into this digital health space, because they understand the community as consumers — discerning consumers — and that’s where we believe the healthcare choice is going.

 

Gamble:  It’s interesting; digital health is (or at least, should be) a top priority for many CIOs, which is a reflection on how the CIO role is evolving. It’s no longer just about technology, but understanding people and how they want to use technology.

Springmann:  That’s a good point. I was recently speaking with Tim Zoph, who was a longtime CIO and now works with Impact Advisors in the digital health space. We both believe that you can hire a Digital Health Officer, but digital is a function of the CIO role. If we don’t lean into that and become an executive leadership partner around the organizational transformation — not with our IT hat on, but as a business leader who understands enabling technologies — then we’re doing the role of CIO a disservice.  

 

Gamble:  It’s fascinating to see how the role has evolved to one of a change agent, and someone who possesses leadership skills. When you think about where healthcare is going what do you believe are the qualities CIOs will need to be successful?

Springmann:  There are a few, but three that are really important are vision, comfort with change, and adaptability. We have to continually balance the tension between change and innovation with standard work, change control, and best practices, and that’s really tough. It’s really tough to continue to optimize an operating environment, while at the same time encouraging the ambiguity and messiness around innovation and around change that are necessary to find our way forward. As you move up the ranks as an executive leader, that’s a tension and a balance that you need to figure out how to navigate. A lot of it, I’ve found, is informed by local culture.

 

Gamble:  That makes sense. Now you’ve been at LifeBridge for about 4 or 5 years at this point, right?

Springmann:  Yes, five years.

 

Gamble:  What have you seen in your own organization around the dichotomy of guiding an organization through periods of rapid growth while also providing some? I imagine that’s challenging.

Springmann:  It is. When I speak with the CIOs who cut their way forward — the real traditionalists who were helping us be successful and define this role 10 years ago, I didn’t always feel like I was a fit, because I felt it was very important that customer service and business value and alignment were as much part of my role and language as talking about storage management, virtualization, and the more technical aspects of the job. But it really has evolved, and leaders have been able to take it to a much broader strategic role.

 

Gamble:  So in some ways, you were ahead of the curve.

Springmann:  I’m not so sure. A lot of days, I feel like I’m scratching my way forward and trying to challenge different ways of doing things, and that’s tough. All of us get confidence from what we’re good at, and yet we’ve also have to be willing to make ourselves vulnerable and step into these risky, messy areas. And let’s face it, IS people are structured. We don’t tend to be opportunistic, and so it’s hard. It’s a real change management exercise where my role is to create enough structure and safety so that people will try different things. It’s hard work, and some days I don’t do it very well.

 

Gamble:  I think a lot of people can relate to that. And in terms of accepting change, I’m sure a lot of it is being willing to model that behavior by stepping out of your own comfort zone.

Springmann:  It definitely is.

 

Gamble:  Okay, well I think that covers what I wanted to talk about. Thank you so much for your time. I always enjoy speaking with you.

Springmann:  Any time. Thank you.