“He Never Met a Stranger”: Industry Leaders Pay Tribute to Tim Stettheimer

Last week, the industry lost one of its brightest minds and kindest souls when Tim Stettheimer passed away at age 56 after an 8-month battle with ALS. To honor his memory, we reached out to several individuals who knew Tim professionally and personally and asked them to share some of their favorite memories.

Of the many responses we received, a few common themes emerged: his passion for teaching, his strong belief system, his ability to make people think, his loud voice, and his famous ‘bear hugs.’

Whether it was during his role as VP of Education for CHIME, his many years as a Bootcamp instructor, his tenure at Ascension, or his time with St. Vincent’s Health System, Tim touched so many lives — as a mentor, a friend, and most importantly, a husband and father.

He leaves behind an incredible legacy, as evidenced by the memories shared below.

Donna Roach, CIO, University of Utah Health: “A strong belief in keeping your values and faith firmly planted in everything you do.”

I first met Tim while working for the IT arm of Adventist Health Care organization called SSCI. Tim was the Regional Director in Texas, and I was the Regional Director of the Midwest. We survived Y2k together managing through multiple upgrades and organizational changes. I moved from my position into consulting while Tim progressed to becoming the CIO within Ascension’s Alabama ministry. We continued to stay in touch. He was always supportive of my career development and was a great confidant.  Our careers crossed again when I became the CIO at the Ascension hospitals in Kalamazoo, Mich. Although I didn’t report to Tim at this time, I eventually did when I was moved to the Kansas, Gulf Coast and System Office ministries.

Tim has demonstrated to me a strong belief in keeping your values and faith firmly planted in everything you do. I experienced this in his leadership at Ascension but also his continued support of ongoing education through CHIME. The CHCIO certification process could not have happened without Tim’s vision. We had many enjoyable weekends writing for the exam and developing some real “stumpers.” Tim’s specialty was the scenario questions; and he usually threw in a spider diagram to make it fun!  And yes, Tim made almost everything an adventure – so just to share a few:

• Ordering every desert on the menu
• Ordering the craziest drink combo on the menu
• Taking crazy group photos that would make Mark Barner cringe
• Sending you a Bible verse in Hebrew

And finally… always being there as a good friend.

Theresa Meadows, SVP & CIO, Cook Children’s Health Care System: “I knew when I met him, I wanted to join his team.”

There are so many things I can say about Dr. Tim Stettheimer. He not only has been my manager and mentor, but he has also been a friend. I have known Tim for almost 20 years. The first time I met Tim I worked for McKesson and was his implementation consultant for the CPOE implementation. I knew when I met him, I wanted to join his team. At the time, he was fairly new to St. Vincent’s in Birmingham and was building a team. He had a position for a Clinical Systems Manager. I applied for it and was hired.

Over the course of several years, Tim became the Regional CIO and I became the Regional Director for the Southeast region for Ascension Health.

Tim and I always did long car trips together driving to all of our ministries (hospitals). He was great on a car trip because he always had wonderful stories about the most random things. He was there when my son was born (18 years ago). He is a great listener and a great mentor. He was always pushing me to try new things. If you were down or frustrated, he could always find a way to make you smile. He was famous for threatening you with the “ink blot” test from his psychology background, which would always draw a groan and a smile.

On one occasion he asked me what my career plans were. I laughed and said jokingly I want your job someday. Little did I know, he took that as a challenge. He found ways to give me new experiences. He sent me to CHIME CIO Bootcamp and always looked for opportunities for growth. We traveled to Singapore together to teach CHIME Bootcamp.

He loved a great adventure. There was never a dull moment when traveling with Tim. We went to a local restaurant for chili crab and Tim instantly made friends with the owners (see picture). He never met a stranger!  This is just one example of how Tim impacted others every day.

One day he came to me and said, I found the perfect job for you. It was the Cook Children’s CIO job. At first, I was sad because I thought he was trying to get rid of me. The reality of the situation was he knew it would be a long time before a CIO role came available within Ascension. He knew I was ready for the role before I did. I interviewed for the position and the rest is history. I have spent my career trying to give back what Tim gave me.

Liz Johnson, Vice Chair, CHIME Policy Steering Committee: “He made me a better thinker.”

How I met Tim

A very long time ago Tim was the chair of the CHIME Board and I was the Co-Chair of the HIMSS Board. We are on stage together at the annual awards gala with the HIMSS Board Chair, Chuck Christian, to present the John B. Gall Award. Chuck and Tim immediately chest bumped… and there I stood. Tim said, ‘Well, that won’t work,” and gave me the famous Tim Bear Hug. We were friends from that day forward.

Teaching Boot Camp with Tim

Tim and I taught boot camp together. One of the most unforgettable stories Tim told was about a Rabbi and some guards. The story was great but that is not what we all remember. Tim would stand in front of the class, his voice thundering out the words. The class would grow completely quiet, and we would all listen in wonder. No other person on the faculty could capture us all like Tim. And his wisdom is ours for always.

Making Videos with Tim

Tim and I made videos to answer our students’ questions. On several occasions, we would open up a Zoom session and answer questions on policy, strategy, change management, etc.

Tim would collect the questions, paraphrase them, and moderate the sessions. Here is how it went. Tim would introduce both of us, and then throw out some random questions like how is the weather, how many great grandchildren do you have, or what do you think about my new coffee cup? This lead to us laughing, relaxing, celebrating our friendship and getting down to the business at hand.

Another thing Tim would do was say “I don’t really see XX that way, I think we should look at XX from this perspective.” I did the same. Those are conversations I always treasure and consider as Tim’s way of teaching me. He made me a better thinker, and taught me to look at topics from any perspective.

Chuck Christian, VP of Technology, Franciscan Health: “I always appreciated his professionalism, but most of all, his friendship.”

Tim and I taught CHIME Bootcamp together as faculty members before he moved into the role at CHIME leading education offerings. As you can well imagine, the pace of Bootcamp is rapid and requires a lot of faculty over the course over several days. The faculty could count on Tim to have a stock of 5-hour Energy shots and similar items to help bring back the energy level at the close of the day. I always appreciated Tim being my “supplier” of sorts.

Tim was a good friend, mentor, confessor, teacher, etc., to me for several decades. I have always very much appreciated and cherished his professionalism, but most of all his friendship. By the way, he gave great hugs.

I’ll never forget he line he often said, ‘Who are you and why are you here?’ It’s something we all should ask of ourselves on a regular basis to keep us centered as humans and understand our purpose.

George Reynolds, MD, Clinical Informatics Executive Advisor, CHIME: “He lifted people up.”

My first memory of Tim was before I had ever met him. I was sitting on a shuttle bus at HIMSS, and Tim and a colleague got on the bus and sat behind me. Tim was telling his friend how excited that one of his direct reports had just scored a great new job. (Yes, technically I was eavesdropping, but it was pretty unavoidable as Tim was talking pretty loudly.)

The direct report was Theresa Meadows, and the new job was the CIO position at Cook Children’s Hospital in Ft. Worth. Tim was happy that Theresa was advancing in her career, even though it meant she was leaving his organization. That’s the core of who Tim was. He was a teacher and a mentor. He lifted people up.

I later got to know him when I took the CIO Bootcamp. He was famous for bringing a dozen books with him wherever he went. We would trade book recommendations: “Hey have you read this?” “Yeah, it’s great. Have you seen this one?”

Later, when I became a member of the CIO Bootcamp faculty, Tim and I worked together a lot and traveled many places together. He would always bristle when I described myself as the token doctor on the CIO faculty. He would point out that he was a doctor too. (Tim had a PhD.) But it was always good natured. And it was fun. For Tim, teaching was a serious matter, and he came prepared. But it was always fun. The last time we taught together was April of last year. I sure wish I could teach with him just one more time.

David Finn, former VP, AEHIS, AEHIT & AEHIA: “A clear focus on the who and the why.”

I first heard Tim tell a story from the stage at one of the CHIME Fall Forums; his words made me think about my career and my life differently. But, like so many things we learn in life, it didn’t stick. Over time I stopped and fell back into my old habits. Quite a few years later, after I joined CHIME and had started serving as the Program Director for the CISO Bootcamps, I had the opportunity to hear basically the same story. The presentation was compelling.

It started with Tim telling us there is really no such thing as work-life balance. There is work and there is your personal life, and the trick to balancing them is bringing them closer together — to align them. Some people call that authenticity now. The two driving questions are: ‘who are you?’ and ‘why are you here?’ Alignment of those questions across each and every day of our lives is critical to our work, to our personal life and to ourselves. When I heard this in Bootcamp, it felt like a ton of bricks came down on me. I have started asking myself those questions almost every day — some days more frequently.

Tim lived his life with a clear focus on the who and the why. Maybe no one can balance work and life all the time, but Tim was as good as anyone and way better than most. His focus on those two questions and his ability to bring this focus to his colleagues, his students, his friends, and everyone he met empowered him to lead with his heart. To really care about people. To give good counsel. To be honest, hard, and loving all at the same time. If anyone needs to ask who Tim Stettheimer is or why he is here — well, they didn’t know him.

Jimmy Weeks, Former VP of IS, Yale New Haven Health: “A humble, genuine and caring individual.”

I did not spend a lot of one-on-one time with Tim. I only knew him as a peer (with a more storied career than I) who was anxious to support his peers, promote advancements in how we provide our services, and improve healthcare for all.

Unlike many who are all about self-promotion and beating their chests, Tim always struck me as a humble, genuine, and caring individual truly interested in making positive change and helping all of us to be successful.

Anna Pannier, VP of Integration, Centauri Health Solutions: “He made sure we were developing friendships.”

I was blessed to work with Tim Stettheimer when he served as Regional CIO at Ascension Information Services. Tim was amazing as a leader of our CIOs, and helped us all get better. I recall the quarterly meetings where we would present strategies, but he always made sure we were developing fellowship together and learning skills that would make us better. He brought the Harvard Executive Education to our leadership development. At one stage he brought a wonderful presenter in to help us become better speakers and influencer. It was humbling and also something I continue to use all the time. After Tim moved on to CHIME, he continued to have an open door where he would advise me on strategy, tactics and introduce us to others.

Adrienne Edens, Executive Program Advisor, CHIME: “His great gift was that he makes people feel welcome and special.”

I’ve known Tim as a faculty colleague and friend at CHIME. He’s the longest serving member of the CHIME Boot Camp faculty and his own commitment to excellence has made the entire program better. Tim gave so much attention and care to everything he did. His CHIME Boot Camp presentations were always the best of the best. He paid attention to all aspects of what makes a leadership education program successful. He put time into research, examples, stories and interaction to engage everyone in the discussion. He knew what was important and carefully organized his thoughts to focus on the things that make a difference. One of the attendees at the Boot Camp told me, “Tim is such an interesting presenter; I find myself hanging on to every word he says waiting for what he’ll say next!”

And he lived to improve things. He found ways to bring even more value and offered suggestions to help those around him raise their own personal bar. In addition to being the best he could be in everything he did, he was also a great friend and a lot of fun. He always greeted faculty members with his amazing smile and a big hug. His great gift was that he makes people feel welcome and special just by being himself. And we all want to be more like Tim!

Chris Walden, VP, IT Hospital & Tenet Physician Resources, Tenet Healthcare: “He shared with us his experience through stories.”

Tim’s greatest impact on me was at CIO Boot Camp. Tim sat down on a stool, relaxed his posture and just shared. I use the word “share” intentionally. He did not talk at us, he shared with us his experience through stories. Those stories were not about successful EHR implementations or how great their data lake was. The stories were about patient care and the honor we all have to serve in this field. Whenever I would see Tim in the years that followed, he always had a smile and time to say hello.

Bill Spooner, former CIO, Sharp Healthcare: “His pleasant, approachable style was contagious.”

I didn’t work directly with Tim, but I networked with him and observed him a lot. Tim was incredibly committed to teaching and mentoring young IT leaders. His pleasant, approachable style was contagious and made him so effective in leading his groups.

Tim is one of the most brilliant people I’ve ever known. When he was brought into a CIO group 10-15 years ago, one person in the group labeled him as a ‘Renaissance man’, with his deep insights in so many areas.

He lived his faith, and I’m sure it is faith that carried him through the journey. I think about him every day.

Kate Gamble, Managing Editor, healthsystemCIO

If I had only one word to describe Tim, it would be genuine. There wasn’t a phony bone in his body. I was fortunate enough to interview him several times over the years and meet him in person. And while my most amusing memory was watching him do some sort of ‘country cowboy’ dance at the Foreigner concert, what I remember most was something he said during an interview. He shared a secret he often used to get to know someone quickly. He would say, ‘Tell me about where you’re from.’ As he explained to me, when you ask someone ‘where are you from,’ it generates a simple response. On the other hand, by asking someone to tell you about where you’re from, you can get so much more insight.

And so, I told him, I grew up mostly in a suburb of New York City, but spent 5 years in Singapore as a kid. I now live at the Jersey Shore, which I love. ‘See?’ he said. ‘You just told me so much.’

I was the interviewer, and yet he was the one teaching me how to ask questions. And I’m forever grateful for that.