There was some big health information exchange news that came out at the Strategic Health Information Exchange Collaborative’s (SHIEC) 21st annual conference today. The Network for Regional Healthcare Improvement (NRHI) and SHIEC have officially partnered to form a new organization called Civitas Networks for Health.
As far as big announcements go, both SHIEC and NRHI kept this one a tightly held secret, and social media quickly lit up with buzz and excitement as Lisa Bari, SHIEC’s interim CEO, made the announcement live on stage at SHIEC 21.
From SHIEC’s official email announcement they describe the new collaborative organization:
‘The new organization will serve as a platform for local nonprofit health collaboratives and health information exchanges to grow and thrive. It will offer engagement opportunities and support action at the local, state, and national levels to achieve policy goals for healthcare quality, cost, and equity through data-driven, collaborative, and transformative strategies.’¹
The Civitas Networks for Health’s transition board will consist of key leaders from the world of Health Information Exchange (HIEs) and Regional Health Improvement Collaboratives (RHICs).
Here is a quick overview of some of the key Civitas team members as highlighted on Civitas’s new official website:
Lisa Bari, MBA, MPH
Interim Chief Executive Officer
Lisa Bari is Civitas Networks for Health’s Interim Chief Executive Officer. Lisa previously served as the CEO of the Strategic Health Information Exchange Collaborative, and as the Health IT and Interoperability lead at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Innovation Center, where she led health IT policy for the Comprehensive Primary Care Plus model and helped author the CMS Interoperability and Patient Access rule. She is a member of the Board of HealthCare Access Maryland.²
Craig Brammer, MA
Strategic Advisor
Craig Brammer serves as strategic advisor to Civitas Networks for Health. He is currently President and CEO at The Health Collaborative and formerly served as CEO for Network for Regional Healthcare Improvement. Craig previously served on the leadership team at the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology in Washington, DC, where he focused on the intersection of technology and payment policy and led a $260 million Federal technology innovation program. He earned his master’s degree in Organizational Behavior at the University of Cincinnati.²
Stacy Donohue, MS
Senior Director
Stacy Donohue is Civitas Networks for Health’s Senior Director. Stacy previously served as the Senior Director for the Network for Regional Healthcare Improvement where she led several multi-site initiatives focused on practice transformation, quality, and payment reform. Prior to her role at NRHI, Stacy held healthcare organization operations management, network management, compliance, product development and quality and process improvement roles.²
Jessica Little, MS, RD
Director, Grants and Programs
Jessica Little is Director, Grants and Programs at Civitas Networks for Health. Jessica previously served as the Director of Grants and Programs at the Network for Regional Healthcare Improvement (NRHI) where she led business development and oversite of multi-region initiatives.²
Jolie Ritzo, MPH
Director, Partnerships and Programs
Jolie Ritzo is Director, Partnerships and Programs at Civitas Networks for Health. Jolie previously served as the Director of Partnerships and Programs at the Network for Regional Healthcare Improvement (NRHI) where she led partner relations, membership growth, member programming, and communications.²
Ginna Yost
Director, Membership Operations
Ginna Yost is Civitas Networks for Health’s Director, Membership Operations. Ginna has over 20 years’ experience in the Healthcare Information Technology industry in both large-corporate and startup environments in both Government and commercial sectors. She has comprehensive skills in project management and organizational operations. As Founder and CEO of The Provision Team, she has a track record of successfully fostering firms and collaborations in multiple industries.²
Civitas also has a wide range of experience and expertise in the healthcare veterans listed as board members including:
- Angie Bass, Vice President of Velatura HIE Corporation (VHIEC) and President and CEO of Midwest Health Connection (MHC)
- Marc H. Bennet, President and CEO at Comagine Health
- Ana English, Former CEO and President of the Center for Improving Value in Healthcare (CIVHC)
- Nancy Giunto, Executive Director of Washington Health Alliance
- John Kansky, MSE, MBA, President and CEO of the Indiana Health Information Exchange
- Melissa Kotrys, CEO for Health Current
- Cindy Munn, CEO at Louisiana Health Care Quality Forum
- Wade Norwood, CEO at Common Ground Health
- Dan Paoletti, CEO of Ohio Health Information Partnership
- Todd Rogow, President and CEO of Healthix
By joining forces SHIEC and NRHI hope to increase their impact to bring together local organizations, increasing collaboration and improving quality, cost, and equity along the way.
Zen is very excited to see what the future holds for Civitas as they take on some of the toughest challenges faced by healthcare organizations working to improve the quality of care through the effective use of community collaboration, data, and data exchange. We are always looking for opportunities to help health information exchanges and other healthcare stakeholders tackle their interoperability challenges with confidence, and look forward to supporting Civitas Networks for Health members as they focus on their core mission.
To learn more about Civitas you can visit their new website here, and be sure to follow them on Twitter (@civitas4health), and Linkedin to stay up to date on all the latest news and information.
¹https://www.civitasforhealth.org/
²https://www.civitasforhealth.org/about/
