Michael Jefferies Wins Colorado CIO of the Year, Credits Team for Success
Boulder Community Health (BCH) is pleased to announce that Michael Jefferies, VP & Chief Information Officer, is the Nonprofit/Public Sector winner of the 2021 Colorado CIO of the Year ORBIE Awards.
Jefferies, who joined the BCH team in 2016 and has worked in healthcare technology for 20 years, was one of five finalists in the Nonprofit/Public Sector category – which recognizes government, education and nonprofit organizations. This year’s award ceremony – a virtual experience – was held March 26.
“A leader is only as strong as the support around them. This recognition belongs to my team at Boulder Community Health - who have worked tirelessly to deploy leading technology to care for our patients - and our volunteer Board of Directors, who supported our vision of digital transformation,” Jefferies said. “This award comes after a very challenging year for all of our staff. It is a wonderful celebration of how they rise to any challenge and serve our community through the most difficult of times.”
At BCH, Jefferies is responsible for implementing technology solutions that advance physician and provider capabilities and operational efficiency. He is always quick to recognize the hard work of his team and the support of his colleagues.
“The best part is really seeing the results of our work and fruits of our labor,” Jefferies says. “Often our IT employees don’t get to see the direct result of their work. This has been a landmark year (with the pandemic), where they can actually see the results of all their work.”
When Jefferies started at BCH, he made it a priority to hire only the top talent in the IT industry and engage his team – who then dedicated themselves to innovative technology.
“You have to be considerate of the folks you’re working with and have the right people in the group – really focusing on the people you have by your side,” Jefferies says. “In the span of four years, we transformed our health system through technology, but it was an employee first strategy that made it possible.”
BCH’s technology overhaul was bolstered by the selection of a single electronic health record (EHR) to unify all clinical care under a single integrated system. After a successful go-live and implementation of the EPIC EHR, accurate billing processes and improved clinical care and patient satisfaction are just some of the positive results.
In 2020, with a cutting-edge EHR in place, BCH had the technology to quickly move patients to virtual care and navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. The adoption of telehealth services and online patient interactions skyrocketed last year, leading to enhanced medical care for community members.
Under Jefferies’s leadership, BCH is now in the top 5% of all healthcare organizations globally with regards to advanced adoption of technology in healthcare. In 2020, BCH earned Most Wired designation for both Foothills Hospital and its physician clinics.
Jefferies – who enjoys living in Colorado with his wife and two daughters – is active within the professional community, makes time to mentor others, enjoys volunteering and is also pursuing a Doctorate in Public Health to leverage technology to make an even greater impact in the community – especially those who are most vulnerable.
The CIO of the Year Orbie Awards
Watch Jefferies speak about the ORBIE Award here and here.
The CIO of the Year® ORBIE® Awards is the premier technology executive recognition program in the United States. Since inception in 1998, over 1,500 CIOs have been honored as finalists and over 350 CIO of the Year winners have received the prestigious ORBIE Award.
The ORBIE honors chief information officers who have demonstrated excellence in technology leadership. Finalists and winners are selected by an independent peer review process, led by prior ORBIE recipients, based upon:
• Leadership and management effectiveness
• Business value created by technology innovation
• Engagement in industry and community endeavors