< PreviousWHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD FOR THE INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE (IHS) HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE? The Modernization Research Project sponsored by the Office of the Chief Technology Officer at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) concluded in September of 2019. Two reports have been released which provide a roadmap to support improved clinical and non-clinical operations in health care facilities throughout the IHS, tribes, tribal organizations, and urban Indian organizations. Taken together, the findings identify key improvement opportunities, related work initiatives for implementing Health IT, along with estimated timelines and performance indicators. See links to report below: • The Principal Deputy Director writes to Tribal Leaders and Urban Indian Organization Leaders to share updates on recent developments associated with modernizing Agency Health Information Technology. www.ihs.gov/sites/newsroom/themes/responsive2017/ display_objects/documents/2019_Letters/DTLL_DUIOLL_HITMod_11152019.pdf • Enclosure: Strategic Options for the Modernization of the Indian Health Service Health Information Technology Roadmap Executive Summary. www.ihs.gov/sites/newsroom/ themes/responsive2017/display_objects/documents/2019_Letters/Enclosure_ HITMODRoadmapExecutive%20Summary_11152019.pdf • Enclosure: Strategic Options for the Modernization of the Indian Health Service Health Information Technology Final Report October 2019. www.ihs.gov/sites/newsroom/ themes/responsive2017/display_objects/documents/2019_Letters/Enclosure_ HITModFinalReport_11152019.pdf The following four approaches have been identified as options for our stakeholders to consider for the IHS Health IT Modernization. The Stabilizing Resource and Patient Management System (RPMS) (Option 1) is a foundational requirement but falls short of a modernization health information technology (HIT) solution. Modernizing the ITU HIT infrastructure will be a multi-year effort to ensure IHS has modern, effective, and efficient tools to improve health outcomes across the country. The high-level timeline below reflects the need to engage stakeholders, establish a project management office, build the new infrastructure, and begin the deployment for a modernized Health IT infrastructure. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (FCC) | AGENCY UPDATE Health IT (HIT) Moderization Project AGENCY UPDATE: IHS INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE (IHS) UPDATES FOR THE PROJECT CAN BE FOUND: WEBSITE: https://www.ihs.gov/hit/ LISTSERV Name: IHS Health Information Technology Modernization (HITMod) EMAIL ADDRESS: HITMod@listserv.ihs.gov SIGN-UP URL: https://www.ihs.gov/ listserv/topics/signup/?list_id=611 Follow us on social media and if you are interested in supporting the IHS mission and furthering your career in health information technology, informatics, administration or direct patient care, please apply. New positions are posted weekly on IHS.GOV and USAJOBS.GOV. | tribalnetonline.com 20 AGENCY UPDATE | INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE (IHS)21 The FY2020 budget provides $8 million to continue the modernization project. IHS must ensure that its new HIT infrastructure is interoperable with the Veterans Administration and tribes who are already moving away from the current EHR. This will require IHS to address data, reporting, and coordination of care in an open environment that does not depend on a single homogeneous EHR environment to create value for patients and providers at the point of care. The IHS integrated delivery model demands a complex solution to match the breadth and depth of services provided across the country. This includes inpatient, outpatient, emergency room, surgical, pediatric, public health nursing, community health aid program, radiology, lab, pharmacy, dental, optometry, behavioral health, physical therapy, audiology, traditional medicine, population health, analytics, patient access management, revenue cycle, and a full complement of medical specialty and subspecialty services provided at a wide variety of facility types. The IHS Office of Information Technology continues to support the existing RPMS EHR to ensure it has viable tools to support quality care at hundreds of healthcare facilities across the country and aggressively pursue the mission “To raise the physical, mental, social, and spiritual health of American Indians and Alaska Natives to the highest level.” Follow IHS on Facebook at https://www. facebook.com/IndianHealthService and LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/ company/indian-health-service. If you are interested in supporting the IHS mission and furthering your career in health information technology, informatics, administration, or direct patient care please apply. New positions are posted weekly on https://www.ihs. gov/careeropps/ and USAJOBS.GOV. TRIBALNET MAGAZINE | SPRING 2020 Congratulations to the 2019 TRIBAL HEALTH AWARD Cherokee Nation Health Department TRIBAL GOVERNMENT AWARD Ho-Chunk Tribe TRIBAL BUSINESS & ENTERPRISE AWARD Soboba Casino Resort Donnie Parish, CIO Toni Potts, Clinical Applications Coordinator Lisa Lyon, Sr Clinical Informatics Coordinator Shane Steindorf, Computer Programer Robert Bird, IT Supervisor Steven Nino, CIO • Cory Gruwell, Casino IT Director Robert Schreck, Tribe IT Director Michael Castello, Tribal Administrator Nominations for Industry Awards 2020 will be open 7/15 - Be Sure to Nominate your IT Team! | tribalnetonline.com 22 QUESTION + ANSWER | SOBOBA CASINO RESORT STEVE NINO CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER, SOBOBA CASINO RESORT Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us today, Steve! 2019 was a big year for you and your team. You not only won the TribalNet Industry Award but also the 2019 Info-Tech Research Group CIO Award. Congratulations! Thank you! It has been a great year with so many great opportunities. The awards really gave us affirmation that our team is doing the right thing. Absolutely. Speaking of your team, you’ve all been very busy! In the past two years, you not only helped to open a new casino resort facility, but also converted your core gaming AND POS systems in the same year. How have you been able to accomplish so much in such a short time period? It was an interesting time! To start, we expanded our IT Department and what was a team of 17 quickly expanded to a group of 35 with the key initiative of being capable of properly managing the expansion. Thankfully with this project, we strategically partnered with established gaming vendors and a property management solution. We were also able to leverage some very successful technology consults and low-voltage leaders to ensure we planned out the greenfield data center and all the interconnecting components of our network with a holistic mindset. As an organization, the decision was made to move forward with a centralized business model under the direction of one Technology Director for both the Soboba Casino and Tribal Administration. That must have been a major project. Yes, it was. There were many obstacles along the way, but in our internal discussion of the plan, we were able to show, from an IT perspective, the savings and efficiencies that could be established by having one centralized leadership role throughout the organization. This took years to become a trusted process and structure. Any tips on how to make the tribal council and IT leadership relationship successful? In my opinion, the key to success with any executive link is to establish open lines of communication by showcasing continuous successful technology project completion. This develops a certain level of trust that is needed to allow both groups to push the other out of their comfort zone. Then, together they can look past what the tribal organization is doing now and think about what it could be doing to grow and remain innovative. You recently put in place an agreement with Frontier to provide all Soboba member residents with broadband internet. How did this project begin and how has it benefited tribal residents to date? One of the chief complaints when I took over the Tribal IT Director role was the inability of tribal residents to be informed via standard social media, web, or notification-based platforms. The Tribal Council wanted to provide its residents a means to be connected to the government along with the necessary access that is afforded to most homes outside of the reservation, such as help with small business development, telemedicine access, and the ability to search the web for employment opportunities. To solve this, we established a Frontier Bulk Agreement that provides all homes 50 Mbps up and down of Internet speed via fiber throughout the reservation. Additionally, we are looking to expand that service to include IPTV in 2020. What can we expect in the next two years from you and your team at Soboba? The Soboba Tribe hasn’t stopped with the resort — that was the springboard for many of the other plans we have down the road. We recently opened a new fire station and we are set to start construction of a new health clinic shortly. We are also looking to expand the resort amenities by building a Luiseño Village center which will include a commercial building, a gas/convenience store, car wash, and restaurants. We are just getting started. The Soboba band of Luiseno Indians and the Soboba Casino Resort are located in San Jacinto, CA. The band is one of the 109 federally recognized tribes located in the state, and their reservation spans 7,000 acres, 400 of which are set aside for residential use. The tribe supports 1,200 Soboba Members, numerous governmental programs, and the Soboba Casino Resort, which boasts 2,000 slots, 32 tables, a 22,000 square-foot food service space with 3 restaurants, a coffee shop, 200 hotel rooms, a 15,000 square-foot conference center, bar pool, golf course, and entertainment facility. Q&A WITH SOBOBA CASINO RESORT We would like to thank Steve for taking the time to do this interview with us and share such a great success story. 3.4675 inFood Services Purchasing Power Industry Research Information Security ....is a division of Reach Out Today to Find the Right Deal for You! PHONE: 269-459-9890 • EMAIL: contactus@TribalValue.com • WEB: TribalValue.com Technology- Hardware/ Support & Service Marketing & Gaming Services At Last, an Easy Way for Tribes to Save! We've negotiated on your behalf: Best Prices • Better Entry Points • Customized Packages • and MORE! Start Pumping Dollars Back into Your Budget Now. With No Risk and No Hassle, let us help you start saving with our TribalValue Partners.| tribalnetonline.com 24 As IT professionals, we work in an industry where changing to stay ahead of the technology and innovation curve is a constant mandate that ensures relevancy and competitiveness for the businesses we support. IT leaders understand that the refusal to embrace change or adopt new technologies is a regressive trait that quickly leads to large technical debt, a lack of agility to adopt new solutions, and frustrated business leadership. It is ironic that while the majority of IT leaders accept this premise for new technology, adoption and innovation we frequently do not apply the same value to updating our internal processes. IT service and support processes are a valuable tool for organizations to ensure standardization of support, increase or create efficiencies, and ensure compliance with policies. Unfortunately, they are easily overlooked and not frequently updated. When a process becomes stale, the value and benefits of that process can easily become a hindrance. The culture that surrounds a process change is additionally a challenge. When change is suggested, the pushback of, “It’s the way we have always done it,” and, “It seems to be working,” can be heard. Within my organization, I started noticing inefficiencies in some of our processes. In particular, I zoned in on the inefficiency of our Change Control process. After further investigation, I learned we had been operating with a process created nine years prior without any changes or updates. The Change Advisory Board (CAB) had dwindled through attrition to a mere two members, and the consensus adjectives for the Change Control process were: boring, laborious and wasteful. One of my most important mandates is to ensure operational stability and uptime for our IT and business services. Change Control is a critical component and step we take to mitigate the inherent risk associated with the frequent changes and updates of our IT environment. Comparing our Change Control process to a root canal was a disheartening but unfortunately accurate analogy. The first step we took was to assign an owner — an often overlooked, but crucial step in any initiative. Secondly, we created a new CAB. It was imperative the CAB would include representation from each primary IT group across our environment. Next, we worked to define the change terms. This step was unexpectedly difficult. It became apparent there was a surprising level of ambiguity and variability in the understanding of change terms such as risk, impact, and even the definition of a change. Other valuable changes were made to improve standardization and efficiency, including the timing of the Change Control meetings. The results of the process change have been impressive and are still being realized. One of the unexpected positive results immediately noted is the time saved by our IT team during weekly change meetings, which equates to approximately $7,000, monthly. Collectively, we are better able to assess the risk factors associated with changes and have improved our ability to identify and mitigate risks associated with competing and overlapping change request times. Dusting off the Change Control process was our first look at modernizing our ignored processes. We are currently updating the Incident and Request processes and are creating a future list of aging, ignored, and inefficient, outdated processes. I will admit, initially, I was not thoroughly excited about the prospect of reworking our processes, and it was most assuredly not causing any stir of excitement among our IT team members. The process review and rework took longer than I had anticipated, and was often frustrating. There was no “new” technology to install, no impressive new capability we can tout, nor any tangible value we can show to our business partners. Additionally, there were many other initiatives and priorities which could have been justifiably completed well before the process review effort. The problem with this reasoning is that it drove our decisions year after year, and left us in the exact position we were in with a 9-year-old process that did not take advantage of current technology and tools and was wasteful of our team’s time (any organization’s most valuable resource). While implementing the newest, shiniest, and fastest technology is incredibly exciting and engaging, IT leaders need to ensure we are creating an environment and framework where our new technologies can be fully utilized to their capacity. Processes are the roads upon which our IT services are delivered, so make sure you’re not driving your Corvette on gravel roads. FEATURE | CHANGE CONTROL PROCESSES DRIVING CORVETTES ON GRAVEL ROADS Ryan Glenn is the director of Infrastructure and Operations for Cherokee Nation Businesses. In his role, he supports gaming and hospitality as well as the diversified businesses sectors. Ryan has been leading Information Technology teams for 18 years in various industries from healthcare to the energy sector. ABOUT THE AUTHOR BY RYAN GLENN DIRECTOR IT INFRASTRUCTURE & OPERATIONS CHEROKEE NATION BUSINESSES The importance of modernizing your IT processestribalnetonline.com | 25 Ready to elevate and simplify? Let’s connect. 844.461.9500 | arcticit.com Enterprise finance and accounting Workplace modernization Collaboration and content Data analytics and platform Business applications Infrastructure and integration Managed IT and security services Need help modernizing and securing your tribal enterprise? We are experts in digital transformation and can help you navigate security, sovereignty, and the cloud on the Microsoft platform.Plan Now To Join Us For Our 2020 Annual Conference & Tradeshow 2019 CONFERENCE & TRADESHOW HIGHLIGHTS REGISTER NOW! November 9-12, 2020 Questions? Call: 269.459.9890 Email: contactus@TribalNetOnline.com Visit us at TribalNetConference.com Enjoy these conference highlights throughout the week. MEET & GREET EVENT 3 KEYNOTE SPEAKERS 2 DAY TRADESHOWCOCKTAIL HOUR 6 UNIQUE TRACKS Plan Now To Join Us For Our 2020 Annual Conference & Tradeshow 21st Annual November 9-12, 2020 Discounts Available! EXHIBITORS: Book by June 1 Save $300 ATTENDEES: Register by Oct 1 Save $100 TribalHub Members- Save $200 Plan Now To Join Us For Our 2020 Annual Conference & Tradeshow 2019 CONFERENCE & TRADESHOW HIGHLIGHTS REGISTER NOW! November 9-12, 2020 Questions? Call: 269.459.9890 Email: contactus@TribalNetOnline.com Visit us at TribalNetConference.com Enjoy these conference highlights throughout the week. MEET & GREET EVENT 3 KEYNOTE SPEAKERS 2 DAY TRADESHOWCOCKTAIL HOUR 6 UNIQUE TRACKS Plan Now To Join Us For Our 2020 Annual Conference & Tradeshow 21st Annual November 9-12, 2020 Discounts Available! EXHIBITORS: Book by June 1 Save $300 ATTENDEES: Register by Oct 1 Save $100 TribalHub Members- Save $200 | tribalnetonline.com 28 FEATURE | BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION Many leaders come back to work at the start of a new year intent on redeveloping themselves and the way they work. Whether you like the idea of New Year’s resolutions or not, periodic introspection and personal redevelopment are especially important for CIOs and senior IT leaders, because those roles are changing and evolving quickly. CIOs and senior technology leaders must continually reset priorities in order to develop as leaders. Digital business requires a new approach to leadership. Digital business trends not only disrupt markets, they also disrupt what makes a successful leader in today’s fast-changing context. The classic caution, “What got you here, won’t get you there,” has a new call to action for technology leaders. These leaders must take specific actions to successfully lead digital business, especially driving I&T-led disruption by embracing risk to deliver continuous innovation to the business. Leaders must be progressive, bold and assertive. They must focus on business value and not just respond or react to business requirements. Most important, they must build alliances with business leaders, product managers and other key stakeholders to drive mission success. Leaders must adopt a different style of leadership to drive change. They must transform technology, processes and people and adopt the right operating model. Much more is required of a CIO in the digital era than what was required even just a few years ago. Digital business is creating a window of opportunity for CIOs to step into new roles and enable and drive digital business within their respective organizations from an enterprise perspective. In 2020 and beyond, CIOs must empower their peers and direct reports to understand, embrace and act as digital leaders, creating and leveraging digital capabilities to transform business models and craft new business ecosystems. Business transformation is a central issue for many CEOs and C-suite leaders who would like to effectively manage the technology- driven disruption of their business. That means that you, as a CIO and/or technology leader, will have to work with the executives to help deliver the business innovation that your organization needs. The move to a digital society is one that is forcing a shift in how we lead. We must move away from striving for stability and move toward leading confidently through constant uncertainty, focusing on enterprise and individual performance and building resilience throughout our organizations. Lastly, to lead successfully, we must broaden our focus and begin establishing connections internally and externally. LEADERSHIP FOCUS NEEDS TO CHANGE FROMTO Striving for stability Focusing on performance Being enterprise-centric Thriving through uncertainty Building resilience Being connection-centric TECHNOLOGY TRANSFORMATION: LEADERSHIP RESOLUTIONS AND VISION FOR 2020 Izella M. Dornell works extensively in the public sector and specifically with tribal nations and enterprises as a strategic partner, enabling their ability to successfully provide strategic transformative technology results for mission-critical priorities and initiatives within their respective organizations. She is the former Deputy CIO for the U.S. Department of Commerce and a Senior Executive with NASA. ABOUT THE AUTHOR BY IZELLA M. DORNELL GARTNER VICE PRESIDENT-EXECUTIVE PARTNERtribalnetonline.com | 29 TRIBALNET MAGAZINE | SPRING 2020 Gartner’s research on this subject indicates that focus matters, so nobody should attempt all 10 resolutions (in the figure to the right). We recommend talking these ideas through with a close colleague, friend, or mentor, and then picking two or three to tackle. Be disciplined in writing down specific ideas and setting aside time in your calendar to make them happen. Review your progress halfway through the year and redouble your efforts. CLEAN UP In your home life, the new year often starts with clearing out and cleaning up old baggage, old habits, old ideas, and time-wasting behaviors. Take the same approach to your professional work life. POWER UP In our personal lives, we often resolve to make mentally and physically more powerful versions of ourselves — to stretch our minds and strengthen our bodies. Do the same for your persona and the team you lead. SKILL UP Personal New Year’s resolutions often include learning new things from new people and finding new sources of personal inspiration. Similarly, at work, you and your team need an injection of new insights and capabilities. 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At Green House Data, we combine our deep industry knowledge and specialized expertise as a Microsoft Solution Partner and Azure expert to maximize outcomes and value across your operations and at every point of your IT journey, from modernizing and architecting for the future to redeveloping applications to create more accessible services that are easier for tribal members to consume. Put Proven Expertise to Work for Your Tribal Enterprise Discover how our applied expertise helped a tribal organization turn a looming upgrade challenge into an enterprise-wide success. Discover how our applied expertise helped a tribal organization turn a looming upgrade challenge into an enterprise-wide success. Learn more about our solutions and organization at greenhousedata.com AS YOU JOURNEY INTO THIS NEW DECADE AND NEW YEAR WHAT ARE YOUR 2020 RESOLUTIONS?Next >