April 23, 2024
Spring has proven to be a busy time for UI Health Care with our new brand updates launching soon, Epic Go-Live fast approaching at the downtown campus, and several leadership transition announcements.
We asked Brad Haws, CEO of University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics, for a brief update:
Our updated brand elements, including the new logos, will officially roll out in a few short weeks.
Last fall we announced that UI Health Care is getting an updated brand, and we will begin the rollout on May 4.
Our new brand will help simplify our identity, align with the University of Iowa brand, and help us prepare for the addition of new campuses.
Along with our brand update, May 4 is our “go-live” day for Epic (our electronic medical record) at the downtown campus and former Mercy Iowa City clinics. This is an exciting milestone for the transition of this employee group to our systems.
Teams have been working around the clock to make sure we’re prepared and at the ready to support our downtown campus team as they make this transition to Epic. And we know that the work won’t end on May 4. Our Health Care Information Systems (HCIS) will be hard at work for several months to continue the optimization process and provide support during the transition.
We have several leadership transitions currently in motion, and I’m happy to report that we’ve had strong candidate pools for each of the open positions. In fact, we’ve been excited with the number of well-qualified candidates who have shown interest in the chief administrative officer position at the downtown campus and for the UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital chief administrative officer position.
We will have finalists soon for both of those roles.
In the meantime, Deborah Berini, MHA, and Melissa Whisler, MBA, MHA, continue to lead operations at the downtown campus and UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital, respectively.
Our Chief Operating Officer Emily Blomberg, MHA, also just recently accepted a new position with HealthPartners in her home state of Minnesota, beginning June 13. This is a great career opportunity for Emily, and I know she has strong ties to Minnesota, where she grew up. We’re sad to see her go but wish her all the best in her new role.
As a key role in our clinical enterprise leadership team, it’s important to fill this COO position as soon as possible, which is why we have immediately started a national search for Emily’s successor. I’m confident we’ll be able to attract outstanding candidates.
We appreciate everyone's support as we work through the search processes and prepare to welcome new leaders to our team.