Celebrating IT Professionals Day 2023

Joy Mamuszka, MSN, RN-BC

CURRENT ROLE: Informatics Nurse Specialist

I often describe my role as the voice of IT for nursing and the voice of nursing for IT. As an Advanced Practice Nurse in Nursing Informatics, I provide an in-depth understanding of clinical care delivery in nursing with the goal to reduce the burden of current and developing technology. I also assist with transforming data into needed information and leverage technologies to improve health, safety, and quality outcomes. My role includes design, development, implementation, identification of issues and evaluation of effective informatics solutions and technologies within clinical practice. Serving as an innovator for the advancement of nursing practice using technology and communication is an exciting part of what I do every day.?

WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF / MADE AN IMPACT AT HMH? I am most proud of developing, implementing and maintaining Epic’s Nursing Workload Acuity tool. We went live October 3, 2019, and Nursing Leadership currently uses these scores to align budgeted RN ratios. Our audit feedback consistently shows an 80% alignment between workload acuity values and nursing perception of the workload. Our achievements at HMH were even highlighted last year at Epic's 2022 UGM Nursing Advisory Council presentation!?

FOR PEOPLE NEWER TO THE IT FIELD, WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE THEM? Engage your frontline clinicians! Develop relationships with them. They will be your source of truth when trying to understand complex workflows for system design and problem resolution. You may even make some best friends along the way!

FUN FACT: I just became a grandmother to identical twin girls in June!

J. Blaine Williams

CURRENT ROLE: Director, Systems Engineering

I’m accountable for a collection of six teams who operate and maintain the majority of Hackensack Meridian Health’s backend infrastructure such as servers, networks, storage, and cloud.?

WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF / MADE AN IMPACT AT HMH?

I’m most proud of the tremendously large challenges and stretch-projects we have tackled and delivered over the last four years. I arrived in July of 2019, and in November of that year we were hit by ransomware. The scale and speed in which we remediated and rebuilt post attack still amazes me today. Before we could catch our breath, we were knee-deep in the global pandemic, organizing thousands to work remotely overnight, scaling up infrastructure to meet new business requirements and workflows, and even dedicating Digital Technology Services staff to clinical efforts. By March 2021, we were rolling out Google Workspace - a significant change to the daily workflow and collaboration tools for the enterprise. Shortly after, we began the rollout of the ChromeOS operating system. ChromeOS for a health care company of our size is a world first, evidenced by the amount of software developed on our behalf enabling the integration of existing tool sets and the ChromeOS operating system.

FOR PEOPLE NEWER TO THE IT FIELD, WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE THEM??

It is human nature to have a tendency to overestimate our likelihood of success/achieve a positive outcome. We call it “optimism bias.” Instead of falling into that trap, have a plan for projects/outcomes deemed high-risk, critical, expensive, etc. I’m reminded of the quote, “Failure to plan is planning to fail.”

FUN FACTS: I sat next to Alec Baldwin while watching my Pittsburgh Steelers win the Super Bowl. I also hold a 25-year-old Division 1 collegiate Track & Field record at Monmouth University.?

Patrick Midgley

CURRENT ROLE: Project Manager

My role includes establishing project goals, tracking deliverables, reporting on progress, problem-solving, and overall support of project teams.?

WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF / MADE AN IMPACT AT HMH??

I am proud to have been associated with so many talented and dedicated IT/health care professionals working to improve patient care for our communities. During my career, the advancements in technology continue to have a large impact on health care. I was project manager for the Helena Theurer Pavilion at Hackensack University Medical Center, and that effort demonstrates how Hackensack Meridian Health continues to embrace advancements in technology, providing improved patient care.

FOR PEOPLE NEWER TO THE IT FIELD, WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE THEM??

Stay current with technology trends!

FUN FACTS: I play guitar and have a band with my wife Cathy.? I have two daughters who were both born at Riverview Medical Center.

Courtney Aldridge, MSN, MSHI, RN

CURRENT ROLE: Director, DTS Training

I set the training strategic direction for Digital Technology Services, Epic training and physician support provided to new hires, refresher training, optimizations, and new project implementations. I’ve been with HMH for the last three years; however, my previous roles over the last 19 years (outside of Hackensack Meridian Health) have included frontline Nursing, Nursing Informatics, Inpatient and Outpatient Instructional Design, Consulting, Project Management, and Epic Training Management/Leadership.?

WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF / MADE AN IMPACT AT HMH?

I’m most proud of creating and developing a new Digital Technology Services Training Tower and training leadership team. I’m equally proud of leading a talented team which provides knowledge, support, and education to over 800 end users per month at Hackensack Meridian Health.

FOR PEOPLE NEWER TO THE IT FIELD, WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE THEM??

Become emotionally and mentally prepared for endless waves of transformation at a very fast pace. Flexibility, and understanding the roles and responsibility of IT teams vs. operational teams are essential for success.?

FUN FACT: ?One of my favorite hobbies is traveling. I truly enjoy seeing and learning about art, nature, and cultures from around the world.

Jonathan Dusza

CURRENT ROLE: Manager, Digital Applications

I manage digital applications, websites and user experience throughout the network. I also interface with vendors and many projects with other IT teams.

WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF / MADE AN IMPACT AT HMH??

I was part of the team that: consolidated 200+ domains to 20 or less, unified multiple provider directories into a single directory, launched the first team member app (MyHMH), consolidated 6+ intranets into a single intranet, consolidated content system management systems (CMS) into a single CMS, received a Master Certification from Nielsen Norman Group (NN/g) in the field of UX, and created processes and documentation for teams to greatly improve their efficiency and productivity.

FOR PEOPLE NEWER TO THE IT FIELD, WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE THEM??

IT is a big field, so learn as much as you can and have fun! Make connections with mentors or people who can help you, but also be a mentee to help build team and leadership skills. Try to find a specific area to master then branch out.

FUN FACTS: I am a huge fan of the Canadian rock band RUSH. Around Halloween, I also go all out with house decorations.?

Bommae Kim, PhD

CURRENT ROLE: Lead Data Scientist

I lead project teams in designing, developing, and monitoring AI solutions to improve patient care and optimize hospital operations. While building AI models sounds exciting, the real challenge and reward lie in designing an AI solution that will be adopted by users and have a measurable impact on patient care and hospital operations. I also evaluate AI solutions for potential biases and incorporate ethical considerations into their development and adoption. Additionally, I am committed to improving AI literacy within our organization.

WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF / MADE AN IMPACT AT HMH?

I led a multidisciplinary project team and successfully deployed the very first in-house AI solution at Hackensack Meridian Health. Collaborating with Palliative Care and Hospice, we developed an AI-powered clinical decision support system in Epic, utilizing Google Cloud Platform, to improve patient care for those with serious illnesses. Importantly, this project laid the technological foundation for numerous subsequent AI initiatives. This achievement was the result of collaborative efforts from various Digital Technology Services (DTS) teams, including Predictive Health, Insight, Service Delivery, Data Engineering, Software Engineering, Clinical Informatics, Systems Integration, and Cloud Engineering. This collective effort exemplifies the collaborative spirit and innovation that drive progress at DTS.

FOR PEOPLE NEWER TO THE IT FIELD, WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE THEM??

Be open to learning and respect others' expertise. I learn from colleagues within my subject matter as well as from those in different IT fields. No one knows everything – I embrace my limitations and relish the opportunity to learn from my teammates. Learning the basics of other IT fields has not only broadened my horizons but also fostered better collaboration. Engaging with diverse colleagues has been both intriguing and fulfilling for me.

FUN FACTS: I dream at night in three languages: Korean, Japanese, and English. I have lived and studied in South Korea, Japan, and the U.S.

Ben Schleich, PhD, MS, MBA, CPPS, LSSBB, DSHS?

CURRENT ROLE: Principal Analytics Translator

I call myself the glue between our business owners and our analytics teams to really understand what the business owners want, even if they don't yet have a full understanding of what they're asking for. My team is focused on how we can create actionable insights that drive strategy and decisions to make HMH better, mainly in the inpatient clinical domain, but also in research.?

WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF / MADE AN IMPACT AT HMH?

I'm very proud that my team and I created the Hospital Navigation GPS tool. The tool is a composite of multiple measures in the inpatient settings and various domains to improve safety, timeliness, efficiency, effectiveness, and equity, and patient experience. We are measuring ourselves against the best in the country as we aspire to become the best.?

I love working at HMH because we really aspire not only to be the best but also to be pioneers. As an illustration, Hackensack University Medical Center achieved the distinction of becoming the inaugural hospital in the nation to attain a Health Care Equity Certification from The Joint Commission, a milestone that deeply resonates with my passion. I am truly thankful for HMH's unwavering commitment to providing equitable care to all patients. While HUMC was the pioneer in receiving this well-deserved recognition, I am confident that other HMH-affiliated hospitals will follow suit.

FOR PEOPLE NEWER TO THE IT FIELD, WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE THEM??

A lot of the time, IT isn’t human-centered. Don’t forget the human aspect of it – make connections, rather than being task-oriented. In general, I would say it's okay not to know everything. Lean on your network for answers, help, or support.

FUN FACTS:?

• I played an integral role establishing the process for the first face transplant in New York.
• My wife and I used to travel to a Minnesota Vikings game each year before COVID and hopefully can resume that this year.
• I am an avid Pokémon Go player. It helps my mental and physical health.
• I am also a big Bayern Munich fan and barely miss a game. My grandpa used to play for them and my wife surprised me with the trading card collection book he was in.