Revolutionary Chief Health Information Officer Disrupts Healthcare Status Quo

Merging Passions: Medical Informatics and Healthcare Technology

Jake’s journey in medicine was not a traditional one. Growing up in Connecticut, his childhood memories include a lot of quality family time and writing programs in BASIC on his personal computer. His scientific curiosity and penchant for research led him to pursue a career in science initially. However, a pivotal event in college changed the course of his studies and future professional life.

During his time at Dartmouth College, Jake received an urgent call alerting him that his grandmother had been hospitalized with a ruptured aortic aneurysm. Talking to family members about his critically ill grandmother, he felt out of his depth and was driven to seek more information and a better understanding of what was happening to her. In that defining moment, Jake realized he wanted to understand medicine and advance the capacity of modern healthcare.

He would enroll at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, where he found himself invigorated by the opportunity to help people through the practice of medicine. After graduating from medical school, he went on to complete a residency in emergency medicine at the University of Pittsburgh and began practicing emergency medicine at a hospital in Virginia.

As Dr. O’Shea’s career evolved, he would eventually accept roles that combined his two areas of interest: medicine and technology. His professional life took a significant turn when he was asked to advise on the implementation of a new Electronic Health Record (EHR) at a large healthcare organization.

Leadership in Action: Navigating Crises and Change

Responding to Tragedy: The Borderline Bar & Grill Shooting

In a year marked by a series of disasters and tragedies, 2018 highlighted the very best of what it means to be a part of HCA Healthcare and the communities we are privileged to serve. If last year showed us anything, it’s that we are stronger together.

On November 7, a mass shooting at the Borderline Grill & Bar took the lives of 12 people, including Ventura County Sheriff’s Sergeant Ron Helus. Eleven victims, including Sgt. Helus, were received by the emergency and trauma team at Los Robles Regional Medical Center.

Dr. Walid Arnaout, the attending trauma surgeon that night at Los Robles, treated the 54-year-old officer. “There’s never an easy time to lose any patient,” Dr. Arnaout told CNN’s Kate Bolduan. “It is even harder when you have a public servant, an officer who basically died or got shot in the line of duty. It makes it a lot harder to swallow.”

Coping with Loss: The Power of Community and Support

Hospital leadership, nurses, physicians, staff, and community members stood with scores of mourners to pay their respect to the fallen hero during an emotional procession that began at Los Robles.

The unprecedented tragedy rocked the tight-knit community and shook caregivers at the HCA Healthcare affiliate to their core, even more, when they learned a family member of one of their own was among the 12 killed at the Borderline Bar & Grill. Kathy Dunham, an oncology nurse at Los Robles and mother to Jake Dunham, learned her son’s life was taken that night at the age of 21-years-old.

Dunham’s nursing colleagues rallied around her, offering their love and support and voluntarily donating their paid time off (PTO) hours, an HCA Healthcare policy, so she could grieve without the financial worry.

Weathering the Storm: The Woolsey Fire and Evacuation

No one expected it could get much worse after the Borderline massacre, however, a natural disaster was brewing. The fast-moving Woolsey fire forced the evacuation of local residents and the Los Robles Rehabilitation Hospital.

Twenty-four patients from our rehab facility were moved to sister facility West Hills Hospital for their safety. HCA Healthcare’s scale allowed us to respond with emergency response resources for the hospitals, as well as additional personnel.

A group of nurses from affiliate Riverside Community Hospital arrived to provide nursing relief and ensure uninterrupted patient care. From the volunteer pet therapists who worked 36 hours straight to the doctors who mobilized to treat the victims of Borderline and then fled their homes due to the fires to the nurses who worked around the clock to ensure continuity of care, the hospital chaplains who provided emotional support and the countless others who came together to support the community, it was a testament to the strength and resilience of the HCA Healthcare family.

Innovating for the Future: Combining Medicine and Technology

The Role of the Chief Health Information Officer: Jake’s Vision

As VP and Chief Health Information Officer for HCA Healthcare and its department of Digital Transformation and Innovation (DT&I), Jake has found his niche and reflects upon his career journey. “My career path has not been linear. I often think about how observing my uncle in the ED and feeling helpless through my grandmother’s critical illness helped lead me into medical school and practicing emergency medicine – and then how my passion for patient care combined with my interest in computers to eventually steer me in the direction of medical informatics and healthcare technology,” Dr. O’Shea explained.

Leveraging Technology for Patient-Centered Care

As a Chief Health Information Officer, Jake’s role is to leverage technology to improve patient care and outcomes. He believes that technology has the potential to revolutionize healthcare, making it more efficient, effective, and patient-centered.

Building the Future of Healthcare: Implications and Opportunities

The intersection of medicine and technology is an exciting space, and Jake is at the forefront of this movement. As healthcare continues to evolve, Jake sees tremendous opportunities for innovation and growth.

From electronic health records to artificial intelligence, Jake believes that technology will play an increasingly important role in shaping the future of healthcare. As a leader in this space, Jake is committed to harnessing the power of technology to improve patient care and outcomes.