State's Health Information Exchange Appoints New Executive Director

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - June 20, 2018 - PRLog -- healtheConnect Alaska, (formerly known as the Alaska eHealth Network), is pleased to announce the permanent appointment of Laura Young as executive director. Young was first elected interim executive director in July 2017 and her strategic guidance over the past year has laid a strong foundation for rolling out new initiatives focused on better serving the healthcare and patient communities in Alaska.

"Laura has demonstrated, as the interim executive director, the skills the Board and healtheConnect Alaska need to upgrade our performance and abilities to deliver valued services to healthcare stakeholders across Alaska," said Jerry Jenkins, president of the healtheConnect Alaska Board of Directors. "Laura knows the technical aspects of bi-lateral health information exchange, as well as explaining it in a way that is understandable. She is a good recruiter and has assembled an impressive cadre to support healtheConnect Alaska. And she is well networked and brings connections, ideas, and energy. Board members have seen her abilities and are glad she has decided to accept the position."

Young and her team are currently working on several new initiatives including new technology partnerships and providing value to a wider range of Alaska healthcare providers, including behavioral health.

"HIE is a tough business," Young says. If you don't deliver value, you lose the trust of the participants. Our staff is pretty much all new. We are restructuring how the board works and we are changing the technology."

healtheConnect is committed to furthering interoperability in Alaska and improving the health of its communities. Learn more about their plan to provide value and long-term sustainability www.prlog.org/12714889-.html.

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About Laura Young
Young has worked as an information technology director for Banner Health, where she managed their private health information exchange and ambulatory electronic health record. She joined Behavioral Health Information Network of Arizona (BHINAZ) in January 2013, and spent almost four years as the executive director, becoming a subject matter expert on HIE, interoperability, and 42 CFR Part 2. She currently serves nationally with the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) as the vice chair of both the Interoperability and Health Information Exchange Committee, and the eHealth Initiatives Connecting Communities Workgroup. Young holds degrees in Information Technology and Health Services Management.

About healtheConnect Alaska
healtheConnect Alaska is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, established by Alaska statute, and organized and managed by Alaskans. healtheConnect Alaska has been tasked by the State of Alaska's Department of Health and Social Services to provide safe, secure transport for health information in order to improve quality and safety of patient care and increase efficiencies for hospitals and medical practices. healtheConnect Alaska provides health information exchange and direct secure messaging services to more than 20 hospitals and 450 healthcare organizations across Alaska. Benefits to these organizations include: confidential and timely access to patient's medical history no matter where a patient receives care; rapid medical record search for historical patient data, augmenting diagnosis and treatment; public health reporting assistance to meet meaningful use requirements; reduced interface costs due to a single entry point; referrals and referral documents transmitted automatically; and notifications of selected events including admission, discharge, and abnormal lab results. www.ak-ehealth.org.