Chris Bullerdick

Text version of Chris Bullerdick's keynote remarks

Hello, I’m Chris Bullerdick, a computer programmer at Integrated Health Technologies.  I help shape the future of our mission every day.
To me, one of the most remarkable characteristics about the early days of the Franciscan Sisters of Mary, was the sisters’ ability to identify a need in the community.   Whether it was an epidemic--such as small pox, yellow fever, tuberculosis, influenza—or simply a lack of available care for the poor, the sisters would see a need and respond.

Their response involved every resource available to them.  No matter how large the obstacle or constraint, they worked with faith to find a way to meet the community’s need.  They were true visionaries of healing.

As part of Project Beacon, I feel a very deep connection to that pioneering spirit. True to those first visionaries, today’s staff identified a need in the community--the need to provide every caregiver with the most complete, accurate and accessible patient information possible.  I am so proud to be part of the team working to make this vision a reality.

To me, the most phenomenal part of the project is not the complex software or hardware infrastructure.  To me, the biggest success story of this project is the commitment behind it.

I have been lucky enough to sit in the design meetings for the software. I wish that everyone in this room could witness these sessions.  The energy and spirit of SSM truly live there. 

The overarching theme is: “Do what is right for the patient.”  Every person in that room is actively working toward that goal.  The interactions are remarkable.  It is not uncommon for a session to have discussions among unit secretaries, IT staff, physicians, dieticians, pharmacists, medical technologists, radiologists and nurses, just to name a few.

Discussions can be quite lively.  People may disagree.  At no time, however, does ANYONE lose sight of our mission.  I have lost count of the number of times our mission statement has been quoted and used as part of the decision-making rationale. 

The level of dedication and commitment is both extraordinary, and yet typical of every SSM employee.  The Electronic Health Record is being created by people who truly care about their patients.  It is that commitment which will insure the success of this project.

I have worked at SSM for 19 years.   What I have discovered is, just as those sisters did in the early days, I have the privilege of impacting the lives of entire communities.   I am shaping the future of our exceptional health care services.