keynote addressBrian Thomas was the keynote speaker at the Johnson County Community College for the 2015 Heath Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Workforce Summit.  His 45-minute presentation covered current workforce trends and future of the Health Information Technology.

About Greater KC HIMSS

Representing Eastern Kansas and Western Missouri, the HIMSS Greater Kansas City Chapter provides a place for HIMSS members to play an active role in improving the future of healthcare through connection, collaboration and learning.  The Chapter creates spaces to connect seasoned professionals, emerging leaders and students to create positive change in healthcare; connect, collaborate and learn; and be at the forefront of the latest healthcare news and trends. They would be delighted to have you join them!

Members represent hospitals of all sizes, managed care organizations, integrated delivery systems, non-profit healthcare organizations, as well organizations who provide solutions for the many challenges that exist in healthcare.

Each year their membership and board organize several programs involving speakers and experts on a variety of topics.

Keynote Speaker Opportunities

If you are interested in becoming a Greater Kansas City chapter member, you can join here. If you are a current Chapter Member and you haven’t been receiving our e-mail newsletters or event information, or your e-mail address has changed, please update your HIMSS member profile or contact us at kc.info@himsschapter.org.

I look forward to seeing you, either virtually or in person, at a future event!

Headshot of Brian E. ThomasBrian E. Thomas has been a founder or member of the following professional affiliations listed below during his career. He has also dedicated much of his time mentoring other young leaders and technologists.

Professional Affiliations

Member, Kansas City CIO Exchange (since 2016)
Founding Fellow, American College of Healthcare Trustees (since 2015)
Board Member, Successful Startup Companies (2014 & 2019)
Member, College of Healthcare Information Management Executives [CHIME] (since 2014)
Board Member, HITECH Advisory Committee, Johnson County Community College (2013-2017)
Member, Heart of America HIMSS Chapter, Kansas City (2010-2018)
Member, Health Information and Management Systems Society [HIMSS] (since 2009)
National Certified Referee & Member United States of America Taekwondo Association [USAT] (2009)
The Fraternal Order of the United States Marine Corps (1992)

Brian has served in several senior leadership roles, including Chief Information Officer, Chief Technology Officer, and Healthcare Executive in the Fortune 500, Healthcare and public sector spaces. He is known for delivering innovative and user-friendly solutions to the business partners and customers he serves.

Mr. Thomas earned his Master of Business Administration from Baker University and his Bachelor of Science Information Systems from the University of Phoenix. Additionally, he has obtained the following certificates:

  • Organizational Leadership – University of Virginia
  • Artificial Intelligence – Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
  • Digital Transformation – Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

In addition to his professional affiliations, you can always read the complete bio of Brian Thomas.

Scott Kashman, FACHEBrian and I worked together at Ascension Health’s subsidiary, Carondelet Health in Kansas City. Brian’s strong leadership played a key role on our Information Systems department. Brian was responsible for implementing and integrating new technology. One major conversion stands out where Brian led the effort every step of the way including serving as our Incident Commander through the process. His communication skills are superb and he has a great strength in physician and staff relations.

Brian and I continue to stay in touch and he is invaluable guiding me with technology and social media communication integration.

Brian’s strong leadership skills, physician relationships, understanding of organizational processes and technology served our organization well.  ~Scott Kashman

Currently, Scott Kashman, MHA, FACHE, is the market president for St. Dominic Health Services and CEO of St. Dominic Hospital.

Scott brings a tremendous depth of experience in healthcare operations, notably in building high performing teams within integrated health systems. He is a proven leader in Catholic healthcare recognizing its unique opportunities as a ministry of the Church and community contributor. His sensitivities to the needs of Mississippi families inform his leadership for prioritizing sustainability and community impact, while his authenticity in physician relationships is instrumental to achieving quality and experience goals.

Scott Kashman served as the chief officer of hospital operations and system ancillary services for Lee Health in Florida, overseeing the four acute care hospitals. His nearly three-decade career reflects increasing responsibilities in ambulatory and acute operational roles including senior executive positions with Cape Coral Hospital and St. Joseph Medical Center. As an executive leader in both Ascension and Mercy Health, he helped strengthen overall performance while growing market presence for the integrated operations of acute care and multi-specialty physician enterprise activities.

A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, Scott began his career in healthcare as a psychiatric counselor. His interest in helping others joined with his business acumen and strategy led him to complete his Master of Health Administration from Tulane University. He is an Ethics Fellow, Center for Disability Ethics: Northwestern University School of Medicine and co-author of the book, Mindful Healthcare: Healthy Team, Healthy Business.

Michael AldridgeAs the leader of the PMO in KC, Brian led the organization through significant change. The outcome of his work has created an environment where the business can make better, more well informed decisions about its strategic projects. Brian’s robust knowledge about IT and healthcare, along with his dedication make him a huge asset to any team. I would love the opportunity to work with him again.

~Michael Aldridge

Michael Aldridge Bio

Former CIO with City of Lawrence. Former CIO with Johnson County KS Government. Former ACO Executive Director with Aledade.

With over twenty-five years’ experience working with Information Technology, Michael has knowledge in all aspects, including system engineering, operations, programming, data center design, LAN/WAN, help-desk, cybersecurity and business continuity.

The majority of Michael’s experience has been in healthcare, where he had the privilege to help improve care locally and nationally. Michael has worked in a variety of settings, including: small community hospitals, critical access and rural hospitals, FQHCs, RHCs, large health systems, ACOs, mental health centers and public health departments.

As the CIO with Johnson County Government, Michael Aldridge worked with a team of nearly 100 staff and a budget of ~$18M. Together JoCo served a diverse and expanding population through five agencies and 34 county departments. More than 3,800 public servants are dedicated to helping Johnson County remain a safe, vibrant community. We served approximately 575,000 residents (the most populous of all Kansas Counties).

With tw-Security Michael worked as part of a strong team of nationally recognized cybersecurity professionals experienced in privacy, security and risk management. They served as virtual information security officers, conduct risk analysis, provide cybersecurity program support, disaster recovery planning, OCR audit preparation, and generally worked to make our teams stronger.

Now with Gartner, Michael serves on the Research and Advisory Team focusing on Business Continuity and Risk Management.

Welcome to my first blog!  If you’ve read my bio, resume, or seen some of the other content on my site, you now have a better idea of who I am, hopefully. You can find quite a bit more on my LinkedIn profile as well.

As a busy Healthcare Executive and Chief Information Officer, I do have some time to do get involved in projects and activities outside of work.  Currently, I sit on two boards. The first is a successful start up company in the food industry, and I also serve as a board member on the HITECH Advisory Board at Johnson County Community College. I have been part of other advisory boards as well, and enjoy my time contributing to leadership and technology initiatives, especially here locally in Kansas City.

As a father of three brilliant young adults, I coach and encourage my kids around their work and college lives.  Coincidentally, my kids are also involved in technology and healthcare. As in my first blog, I do provide updates on their careers as well.

I do stay current in technology and tinker with new gadgets. Most notably web, digital, blockchain, AI, and security technologies (this website was built by me!).

Of course one must stay well balanced in a busy life.  I exercise regularly, and am currently pursuing my 3rd Degree Black belt in Taekwondo and 1st Degree Black belt in Hapkido.  Time permitting, I continue to advance my status as a national/international certified USAT referee, where I will be able to eventually be able to be a referee in the Olympics.

If there is anything you might be interested in, please let me know.  You can follow me on social media, read my many contributions on some of the top-tier technology publications. Free free to contact me HERE.