HIMSS Europe just announced the newly appointed board members of the HIMSS Europe Governing Council, Pilar Raro-Garnes, MBA, PMP, Michiel Sprenger, PhD , and Professor Philippe Kolh, MD, PhD, commenced their work on 1 July 2014. They will serve a three-year term until 30 June 2017.
Pilar Raro-Garnes, MBA, PMP, currently works as IT Project Director at the Hospital La Fe in Valencia, Spain, where she is involved in defining, implementing and supervising I+D IT key projects such as administering medication at the bedside, tracking and localizing assets and patients, mobility solutions, deploying business intelligence (BI) and health information management (HIM) systems. Raro-Garnes holds a degree in Telecommunication Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain. To finish her Master's project, she was awarded the only European Scholarship for Telecommunications engineers in the European Space Agency. She also holds an MBA from ESTEMA in Valencia.
Dr Sprenger is a Senior Policy Adviser at the Netherlands' National IT Institute in Healthcare (Nictiz), where he is also co-leading a program for improving the standards for clinical documentation that the eight Dutch University Medical Centers execute together with Nictiz. Furthermore, he is responsible for coordinating Nictiz's international activities. Joining Nictiz in 2008, he has been active in advancing reference architecture for the regional health information exchange activities in the Netherlands. Since 2010, Sprenger has also been a lecturer at the Eindhoven Technical University. He holds a PhD in Physics from the University of Amsterdam.
Philippe Kolh, MD, PhD, a cardiovascular surgeon, has been both Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Chairman of the Department of Medico-Economic Information at the University Hospital of Liège, Belgium, since 2005. He is also a Professor of Physiology and Biochemistry at the University of Liège. Kolh received his medical training at the University of Liège, where he graduated in 1989 as a valedictorian with summa cum laude.
They succeed Angela M. Dunbar, MBA, Christian Lovis, MD, MPH, and Karina Tellinger, MBA.
About the HIMSS Europe Governing Council
The HIMSS Europe Governing Council serves as the governing body for HIMSS Europe. Its members represent different countries, regions and constituencies as well as skills relevant to HIMSS in Europe. The governing council is composed of health IT professionals who provide strategic advice and guidance to the Society. It determines the strategic direction for HIMSS Europe; provides content expertise and maintains program oversight of the activities of HIMSS Europe. Furthermore, it appoints member-based work groups that have delegated responsibility to assist management in the execution of operational strategies (e.g., WoHIT, CIO Summit, membership, educational programs, etc.), support the development and promotion of other HIMSS Europe products and services; develop governance roles, procedures and practices to ensure an effective governance and oversight body.
About HIMSS
HIMSS Europe is part of HIMSS, a global, cause-based, not-for-profit organization focused on better health through information technology (IT). HIMSS leads efforts to optimize health engagements and care outcomes using IT. Founded in 1961, HIMSS encompasses more than 52,000 individuals, of which more than two-thirds work in healthcare provider, governmental and not-for-profit organizations across the globe, plus over 600 corporations and 250 not-for-profit partner organizations, that share this cause. HIMSS, headquartered in Chicago, serves the global health IT community with additional offices in the United States, Europe, and Asia.