1 00:00:00,719 --> 00:00:04,000 Exciting things are happening at Becker's Healthcare. Stay 2 00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:06,240 ahead of industry trends with the new Becker's 3 00:00:06,240 --> 00:00:08,500 CFO plus Revenue Cycle podcast, 4 00:00:08,800 --> 00:00:11,119 your go to source for insights from top 5 00:00:11,119 --> 00:00:14,224 healthcare finance leaders. Tune in wherever you get 6 00:00:14,224 --> 00:00:14,964 your podcasts. 7 00:00:15,904 --> 00:00:18,464 And don't miss the tenth annual Health IT 8 00:00:18,464 --> 00:00:22,155 plus Digital Health plus RCM conference, happening September 9 00:00:22,155 --> 00:00:24,464 30 to 10/03/2025 10 00:00:24,464 --> 00:00:25,204 in Chicago. 11 00:00:25,664 --> 00:00:27,125 Join thousands of executives, 12 00:00:27,469 --> 00:00:30,429 engage with industry leaders, and explore the future 13 00:00:30,429 --> 00:00:31,649 of health care innovation. 14 00:00:32,270 --> 00:00:36,750 Learn more about our upcoming events at beckershospitalreview.com. 15 00:00:36,750 --> 00:00:37,570 See you there. 16 00:00:38,429 --> 00:00:40,590 This is Laura Dierda with the Becker's Healthcare 17 00:00:40,590 --> 00:00:42,655 podcast. I'm thrilled today to be joined by 18 00:00:42,655 --> 00:00:46,335 Steven Ramirez, chief information security and technology officer 19 00:00:46,335 --> 00:00:48,174 at Renown Health. Steven, it's a pleasure to 20 00:00:48,174 --> 00:00:49,634 have you on the podcast today. 21 00:00:50,015 --> 00:00:52,034 Good morning, Laura. Great to be with you. 22 00:00:53,214 --> 00:00:54,975 Now I'm excited to have you here because 23 00:00:54,975 --> 00:00:57,609 I know you've got a really wide, background 24 00:00:57,609 --> 00:01:00,250 in information technology, security, and a lot of 25 00:01:00,250 --> 00:01:01,690 things that you're doing at renowned are are 26 00:01:01,690 --> 00:01:03,289 really cutting edge in terms of how you're 27 00:01:03,289 --> 00:01:05,310 thinking about AI technology 28 00:01:05,609 --> 00:01:06,650 and keeping things, 29 00:01:07,290 --> 00:01:09,450 secure as well as transforming the health care 30 00:01:09,450 --> 00:01:11,585 and health care delivery system. And 31 00:01:12,204 --> 00:01:13,444 so I'm looking forward to learning more about 32 00:01:13,444 --> 00:01:14,924 what you're doing now and and how you're 33 00:01:14,924 --> 00:01:17,085 thinking about the future. But before we dive 34 00:01:17,085 --> 00:01:18,365 into that, can you tell us a little 35 00:01:18,365 --> 00:01:19,885 bit more about Renown and what makes it 36 00:01:19,885 --> 00:01:23,325 unique? Yeah. Definitely. So, again, good morning. I'm 37 00:01:23,325 --> 00:01:24,924 excited to be with you and, you know, 38 00:01:24,924 --> 00:01:27,590 share the journey that, we're partaking here at 39 00:01:27,590 --> 00:01:28,650 Renown. So, 40 00:01:29,750 --> 00:01:31,750 something really cool and something that we really 41 00:01:31,750 --> 00:01:33,590 kicked off end of last year going into 42 00:01:33,590 --> 00:01:35,510 this year was our CEO made a big 43 00:01:35,510 --> 00:01:38,390 focus on, you know, rebranding our mission, vision, 44 00:01:38,390 --> 00:01:41,405 and value statement. So what's unique about Renown 45 00:01:41,405 --> 00:01:43,484 is that we were actually the first hospital 46 00:01:43,484 --> 00:01:44,145 in Nevada, 47 00:01:44,605 --> 00:01:47,185 which was founded in 1864. 48 00:01:48,045 --> 00:01:50,125 Since then, you know, we've been serving, you 49 00:01:50,125 --> 00:01:51,344 know, the great community, 50 00:01:51,725 --> 00:01:53,590 of Northern Nevada, California, 51 00:01:54,210 --> 00:01:57,090 in that outreaching area. So we serve over 52 00:01:57,090 --> 00:01:59,990 a million people, and cover a hundred square, 53 00:02:00,530 --> 00:02:03,250 mile reach, just from what our services, you 54 00:02:03,250 --> 00:02:05,109 know, reach out to. We're the only regional 55 00:02:05,474 --> 00:02:08,055 level two trauma center. We have an affiliation 56 00:02:08,115 --> 00:02:10,594 with UNR. So really, you know, embracing that 57 00:02:10,594 --> 00:02:12,914 academic medicine and really looking to grow that 58 00:02:12,914 --> 00:02:13,414 partnership, 59 00:02:14,275 --> 00:02:16,775 from the clinical research side to really just, 60 00:02:16,834 --> 00:02:18,754 you know, help us grow our mission to 61 00:02:18,754 --> 00:02:19,655 serve the community. 62 00:02:20,114 --> 00:02:22,520 We've recently rolled out transplant, you know, and 63 00:02:22,520 --> 00:02:23,340 other specialties, 64 00:02:24,040 --> 00:02:25,400 so that people can just really have the 65 00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:27,000 care they need at home. So we're really 66 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:27,500 excited, 67 00:02:28,760 --> 00:02:30,439 to what you touched on, to really see 68 00:02:30,439 --> 00:02:33,400 how tech can help enable that, across the 69 00:02:33,400 --> 00:02:35,960 organization. So, you know, we've done a lot 70 00:02:35,960 --> 00:02:37,965 of lot of cool things and we're really 71 00:02:37,965 --> 00:02:40,844 kicking off year one of our, strategic plan. 72 00:02:40,844 --> 00:02:43,665 So, you know, working closely with our CIO, 73 00:02:44,444 --> 00:02:46,844 and other executive leaders to really, you know, 74 00:02:46,844 --> 00:02:48,865 execute on that over the coming years. 75 00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:53,620 That's really great to hear. And, you know, 76 00:02:53,919 --> 00:02:56,080 cool to have that opportunity to be right 77 00:02:56,080 --> 00:02:58,419 on the forefront of this type of, 78 00:02:58,879 --> 00:02:59,939 digital transformation. 79 00:03:00,400 --> 00:03:01,840 Now when you look at the last year 80 00:03:01,840 --> 00:03:03,680 or so, can you tell us a little 81 00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:05,439 bit about what you're most proud of? What 82 00:03:05,439 --> 00:03:06,555 project initiative 83 00:03:06,855 --> 00:03:08,215 or or really the things that, 84 00:03:09,014 --> 00:03:11,175 had the most impact on the health system 85 00:03:11,175 --> 00:03:11,675 overall? 86 00:03:12,775 --> 00:03:14,775 Yeah. So I've been at Renown, just a 87 00:03:14,775 --> 00:03:16,935 little over three years now. So when we 88 00:03:16,935 --> 00:03:17,415 came in, 89 00:03:18,215 --> 00:03:20,920 it was really doing a big effort to, 90 00:03:20,920 --> 00:03:23,020 you know, just look at our technical landscape. 91 00:03:23,159 --> 00:03:25,080 I think we were spending a lot of 92 00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:27,080 money in areas that needed to have some 93 00:03:27,080 --> 00:03:29,800 refocus on. So I know under the direction 94 00:03:29,800 --> 00:03:30,939 of our CIO, 95 00:03:31,319 --> 00:03:33,794 and, you know, executive team, Really, we did 96 00:03:33,794 --> 00:03:35,655 a phased approach to stabilization. 97 00:03:36,275 --> 00:03:38,675 So really what was working well, what wasn't, 98 00:03:38,675 --> 00:03:40,435 you know, areas that we needed to focus 99 00:03:40,435 --> 00:03:42,754 on, you know, cybersecurity being a big focus 100 00:03:42,754 --> 00:03:44,534 of that as well as tech debt. 101 00:03:44,995 --> 00:03:46,694 I know a lot of health care organizations 102 00:03:46,835 --> 00:03:48,579 are really looking at how, you know, they 103 00:03:48,579 --> 00:03:50,919 can balance the cost to, you know, 104 00:03:51,539 --> 00:03:52,840 the digital transformation, 105 00:03:53,620 --> 00:03:55,219 in a meaningful way to have what we 106 00:03:55,219 --> 00:03:57,379 need to support, you know, the clinical growth 107 00:03:57,379 --> 00:03:58,739 in a lot of these cool tech, you 108 00:03:58,739 --> 00:04:00,900 know. AI is definitely a big buzzword on, 109 00:04:00,900 --> 00:04:02,485 you know, areas on that that, you know, 110 00:04:02,485 --> 00:04:04,745 we'll share more. So, you know, the stabilization, 111 00:04:05,525 --> 00:04:06,025 modernization, 112 00:04:06,405 --> 00:04:08,965 and then the optimization. So we really tried 113 00:04:08,965 --> 00:04:09,465 to 114 00:04:09,925 --> 00:04:12,724 adhere to those three pillars. So really the 115 00:04:12,724 --> 00:04:14,405 first few years was really looking at, you 116 00:04:14,405 --> 00:04:16,165 know, how can we stabilize things, you know. 117 00:04:16,165 --> 00:04:18,560 Do we have the right people process technology? 118 00:04:19,339 --> 00:04:20,779 And then where do we really need to 119 00:04:20,779 --> 00:04:24,000 strategically focus and modernize our infrastructure, 120 00:04:24,540 --> 00:04:27,439 as well as cybersecurity stack? And then obviously, 121 00:04:27,660 --> 00:04:28,160 optimization. 122 00:04:28,460 --> 00:04:30,194 Like, once we get that, it's, you know, 123 00:04:30,274 --> 00:04:32,615 that ongoing life cycle management. So 124 00:04:32,995 --> 00:04:34,435 as far as what I'm most proud of 125 00:04:34,435 --> 00:04:36,595 is that, you know, through that journey, you 126 00:04:36,595 --> 00:04:38,615 know, I originally started as our chief information 127 00:04:38,675 --> 00:04:41,714 security officer and then that evolved into being 128 00:04:41,714 --> 00:04:44,835 the CISO. So, the chief information security and 129 00:04:44,835 --> 00:04:46,220 technology officer. So, 130 00:04:46,920 --> 00:04:48,839 my CIO tasked me to go through and 131 00:04:48,839 --> 00:04:50,439 really, you know, take a deep dive with 132 00:04:50,439 --> 00:04:52,220 the team to look at everything holistically. 133 00:04:52,759 --> 00:04:54,120 So, you know, really proud of, you know, 134 00:04:54,120 --> 00:04:55,100 where we've come, 135 00:04:55,480 --> 00:04:57,399 over the past three years, you know, as 136 00:04:57,399 --> 00:04:58,060 an organization 137 00:04:58,439 --> 00:04:58,939 culturally. 138 00:04:59,480 --> 00:05:01,944 I mean, really coming up with our IT 139 00:05:01,944 --> 00:05:04,745 tactical and strategic plan to align really where 140 00:05:04,745 --> 00:05:06,664 our CIO wanted us to go as well 141 00:05:06,664 --> 00:05:08,664 as our executive team to, you know, better 142 00:05:08,664 --> 00:05:10,584 support the business. So I think a lot 143 00:05:10,584 --> 00:05:12,524 of the success to that was our governance 144 00:05:12,664 --> 00:05:15,050 strategy. So, again, when you're looking at a 145 00:05:15,050 --> 00:05:17,610 lot of, you know, investment opportunities, you need 146 00:05:17,610 --> 00:05:19,610 to really first hone in on your, you 147 00:05:19,610 --> 00:05:20,430 know, governance. 148 00:05:21,129 --> 00:05:23,289 So we set up a GRC, our governance 149 00:05:23,289 --> 00:05:24,189 risk and compliance 150 00:05:24,649 --> 00:05:27,084 committee, which is co chaired by me and 151 00:05:27,084 --> 00:05:28,925 my compliance officer and then have all of 152 00:05:28,925 --> 00:05:31,564 those key stakeholders across the organization. So we're 153 00:05:31,564 --> 00:05:34,444 able to look at all risk throughout the 154 00:05:34,444 --> 00:05:36,625 organization, which, you know, very, very important, 155 00:05:37,004 --> 00:05:39,324 and, you know, really tied into my CISO 156 00:05:39,324 --> 00:05:40,709 role. But also, 157 00:05:41,089 --> 00:05:43,269 you know, in working with our CIO, they 158 00:05:43,970 --> 00:05:46,370 he set up, you know, with his other 159 00:05:46,370 --> 00:05:49,189 partners on our president's council and SBAR process 160 00:05:49,649 --> 00:05:52,209 to really govern any net new technology and 161 00:05:52,209 --> 00:05:54,230 projects coming into our organization. 162 00:05:54,975 --> 00:05:56,735 So that really, you know, tied into third 163 00:05:56,735 --> 00:05:58,735 party risk management as well. So that, you 164 00:05:58,735 --> 00:06:01,295 know, we had different checks and balances for, 165 00:06:01,295 --> 00:06:03,055 you know, new tech we were gonna look 166 00:06:03,055 --> 00:06:04,895 at that would then, you know, work through 167 00:06:04,895 --> 00:06:06,274 our application rationalization, 168 00:06:07,375 --> 00:06:09,134 you know, going through our intake with our 169 00:06:09,134 --> 00:06:11,660 TMO, PMO office. So really making sure we 170 00:06:11,660 --> 00:06:14,139 had all the the right eyes on any 171 00:06:14,139 --> 00:06:15,279 net new technology, 172 00:06:16,139 --> 00:06:17,199 projects, etcetera, 173 00:06:17,660 --> 00:06:19,819 that to really ensure that success and making 174 00:06:19,819 --> 00:06:21,360 sure that, you know, we're able to, 175 00:06:21,819 --> 00:06:22,319 properly, 176 00:06:23,115 --> 00:06:25,214 you know, roll that out across the organization. 177 00:06:25,435 --> 00:06:27,854 So that governance strategy, you know, is, 178 00:06:28,235 --> 00:06:29,435 super critical to that, 179 00:06:29,995 --> 00:06:30,735 but also 180 00:06:31,514 --> 00:06:33,454 implementing and adhering to various 181 00:06:34,235 --> 00:06:37,194 frameworks. So, you know, really a subset of 182 00:06:37,194 --> 00:06:38,095 overall governance, 183 00:06:39,250 --> 00:06:40,550 that we're a NIST 184 00:06:41,330 --> 00:06:43,730 shop, NIST CSF. We just recently did our 185 00:06:43,730 --> 00:06:44,230 NIST 186 00:06:44,610 --> 00:06:46,230 CSF two point o. 187 00:06:47,009 --> 00:06:49,509 Obviously, do our HIPAA, and we're also, 188 00:06:50,370 --> 00:06:52,290 really starting to take a deeper dive into 189 00:06:52,290 --> 00:06:53,595 the I triple E, 190 00:06:53,995 --> 00:06:56,574 twenty nine thirty three for AI governance. 191 00:06:57,035 --> 00:06:58,714 So, again, that's where, 192 00:06:59,194 --> 00:07:01,274 why governance is so important because there's a 193 00:07:01,274 --> 00:07:02,014 lot of, 194 00:07:02,475 --> 00:07:05,115 my CIO will, you know, famously say shiny 195 00:07:05,115 --> 00:07:07,035 bright objects out there. So really making sure 196 00:07:07,035 --> 00:07:09,500 that, you know, we're we as an organization 197 00:07:09,720 --> 00:07:11,500 make sure that if there is a technology 198 00:07:11,639 --> 00:07:13,180 that makes sense to really supplement 199 00:07:13,560 --> 00:07:15,720 what we're doing, we're able to properly secure 200 00:07:15,720 --> 00:07:18,759 it or roll it out and support it, 201 00:07:19,080 --> 00:07:21,480 and then the business actually gets true value 202 00:07:21,480 --> 00:07:22,454 out of that. So, 203 00:07:22,935 --> 00:07:24,294 I think we've done a good job of, 204 00:07:24,294 --> 00:07:26,055 you know, using that from a governance and 205 00:07:26,055 --> 00:07:27,894 intake process to really make sure that we're 206 00:07:27,894 --> 00:07:30,055 getting the most bang for our buck for 207 00:07:30,055 --> 00:07:31,274 any proposed technology. 208 00:07:33,574 --> 00:07:35,514 That's really helpful to know. And I appreciate 209 00:07:35,574 --> 00:07:38,069 the deep dive into your governance strategy because 210 00:07:38,069 --> 00:07:40,050 I know that's something that health systems 211 00:07:40,430 --> 00:07:42,269 in general are are trying to stand up 212 00:07:42,269 --> 00:07:45,410 and figure out, especially as technology is rapidly 213 00:07:45,470 --> 00:07:47,250 evolving and and truly 214 00:07:47,790 --> 00:07:49,389 wanting to make sure that things are secure, 215 00:07:49,389 --> 00:07:51,329 but also not being left behind 216 00:07:52,245 --> 00:07:54,725 in the AI space and more. So, you 217 00:07:54,725 --> 00:07:56,645 know, this has been a a really helpful, 218 00:07:57,045 --> 00:07:59,205 understanding of what that process looks like for 219 00:07:59,205 --> 00:08:01,524 you. And I'm curious, as you mentioned, you 220 00:08:01,524 --> 00:08:02,904 know, elevating into the 221 00:08:03,205 --> 00:08:05,680 CStow role, I I know the team is 222 00:08:05,680 --> 00:08:07,680 being built up around you. What does that 223 00:08:07,680 --> 00:08:09,759 look like? How are you hoping to continue 224 00:08:09,759 --> 00:08:11,839 to evolve the team that you work with, 225 00:08:11,839 --> 00:08:14,480 your leadership team as well, to make sure 226 00:08:14,480 --> 00:08:17,120 that, you know, it's, prepared and ready to 227 00:08:17,120 --> 00:08:19,379 deliver on the transformation that's occurring? 228 00:08:20,115 --> 00:08:23,394 So yeah. No. That great question. So, again, 229 00:08:23,394 --> 00:08:25,795 my role, again, evolved just, you know, with 230 00:08:25,795 --> 00:08:27,495 the natural synergies between, 231 00:08:28,035 --> 00:08:28,535 cybersecurity 232 00:08:29,074 --> 00:08:31,095 and the technology space. So, again, 233 00:08:31,634 --> 00:08:33,360 we just had so much tech debt and 234 00:08:33,360 --> 00:08:34,580 a lot of just modernization 235 00:08:34,960 --> 00:08:36,480 efforts that we needed to go that it 236 00:08:36,480 --> 00:08:38,019 just made sense to combine, 237 00:08:38,960 --> 00:08:39,779 the technology 238 00:08:40,160 --> 00:08:42,240 group as well as security team. We had 239 00:08:42,240 --> 00:08:43,379 a lot of managed services, 240 00:08:44,160 --> 00:08:46,000 out there. So really looking at, you know, 241 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:47,600 where we are today and where we wanted 242 00:08:47,600 --> 00:08:48,259 to go, 243 00:08:48,764 --> 00:08:51,184 with a security focus really made that helpful. 244 00:08:51,964 --> 00:08:55,324 And security really helped drive some modernization efforts 245 00:08:55,324 --> 00:08:57,504 on the infrastructure side. So, you know, really 246 00:08:57,804 --> 00:08:58,865 from the identity, 247 00:08:59,404 --> 00:09:00,544 two factor authentication, 248 00:09:01,164 --> 00:09:03,699 you know, driving more single sign on, and 249 00:09:03,699 --> 00:09:05,480 then looking at a lot more of these 250 00:09:05,940 --> 00:09:08,339 zero trust based tools to really enable, like, 251 00:09:08,339 --> 00:09:08,839 a 252 00:09:09,220 --> 00:09:10,199 on the go workforce. 253 00:09:10,579 --> 00:09:11,079 So, 254 00:09:11,860 --> 00:09:14,500 you know, typical VPN and solutions like that 255 00:09:14,500 --> 00:09:16,740 are a little clunky for our end users. 256 00:09:16,740 --> 00:09:19,054 So again, you know, looking at that holistically 257 00:09:19,195 --> 00:09:21,115 and seeing how we can better support our 258 00:09:21,115 --> 00:09:23,695 end users and making a big focus on, 259 00:09:24,394 --> 00:09:26,154 you know, the end user experience. You know, 260 00:09:26,154 --> 00:09:28,315 we're just really scratching the surface on that. 261 00:09:28,315 --> 00:09:30,315 So obviously, that that made a lot of 262 00:09:30,315 --> 00:09:32,235 sense. But again, as we're growing and kicking 263 00:09:32,235 --> 00:09:35,450 off our strategic plan and working with our 264 00:09:35,450 --> 00:09:38,409 CIO, it really made sense to help branch 265 00:09:38,409 --> 00:09:40,970 off my current role. So we're in the 266 00:09:40,970 --> 00:09:43,789 process of bringing on a new VP of, 267 00:09:45,049 --> 00:09:45,549 infrastructure, 268 00:09:46,735 --> 00:09:47,875 data center network, 269 00:09:48,575 --> 00:09:49,875 to really help really, 270 00:09:51,054 --> 00:09:52,654 take us on that journey over the next 271 00:09:52,654 --> 00:09:54,335 few years as part of our strategic plan 272 00:09:54,335 --> 00:09:56,195 because it's a little too much for one 273 00:09:56,495 --> 00:09:58,415 person. So a lot of what we're gonna 274 00:09:58,415 --> 00:10:00,970 focus on in kind of this IT reorg 275 00:10:00,970 --> 00:10:02,990 is gonna be, like, front end technology 276 00:10:03,610 --> 00:10:04,990 versus back end technology, 277 00:10:06,089 --> 00:10:08,169 and then really having those more focus points 278 00:10:08,169 --> 00:10:10,009 so we can better align and support the 279 00:10:10,009 --> 00:10:11,789 business on a lot of our modernization 280 00:10:12,250 --> 00:10:15,445 and and tech debt efforts across the organization. 281 00:10:15,665 --> 00:10:16,165 So, 282 00:10:16,785 --> 00:10:18,384 definitely can use the help on that and, 283 00:10:18,384 --> 00:10:20,545 you know, have an additional partner to really 284 00:10:20,545 --> 00:10:22,144 ensure the success of what we need to 285 00:10:22,144 --> 00:10:25,845 do, you know, sticking to that stabilization, modernization, 286 00:10:26,625 --> 00:10:28,404 and optimization to really help 287 00:10:29,029 --> 00:10:32,250 set ourselves up for the future on technologies 288 00:10:32,389 --> 00:10:33,129 like AI, 289 00:10:33,830 --> 00:10:34,870 etcetera. So 290 00:10:36,470 --> 00:10:38,309 No. It's helpful to know. Thank you so 291 00:10:38,309 --> 00:10:40,149 much, Steven, for digging a little bit deeper 292 00:10:40,149 --> 00:10:42,414 there. Now when you look into the future, 293 00:10:42,414 --> 00:10:43,774 the next twelve months or so, where do 294 00:10:43,774 --> 00:10:45,154 you see the big growth opportunities, 295 00:10:45,934 --> 00:10:48,034 for renowned and your team in general? 296 00:10:49,054 --> 00:10:50,735 So, you know, just starting on the the 297 00:10:50,735 --> 00:10:52,735 cybersecurity side, I think we've done a a 298 00:10:52,735 --> 00:10:54,254 great job, and I touched on that, you 299 00:10:54,254 --> 00:10:57,149 know, a little bit before that, the cybersecurity 300 00:10:57,290 --> 00:10:59,230 side helped drive some modernization 301 00:10:59,610 --> 00:11:00,509 efforts on 302 00:11:00,970 --> 00:11:02,889 the technology side. So, you know, I'm really 303 00:11:02,889 --> 00:11:04,750 proud of the cybersecurity program, 304 00:11:05,850 --> 00:11:07,610 that we built, the team that I have, 305 00:11:07,610 --> 00:11:09,769 and really where we're going. We're just kicking 306 00:11:09,769 --> 00:11:10,365 off our, 307 00:11:10,924 --> 00:11:12,544 three year road map. So, 308 00:11:13,325 --> 00:11:15,725 successfully completed phase one of that and now 309 00:11:15,725 --> 00:11:17,325 really getting into more of the, you know, 310 00:11:17,325 --> 00:11:20,445 fun maturity efforts associated with that. So we 311 00:11:20,445 --> 00:11:22,304 really started with, you know, articulating 312 00:11:22,684 --> 00:11:24,950 risk with the organization, and I think that 313 00:11:24,950 --> 00:11:27,049 helped drive the understanding and importance, 314 00:11:27,750 --> 00:11:29,370 and which in turn drove 315 00:11:29,750 --> 00:11:31,669 the investment. So we got a very big 316 00:11:31,669 --> 00:11:33,590 investment over the next three years. So now 317 00:11:33,590 --> 00:11:34,570 it's about delivering. 318 00:11:35,190 --> 00:11:36,809 And we took a very, you know, simplistic 319 00:11:36,870 --> 00:11:39,264 approach to, you know, we know ransomware is 320 00:11:39,264 --> 00:11:41,105 a problem. We know phishing is a problem. 321 00:11:41,105 --> 00:11:43,504 So what is the core fundamental reason on 322 00:11:43,504 --> 00:11:46,065 why organizations are at risk to that? And 323 00:11:46,065 --> 00:11:48,465 then how do we address that from people 324 00:11:48,465 --> 00:11:51,504 process and technology standpoint? So we put together 325 00:11:51,504 --> 00:11:53,125 a road map and, SBAR, 326 00:11:54,679 --> 00:11:56,440 that we then went up through our various, 327 00:11:56,440 --> 00:11:59,320 you know, governance process. Our CIO took that 328 00:11:59,320 --> 00:12:01,500 up to the board and executive 329 00:12:02,040 --> 00:12:03,799 team to really get the buy off on 330 00:12:03,799 --> 00:12:05,799 that. And, you know, that's really encompassing a 331 00:12:05,799 --> 00:12:06,940 lot of what we're doing. 332 00:12:07,934 --> 00:12:09,855 And, you know, really excited to really be 333 00:12:09,855 --> 00:12:12,735 focusing on identity, you know, really scratching the 334 00:12:12,735 --> 00:12:14,735 surface on that in our first initial plan 335 00:12:14,735 --> 00:12:17,054 that, you know, what makes up identity, getting 336 00:12:17,054 --> 00:12:19,375 those core fundamentals together that really set us 337 00:12:19,375 --> 00:12:21,795 up to then start to do these enhanced 338 00:12:22,509 --> 00:12:23,009 security 339 00:12:23,389 --> 00:12:25,490 practices of, like, zero trust, 340 00:12:26,990 --> 00:12:27,490 and, 341 00:12:28,350 --> 00:12:29,409 enhanced DLP, 342 00:12:29,950 --> 00:12:32,269 and other components to that as well as 343 00:12:32,269 --> 00:12:35,549 deception technology, different automations, and pieces like that. 344 00:12:35,549 --> 00:12:37,089 If you don't have the core framework, 345 00:12:38,245 --> 00:12:40,324 and foundation in place, it's really hard to, 346 00:12:40,324 --> 00:12:42,245 you know, be successful and do some of 347 00:12:42,245 --> 00:12:42,725 those, 348 00:12:43,125 --> 00:12:45,524 level up activities, you know, I'd like to 349 00:12:45,524 --> 00:12:47,524 call it. So really looking forward to doing 350 00:12:47,524 --> 00:12:48,725 a lot of that. And I think that 351 00:12:48,725 --> 00:12:50,485 all goes back to, you know, the ability 352 00:12:50,485 --> 00:12:50,985 to 353 00:12:51,419 --> 00:12:54,080 articulate risk. We have a great security culture 354 00:12:54,220 --> 00:12:56,940 across the organization that our team is very 355 00:12:56,940 --> 00:12:59,019 risk adverse. So I have, you know that 356 00:12:59,019 --> 00:13:01,259 makes my job very easy, and we're able 357 00:13:01,259 --> 00:13:03,100 to execute a lot quicker kind of having 358 00:13:03,100 --> 00:13:04,159 that dual role, 359 00:13:05,084 --> 00:13:07,664 of the c you know, CISO and CTO 360 00:13:07,725 --> 00:13:09,565 role. And I know we're gonna continue to 361 00:13:09,565 --> 00:13:10,945 build off of that momentum 362 00:13:11,565 --> 00:13:13,325 across across the board, 363 00:13:14,284 --> 00:13:16,544 and are really excited to see that. And 364 00:13:16,684 --> 00:13:17,584 also to, 365 00:13:18,365 --> 00:13:20,600 see how we, you know, again, use our 366 00:13:20,600 --> 00:13:23,639 frameworks like IEEE twenty nine thirty three for, 367 00:13:23,639 --> 00:13:25,980 you know, AI, bed device security, 368 00:13:27,159 --> 00:13:28,840 and really just to make sure that we're 369 00:13:28,840 --> 00:13:30,059 being risk agnostic 370 00:13:30,840 --> 00:13:32,200 to a lot of these things, doing the 371 00:13:32,200 --> 00:13:35,159 fundamentals very well. We have the organizational culture. 372 00:13:35,159 --> 00:13:36,285 And then, you know, with a lot of 373 00:13:36,285 --> 00:13:38,684 the geopolitical things going on, the importance of 374 00:13:38,684 --> 00:13:41,565 self governance that Renown and our executives are 375 00:13:42,445 --> 00:13:44,764 you know, we're full steam ahead on, you 376 00:13:44,764 --> 00:13:46,524 know, doing the right thing from a a 377 00:13:46,524 --> 00:13:49,679 cybersecurity and technology standpoint regardless of what's going 378 00:13:49,679 --> 00:13:51,679 on because, you know, our goal is to, 379 00:13:51,679 --> 00:13:54,080 you know, be successful, adhere to our mission, 380 00:13:54,080 --> 00:13:56,240 and really support our end users as we 381 00:13:56,240 --> 00:13:57,299 move forward. So, 382 00:13:57,759 --> 00:14:00,000 cybersecurity is a big focal point to that. 383 00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:02,740 And then, you know, obviously, having the technology, 384 00:14:03,934 --> 00:14:05,534 to really go where we need to to 385 00:14:05,534 --> 00:14:07,375 support a lot of these cool new clinical 386 00:14:07,375 --> 00:14:11,475 innovations across across the, board on that. So, 387 00:14:11,695 --> 00:14:13,235 we're really getting to the 388 00:14:13,695 --> 00:14:15,554 to the point, you know, from a cybersecurity 389 00:14:15,855 --> 00:14:18,335 perspective that, you know, I told my team 390 00:14:18,335 --> 00:14:20,389 that we don't wanna tell people our house 391 00:14:20,389 --> 00:14:22,629 is on fire. That's really have a strategy 392 00:14:22,629 --> 00:14:24,629 to put it out. So I like to 393 00:14:24,629 --> 00:14:27,190 say, like, our smoke detectors are alerting. So 394 00:14:27,190 --> 00:14:29,269 that's what a lot of cybersecurity shops, you 395 00:14:29,269 --> 00:14:30,789 know, will go through and we know something 396 00:14:30,789 --> 00:14:31,690 bad's happening. 397 00:14:32,549 --> 00:14:34,089 But how can we be more 398 00:14:34,605 --> 00:14:37,004 tactical at, you know, automating and getting things 399 00:14:37,004 --> 00:14:39,804 done like fire suppression, for example? Why can't 400 00:14:39,804 --> 00:14:41,485 we have we know something's going on, so 401 00:14:41,485 --> 00:14:43,325 let's put it out as quickly as possible 402 00:14:43,325 --> 00:14:45,904 and isolate it. And then have that incident 403 00:14:45,964 --> 00:14:48,690 response. It's like the firefighters showing up to 404 00:14:48,690 --> 00:14:50,049 that. And then, you know, if there's any 405 00:14:50,049 --> 00:14:52,710 kind of restoration efforts, do we have Servpro? 406 00:14:52,769 --> 00:14:54,290 How quickly can they be there and help 407 00:14:54,290 --> 00:14:56,470 us clean up components of that? So really 408 00:14:56,529 --> 00:14:58,450 hoping tell that story to the business and 409 00:14:58,450 --> 00:15:00,690 making sure again that we're able to not 410 00:15:00,690 --> 00:15:02,850 only know something's going on, but being able 411 00:15:02,850 --> 00:15:05,955 to react quickly. But that also translates into, 412 00:15:05,955 --> 00:15:06,995 you know, what a lot of what we've 413 00:15:06,995 --> 00:15:09,154 been talking about the importance of that close 414 00:15:09,154 --> 00:15:10,534 relationship with the technology 415 00:15:11,315 --> 00:15:11,815 enablement, 416 00:15:12,754 --> 00:15:14,054 to have, you know, 417 00:15:14,434 --> 00:15:15,095 a resilient 418 00:15:15,394 --> 00:15:17,720 infrastructure. So no single points of failure. We 419 00:15:17,720 --> 00:15:20,940 know, you know, inevitably technology fails and or 420 00:15:21,040 --> 00:15:23,480 you know, in the unfortunate event we have 421 00:15:23,480 --> 00:15:24,540 any kind of cybersecurity 422 00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:27,799 event that how quickly can we, you know, 423 00:15:27,799 --> 00:15:29,480 come back. So that's really been a big 424 00:15:29,480 --> 00:15:31,340 focus on, you know, how we architect 425 00:15:31,664 --> 00:15:32,804 and are building out, 426 00:15:33,424 --> 00:15:35,424 and investing in a lot of our core 427 00:15:35,424 --> 00:15:38,464 infrastructure for that modernization effort to really make 428 00:15:38,464 --> 00:15:41,044 sure that, you know, we're we're planning for 429 00:15:41,264 --> 00:15:43,345 any kind of risk that comes, you know, 430 00:15:43,345 --> 00:15:46,200 at us and really embedding that into our, 431 00:15:46,759 --> 00:15:47,899 go forward strategy. 432 00:15:51,639 --> 00:15:52,379 I appreciate, 433 00:15:52,759 --> 00:15:54,840 your insight here. And definitely, you know, it 434 00:15:54,840 --> 00:15:57,480 seems like a lot of opportunity to bring 435 00:15:57,480 --> 00:15:59,414 in new technologies, make sure they're safe. You 436 00:15:59,414 --> 00:16:00,875 have a a great playbook, 437 00:16:01,335 --> 00:16:03,174 in looking at those things and and then 438 00:16:03,174 --> 00:16:05,335 executing on them. You touched on this a 439 00:16:05,335 --> 00:16:06,794 little bit as some of the challenges, 440 00:16:07,575 --> 00:16:10,615 happening in geopolitical landscape as well as, you 441 00:16:10,615 --> 00:16:13,230 know, for for technology evolution. Could you dig 442 00:16:13,230 --> 00:16:14,710 a little bit deeper in there? What are 443 00:16:14,710 --> 00:16:16,789 are the biggest challenges, I guess, as you're 444 00:16:16,789 --> 00:16:19,110 looking ahead? What do you anticipate and and 445 00:16:19,110 --> 00:16:20,009 how are you preparing? 446 00:16:20,789 --> 00:16:22,730 Well, definitely, you know, geopolitical. 447 00:16:23,029 --> 00:16:25,129 So, you know, starting with the cybersecurity 448 00:16:26,070 --> 00:16:28,125 side of the house that, you know, there's 449 00:16:28,125 --> 00:16:30,605 a lot of effort on, you know, ending 450 00:16:30,605 --> 00:16:33,504 the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. 451 00:16:34,044 --> 00:16:37,085 So I actually saw some information yesterday on, 452 00:16:37,085 --> 00:16:39,165 you know, different threat intelligence that some of 453 00:16:39,165 --> 00:16:40,945 the threat actors are now using 454 00:16:41,379 --> 00:16:44,019 countries that are more western friendly like the 455 00:16:44,019 --> 00:16:46,819 Germany's and and others to really start to, 456 00:16:48,419 --> 00:16:50,259 spawn their attacks from there. So, like, our 457 00:16:50,259 --> 00:16:51,159 whole geofencing 458 00:16:51,699 --> 00:16:55,139 and, external blocking strategies have to really be 459 00:16:55,139 --> 00:16:56,279 a little bit more, 460 00:16:56,914 --> 00:16:58,214 strategic on, 461 00:16:58,914 --> 00:17:01,235 you know, people taking advantage of the the 462 00:17:01,235 --> 00:17:02,454 old ways to, 463 00:17:02,754 --> 00:17:04,194 you know, make sure that we're doing right 464 00:17:04,194 --> 00:17:06,355 by the organization and staying up on those, 465 00:17:06,835 --> 00:17:07,335 conflicts. 466 00:17:07,954 --> 00:17:09,174 As well as, you know, 467 00:17:09,500 --> 00:17:11,740 the HIPAA security rule, which is, you know, 468 00:17:11,740 --> 00:17:14,160 out there for, you know, comment, etcetera. 469 00:17:14,460 --> 00:17:16,539 With the new administration, what will that look 470 00:17:16,539 --> 00:17:17,039 like? 471 00:17:17,820 --> 00:17:19,980 As well as, you know, some funding changes 472 00:17:19,980 --> 00:17:21,820 that are are out there on Capitol Hill. 473 00:17:21,820 --> 00:17:23,340 So that's, you know, really why I touched 474 00:17:23,340 --> 00:17:25,485 on, you know, self governance that, you know, 475 00:17:25,485 --> 00:17:27,965 we have these industry frameworks that we're gonna 476 00:17:27,965 --> 00:17:31,005 adhere to regardless of that to really protect 477 00:17:31,005 --> 00:17:31,985 the mission and, 478 00:17:33,325 --> 00:17:35,244 really stick to the fundamentals on what we 479 00:17:35,244 --> 00:17:36,065 need to do, 480 00:17:36,559 --> 00:17:38,319 moving forward. So I think those will be 481 00:17:38,319 --> 00:17:40,319 some of the the biggest challenges as well 482 00:17:40,319 --> 00:17:43,279 as, you know, our continued dependence on third 483 00:17:43,279 --> 00:17:44,179 party partners, 484 00:17:45,519 --> 00:17:46,900 and fourth party partners. 485 00:17:47,279 --> 00:17:49,519 You know, Change Healthcare was the one that, 486 00:17:49,519 --> 00:17:51,554 you know, really burnt in our minds and 487 00:17:51,554 --> 00:17:53,554 memories on, you know, what can happen from 488 00:17:53,554 --> 00:17:55,394 that. So just how we better protect our 489 00:17:55,394 --> 00:17:56,615 organization on, 490 00:17:57,554 --> 00:17:58,694 looking at partnerships 491 00:17:59,234 --> 00:18:01,075 like that and then having backups to a 492 00:18:01,075 --> 00:18:02,515 lot of that. So I think that's gonna 493 00:18:02,515 --> 00:18:04,950 be the biggest challenges as well as just, 494 00:18:04,950 --> 00:18:07,269 you know, cost controls and, you know, making 495 00:18:07,269 --> 00:18:09,769 sure that we stay the course. Because, again, 496 00:18:10,150 --> 00:18:11,990 there's a ton of shiny bright objects and 497 00:18:11,990 --> 00:18:13,430 things that you need, you know, that are 498 00:18:13,430 --> 00:18:15,750 coming out and, you know, people are pitching 499 00:18:15,750 --> 00:18:18,150 that, you know, will fix burnout, will fix, 500 00:18:18,150 --> 00:18:20,755 you know, solve world hunger. But again, there's 501 00:18:20,755 --> 00:18:22,355 a lot of these pieces that you need 502 00:18:22,355 --> 00:18:24,674 to have foundationally in place from, you know, 503 00:18:24,674 --> 00:18:25,335 an infrastructure, 504 00:18:26,035 --> 00:18:27,414 security, and data, 505 00:18:28,115 --> 00:18:30,434 perspective, or you're never gonna be successful in 506 00:18:30,434 --> 00:18:32,055 using some of these more modernized 507 00:18:32,549 --> 00:18:33,049 technologies 508 00:18:33,350 --> 00:18:35,210 and kinda similar to what we did with 509 00:18:35,590 --> 00:18:37,990 security. We have to have those foundational elements 510 00:18:37,990 --> 00:18:38,570 in place, 511 00:18:39,269 --> 00:18:41,509 on the technology side, on the data side 512 00:18:41,509 --> 00:18:43,269 to then, you know, enable some of these 513 00:18:43,269 --> 00:18:44,809 cooler advanced technologies. 514 00:18:45,269 --> 00:18:45,769 So 515 00:18:46,355 --> 00:18:48,295 That's amazing to hear. You know? And certainly, 516 00:18:48,595 --> 00:18:51,555 fascinating to understand everything you have to keep 517 00:18:51,555 --> 00:18:53,555 your finger on the pulse on and learn 518 00:18:53,555 --> 00:18:54,775 about and know about, 519 00:18:55,555 --> 00:18:57,634 in your role as the, you know, chief 520 00:18:57,634 --> 00:19:00,275 information security as well as technology officer at 521 00:19:00,275 --> 00:19:00,775 Renown. 522 00:19:01,539 --> 00:19:02,279 Just fascinating. 523 00:19:02,900 --> 00:19:04,900 I'm curious before we wrap up here, what 524 00:19:04,900 --> 00:19:06,900 is the number one most important thing that 525 00:19:06,900 --> 00:19:08,740 you're doing right now to set up Renown 526 00:19:08,740 --> 00:19:09,960 for long term success? 527 00:19:10,900 --> 00:19:13,140 I think being risk agnostic, you know, which 528 00:19:13,140 --> 00:19:15,079 I spoke to, sticking to the fundamentals, 529 00:19:16,339 --> 00:19:17,855 having that organizational 530 00:19:18,154 --> 00:19:20,315 culture and buy in as well as self 531 00:19:20,315 --> 00:19:23,134 governance. So from an IT perspective, you know, 532 00:19:23,835 --> 00:19:25,755 doing what we say and and saying what 533 00:19:25,755 --> 00:19:27,755 we do, you know, so delivering and being 534 00:19:27,755 --> 00:19:29,130 good partners to the business. 535 00:19:29,769 --> 00:19:32,009 So I think those are really fundamental. And 536 00:19:32,009 --> 00:19:34,009 something that, you know, I'm really excited that 537 00:19:34,009 --> 00:19:35,369 we're kicking off this year is, you know, 538 00:19:35,369 --> 00:19:36,910 we always talk about the cybersecurity 539 00:19:37,289 --> 00:19:37,789 shortage, 540 00:19:38,490 --> 00:19:40,009 that we have, but we have the great 541 00:19:40,009 --> 00:19:40,509 opportunity 542 00:19:40,890 --> 00:19:42,750 with, you know, being partnered with, 543 00:19:43,210 --> 00:19:43,710 UNR, 544 00:19:45,075 --> 00:19:47,494 to kick off an internship for a pipeline 545 00:19:47,634 --> 00:19:48,134 with, 546 00:19:48,835 --> 00:19:49,335 cybersecurity 547 00:19:49,634 --> 00:19:51,335 talent that they have there. So, 548 00:19:51,954 --> 00:19:53,394 this is the first year that we're gonna 549 00:19:53,394 --> 00:19:54,774 start to have an internship 550 00:19:55,154 --> 00:19:58,294 program with, their cyber program over there. 551 00:19:58,710 --> 00:20:00,549 So really gonna see how that can not 552 00:20:00,549 --> 00:20:03,130 only benefit the up and coming talent, 553 00:20:03,829 --> 00:20:05,669 out there, but also benefit, you know, our 554 00:20:05,669 --> 00:20:07,109 team from a lot of what we're trying 555 00:20:07,109 --> 00:20:08,970 to do. So really building 556 00:20:09,349 --> 00:20:11,325 for the future on what we can do, 557 00:20:11,724 --> 00:20:12,544 with cybersecurity 558 00:20:12,845 --> 00:20:14,924 shortages and knowing that, you know, those kinds 559 00:20:14,924 --> 00:20:17,724 of risks aren't gonna go away anywhere. And 560 00:20:17,724 --> 00:20:19,804 again, you know, there's just so much going 561 00:20:19,804 --> 00:20:21,565 on to just really stay in touch with 562 00:20:21,565 --> 00:20:23,884 our business and our strategic plan to really 563 00:20:23,884 --> 00:20:26,069 give us that road map to making sure 564 00:20:26,069 --> 00:20:26,809 we're delivering, 565 00:20:27,509 --> 00:20:29,910 and not getting off track, on where we 566 00:20:29,910 --> 00:20:31,450 need to go as an organization. 567 00:20:33,509 --> 00:20:35,349 That makes a lot of sense. Steven, thank 568 00:20:35,349 --> 00:20:36,630 you so much for joining us on the 569 00:20:36,630 --> 00:20:38,994 podcast today. This has been a fascinating conversation, 570 00:20:38,994 --> 00:20:40,434 and I look forward to connecting with you 571 00:20:40,434 --> 00:20:42,275 again soon as well as seeing you at 572 00:20:42,275 --> 00:20:44,515 our health IT, digital health, and revenue cycle 573 00:20:44,515 --> 00:20:46,434 event in October. I know you'll be speaking, 574 00:20:46,674 --> 00:20:49,234 on cybersecurity, and I can imagine just continuing 575 00:20:49,234 --> 00:20:51,970 to follow this conversation and how the situation 576 00:20:51,970 --> 00:20:53,809 evolves. And so I'm really looking forward to 577 00:20:53,809 --> 00:20:54,470 that, and, 578 00:20:55,009 --> 00:20:56,470 thank you again for your time. 579 00:20:56,769 --> 00:20:57,509 Thank you.