IT Woman of the Year Nominee:

Kathy Gleason

IT Manager,
Episcopal SeniorLife Communities (ESL)

Kathy Gleason is the IT manager at Episcopal SeniorLife Communities(ESL). The current trend in Health Information is moving towards a blend with Information Technology. Kathy has skills that excel her in both areas. She is able to integrate her health care background with technology in order to consolidate records and programs. She has established Episcopal SeniorLife Communities' positioning with a new wireless infrastructure to prepare the way for increased reliance on technology for the future; i.e. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) accessible to residents and visiting family members, and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tracking. She has really paved the way in Senior Health Care that will take Episcopal SeniorLife Communities' services to the next level.

She enthusiastically teaches women how to incorporate the software program Optimus EMR into their daily routines working with residents. This advancement in IT and quality training among the nurses has significantly decreased the time to document resident information and therefore increased the time the Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA) have to spend with the residents. The success of this program has provided the foundation to expand its use to all nursing staff, social work, recreation, and dietary. The implementation of Optimus EMR required a significant change in nursing procedures. Kathy was very creative in developing and implementing a project plan that enthused and involved the CNAs in the process of changes that were needed. As a result of her creativity and commitment, the CNAs have embraced Optimus EMR.

As the local Associates of Vietnam Veterans of America liaison, a group whose membership is a majority of women, Kathy networks to support the Vietnam Veterans and advocate for cancer awareness (many of the members are breast cancer victims and survivors, and the Veterans themselves are cancer victims due to Agent Orange exposure). Through community involvement, Kathy has also trained a number of single mothers to help them develop computer skill sets and enhance business skills to make them more marketable. Kathy particularly helps women who have been out of the workforce for a number of years and are struggling to re-enter. Additionally, Kathy is a published author and she has taught at least 3 writing workshops to women about documenting memoirs.