Bryan Taylor
President*
Bryan is a Family Nurse Practitioner and Manager of Healthcare Quality and Innovations with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana. Mr. Taylor is a graduate of Louisiana State University, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and Southeastern Louisiana University and has over 20 years’ experience in healthcare delivery; digital health; and healthcare technology innovation. Clinical experience includes acute care in both emergency and intensive care units and advance practice nursing in family practice, orthopedics, urgent care, hospice, and occupational medicine. Bryan is a certified Product Owner/Manager (SAFe Agile) and likes to remain active in direct patient care, providing part-time clinical primary care services as an FNP in the local community.
Amy Trainor
Past President*
As Vice President of IS Clinical Systems at Ochsner Health, Amy Trainor is responsible for the implementation and maintenance of Ochsner’s electronic health record. Amy leads the team that implements, trains, supports, and maintains clinical systems for 15 owned hospitals and 3 large hospital affiliates. All Ochsner hospitals and clinics share one EHR platform to care for patients across the state. Amy joined Ochsner in 2011 after working for Cerner, implementing an EHR at a local community hospital. She started her career in healthcare as a Registered Nurse and has worked in Information Services for 16 years in the greater New Orleans area. Amy earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Louisiana State University and her Master’s of Healthcare Administration from LSU-Shreveport.
Amy strongly believes that HIMSS encourages organizations to use technology to deliver the best care to patients and improve outcomes. She has been an active member of HIMSS since 2014 and most recently has been elected member at large on the Louisiana Chapter of the HIMSS board. Amy first engaged with HIMSS while working on a project to help Ochsner- North Shore become the first Stage 7 hospital in the state of Louisiana. Since then, Amy continued her mission to bring all Ochsner hospitals to Stage 7. In 2018, Amy and the Ochsner team received the HIMSS Davies award for their innovative and patient-centric work in digital medicine and population health. In 2020, Ochsner obtained the Enterprise Ambulatory Stage 7 validation under Amy’s leadership.
Chris Newsom
President-Elect*
Christopher Newsom is a highly accomplished professional with a proven record of success in the healthcare IT industry. His educational background includes a bachelor's degree in management from McNeese State University and an MBA (Master of Business Administration) with a concentration in Healthcare from Wilmington University. He also holds multiple certifications from Microsoft and Epic demonstrating proficiency in implementing and supporting advanced healthcare systems and technologies.
Over his 20 years in the local Healthcare IT community Christopher has made significant contributions with the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals and later with Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System (FMOLHS), a renowned healthcare provider in the region. He is dedicated to improving efficiency in patient care delivery systems and enhancing the healthcare experience for all.
Michelle Martin, MBA
President-Elect*
Ms. Martin is an Associate Professor at Louisiana Tech University in the Health Informatics and Information Management Department. She received her Bachelor of Science in Health Information Administration from Louisiana Tech University in 1994. Since that time Martin obtained two Masters degrees both from Louisiana Tech University. She obtained a Masters in Business Administration in 1998 and a Masters in Education with a Business Concentration in 2005. Prior to coming to Louisiana Tech as a Associate Professor in 1998 she was Director of Health Information and Medical Staff Coordinator at a rural hospital in North Louisiana. She is an AHIMA ICD-10 Trainer and Fellow of the American Health Information Management Association.
Alan Thriffiley
Treasurer*
Mr. Thriffiley is a Project Manager for LSU Health Care Services Division’s Center for Healthcare Effectiveness and brings over 15 years of healthcare IT and medical informatics expertise to HITAC. Experience includes management of program development, technical infrastructure, implementation, support and maintenance of EHRs, ancillary clinical and financial information systems, analytics and telemedicine systems, and the administration and operations of Disease Management, Wellness and Population Health programs. Contributions to the CMS eCQM National Testing Collaborative (NTC) and the Healthcare Services Platform Consortium (HSPC) allow Thriffiley to bring improved healthcare outcomes and interoperability solutions at a national level. Thriffiley is a HIMSS Fellow and has previously served as President of the Louisiana Chapter of HIMSS. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Louisiana Chapter of HIMSS, the Louisiana Tech University Health Informatics Advisory Board, and is a member of the HIMSS National Chapters Task Force.
Allen Abshire
Sponsorship Chair
Mr. Abshire joined the Louisiana Health Care Quality Forum in 2012 as Manager of Business Operations and Technology Services and is currently serving as the Director of HIT Operations. In this role, he oversees the daily operations of the Louisiana Health Information Exchange (LaHIE), working with new participants to ensure EHR system connectivity and managing the Master Patient Index. He also collaborates with leadership and partners in all Quality Forum initiatives to evaluate technology uses that may have a positive impact on the delivery of health care in Louisiana. Mr. Abshire’s career includes over 30 years in information technology, including over 20 in the field of health care information technology. He has worked in various roles with regional HIEs, including Healthcare Access San Antonio, Greater Houston Healthconnect and LaHIE, and has served on the Louisiana HIT Committee and subcommittees. Prior to joining LHCQF, he served as Program Manager for HIE, Telehealth and ACO for CHRISTUS Health – St. Patrick, where he was responsible for CHRISTUS HIE and patient portal oversight after serving as the Regional CIO of CHRISTUS Southwest Louisiana at CHRISTUS St. Patrick Hospital for 12 years. Mr. Abshire has been active in several organizations, including the Technology Council of the SWLA Chamber of Commerce, Rural Healthcare Communications Pilot Program, and the Southwest Louisiana Region 5 Healthcare Subcommittee for Mutual Aid Society.
Chad Cothern
Member-at-Large and Nursing Informatics Chair
Mr. Cothern is the founder and CEO of The Healthcare Informatics Resource Exchange (HIRE1099). He is a past president of the Louisiana Chapter of HIMSS and has over 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry. Chad is a registered nurse and the chair of the nursing informatics committee for LaHIMSS and has organized nursing informatics bootcamps that increase the skillset of Louisiana’s Informatacists. Chad has a BS in Nursing from Loyola University New Orleans and is a Certified Professional of Health Information Management and a HIMSS Fellow. Mr. Cothern is returning to the Louisiana HIMSS Board after a short break to found the nursing informatics committee for the chapter.
Pamela Camp
Member at Large and Communications Co-Chair
Ms. Camp is a healthcare informatics consultant and founder of RN Informatics Consulting. She has had more than 30 years of experience in healthcare and has led informatics projects in nursing for both federal and commercial businesses. Her nursing experience has included leadership positions in home health, managed care, and nursing informatics. She earned a BSN from Southeastern Louisiana University in 2016 and a Master’s of Health Informatics from Louisiana Tech University in 2022. Ms. Camp has been certified by the Commission of Case Management as a Certified Case Manager (CCM) since 1999 and as of 2023 she has become a Certified Professional in Healthcare Information and Management Systems (CPHIMS) through HIMSS. In addition to her membership in HIMSS, Ms. Camp is a member of American Nursing Informatics Association.
*Designates LA Chapter board officers.