Transform the Data Foundations Holding Back Healthcare
Transform the Data Foundations Holding Back Healthcare
Agenda Day 2
8:00 am - 8:30 am
REGISTRATION & COFFEE
8:35 am - 8:40 am
OPENING REMARKS FROM THE CHAIRPERSON
Kerri Webster -
Chief Analytics Officer,
Children's Hospital Colorado
8:45 am - 8:50 am
LIVE POLLS
8:45 am - 9:30 am
PANEL DISCUSSION | FROM TICKET-TAKING TO BUSINESS THINKING - REDESIGNING THE DATA OFFICE OPERATING MODEL
Rachini Moosavi -
Chief Analytics Officer,
UNC Health
Jeff Fuller - Chief Data Officer, City Of Hope
Holly Hallman - VP, Data Architecture and Analytics, Children's Health
Kerri Webster - Chief Analytics Officer, Children's Hospital Colorado
Expectations placed on the data office have shifted faster than its mandate. Leaders are no longer judged on report delivery, but on whether data work materially protects margin, improves operational efficiency, and supports enterprise change such as M&A, platform consolidation, or new care models. Yet many teams remain stuck in a service posture, reacting to inbound demand with little authority to challenge priorities or stop low-value work. Without explicit ownership of outcomes, prioritisation rights, and clear success measures, even mature teams regress into ticket queues. The point is not tooling, it is redefining what the data office is accountable for, and what it is allowed to say no to.
• Compare operating models where the data office owns prioritisation and outcome alignment, not just delivery, and where that breaks down in practice
• Discuss how leaders are securing mandate and authority to focus teams on work that moves enterprise outcomes
• Align incentives so teams are rewarded for sustained business impact, not volume of requests fulfilled
9:30 am - 10:00 am
PRESENTATION | BEYOND DASHBOARDS - EMBEDDING A CULTURE OF DATA PARTNERSHIP FOR MISSION
Mary Edmond -
SVP, Chief Data and Analytics Officer,
Children's Health
The mission? Reframing data and analytics as a strategic partnership rather than a ticket‑taking service. The end goal? Enabling faster, more meaningful innovation that advance mission-critical initiatives. For Children's Health, the answer started with people and culture. Learn how the team is reframing data and analytics as a partnership. The session will highlight early wins, including harmonising metrics across the enterprise while still meeting local process‑improvement needs. Gain insights into managing cultural change, reducing friction around metrics, and laying the human and organizational groundwork that will allow innovative initiatives to scale responsibly.
10:40 am - 11:10 am
COFFEE & NETWORKING BREAK
10:05 am - 10:35 am
1:1 BUSINESS MEETINGS
10:40 am - 11:10 am
THINK TANK | WHY JAILBREAK HEALTHCARE? ESCAPING SHINY OBJECT SYNDROME TO RESTORE THE PATIENT MANDATE
Abraham Saraya -
VP, Enterprise Analytics and Business Intelligence,
Northwell Health
As healthcare organizations accelerate investment in AI, analytics, and digital platforms, many risk drifting from their core mandate – delivering care. Technology environments are growing more complex, filled with dashboards, alerts, and customization that increase cognitive burden without always improving outcomes. Are we becoming tech companies that deliver care, rather than care organizations enabled by technology? A reset is needed.
• Discuss how to simplify the stack, reduce noise, and align technology with real clinical and operational needs
• Debate how to best ensure focus when considering your next investments
10:40 am - 11:10 am
1:1 BUSINESS MEETINGS
11:15 am - 11:45 am
COFFEE & NETWORKING BREAK
11:15 am - 11:45 am
1:1 BUSINESS MEETINGS
11:50 am - 12:35 pm
PANEL DISCUSSION | BUILDING TEAMS THAT UNDERSTAND BOTH HEALTHCARE AND DATA - BRIDGE DOMAIN EXPERTISE WITH ANALYTICS SKILLS
Revathi Sellappan -
VP of Analytics,
St Jude Children's Research Hospital
Kerri Webster - Chief Analytics Officer, Children's Hospital Colorado
Bindu Chanagala - VP Performance Insights/Data Analytics for the Population Health Services Org, CommonSpirit Health
Nicole Loh - Senior Director - Business Intelligence & Analytics, Legacy Community Health
The so-called “unicorn” candidate, fluent in modern data stacks and deeply grounded in healthcare operations, is effectively non-existent at scale. Leaders are realizing they cannot hire their way out of this crunch; they have to manufacture capability deliberately. This panel examines how organizations are redesigning the talent supply chain itself, moving beyond salary debates to structural solutions. From internal data academies that convert domain experts into analytics talent, to global delivery models that expand capacity without losing context, the focus is on building teams that can actually sustain data and AI ambition.
• Compare “build vs buy” talent strategies, from internal data academies that upskill clinicians and operators, to external hiring and global delivery models, and where each breaks down in practice.
• Identify the roles that benefit most from domain-first upskilling, and where deep healthcare context outperforms raw technical strength in driving usable analytics and AI outcomes.
• Share retention and progression models that keep newly trained “bilingual” talent engaged, including career paths, incentives, and governance structures that prevent loss to other industries
Bindu Chanagala
VP Performance Insights/Data Analytics for the Population Health Services OrgCommonSpirit Health
12:40 pm - 1:10 pm
THINK TANK - AGENTIC AI IN THE WILD: GOVERNANCE THAT STOPS SHADOW DEPLOYMENT
Agentic workflows are already being built across payer and provider environments, often quietly and outside formal approval paths. The real risk is no longer whether organizations adopt AI, but whether adoption happens without visibility, guardrails, or shared standards. As agents begin to chain decisions and move data autonomously, familiar governance approaches are proving insufficient. Leading teams are responding by redesigning control models to match how work is actually happening.
• Draw clear lines around what AI is allowed to do today, from observing and summarising work to taking actions that affect patients, payments, or clinical records.
• Share how organizations are putting simple checks in place so leaders know where AI is being used, who approved it, and when something needs to be stopped or reviewed.
• Discuss when “safe testing environments” actually help teams learn, and when they give a false sense of confidence that breaks down in real workflows.
12:40 pm - 1:10 pm
1:1 BUSINESS MEETINGS
1:10 pm - 2:10 pm
LUNCH
2:10 pm - 2:40 pm
THINK TANK | THE CFO TEST - TIGHTENING BUSINESS CASES FOR DATA AND AI SPEND
Capital and operating budgets are under sharp pressure, especially in Medicaid-heavy and non-profit settings. Data leaders are being asked to demonstrate short-term financial impact without abandoning longerterm clinical and strategic goals; many admit that their current business cases are either too technical or too aspirational to survive CFO scrutiny.
This interactive session bridges the gap between data & finance leaders to demystify approval processes and improve understanding.
• Deconstruct recent data and AI proposals that failed to secure funding, and identify what was missing for finance leaders
• Build simple value storylines that tie initiatives to cost avoidance, revenue protection and clear operational KPIs
• Capture a checklist of "funding readiness" you can use before bringing the next proposal to the CFO
2:10 pm - 2:40 pm
1:1 BUSINESS MEETINGS
2:45 pm - 3:15 pm
FIRESIDE CHAT | THE NEXT 24 MONTHS FOR HEALTHCARE DATA LEADERS - GROW, SIMPLIFY, OR BOTH?
Amanda Grasso -
Chief Data Officer,
Cook County Health
Kerri Webster - Chief Analytics Officer, Children's Hospital Colorado
Across providers and payers, data and analytics leaders face an uncomfortable mix: rising expectations for AI and automation, persistent foundational gaps, workforce strain and uncertain reimbursement landscapes. Some organizations are doubling down on growth and innovation, others are consolidating and cutting. The role of the CDO, CAO and CIO are being re-written in that tension.
• Reflect on which bets data leaders are doubling down on, and which experiments are being quietly shelved.
• Debate how much to centralize versus federate analytics over the next two years, given talent and budget constraints.
• Consider how success for healthcare data leaders will be judged in 2026–2028: cost, outcomes, equity or some mix.
