Wooster Community Hospital's Eric Gasser Earns the 2023 Stoltenberg Future Fund Health IT Leadership Scholarship
Scholarship program helps advance health tech leaders through CHIME continuing education
By Shana Tachikawa
PITTSBURGH, November 14, 2023 — Stoltenberg Consulting, Inc., a leading healthcare IT consulting firm, today named Eric Gasser, vice president and chief information officer (CIO) at Wooster Community Hospital in Wooster, Ohio, as the recipient of the 2023 Stoltenberg Future Fund Scholarship for healthcare technology leadership continuing education
The Stoltenberg Future Fund awards scholarships annually through the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) Education Foundation for recipient use at any of CHIME's events, including the Healthcare CIO Boot Camp, CISO Boot Camp, Clinical Informatics Boot Camp, Fall CIO Forum, and ViVE Conference, or toward formal secondary education tuition and related expenses. By supporting health IT leadership development, the scholarship promotes digital health advancement and technology-enabled patient engagement in hospitals and health systems. Scholarship demand has risen as looming workforce and financial challenges have forced hospital IT departments to cut funding for user group meetings, conferences, and continuing education opportunities.
"The Stoltenberg Future Fund Scholarship is a symbol of the ongoing support and investment in my aspirations. It is not just financial assistance for my MBA; it's an endorsement of the transformative power of education in healthcare leadership," Gasser said. "I'm profoundly grateful to both CHIME and Stoltenberg Consulting for their incredible support. This scholarship represents a significant step in my journey to making a lasting impact on healthcare technology and patient care. It's a reminder that no matter where you start, with dedication and support, you can achieve remarkable heights in your career."
Gasser is a seasoned HIT professional with 19 years of information systems experience. He, however, began his healthcare career as a registered nurse before discovering a passion for informatics and clinical technology. Following this direction, Gasser quickly advanced within Wooster Community Hospital's IT department. Early in his tenure, Gasser led the organization in implementing CPOE (Computerized Physician Order Entry), electronic physician documentation, and the MEDITECH emergency department application. Upon promotion to director of information systems, Gasser effectively led the conversion from MEDITECH Magic to MEDITECH 6.0, with which Wooster Community Hospital achieved Meaningful Use Stage 1 and Stage 2 certifications.
Now, serving as vice president and CIO, Gasser has spearheaded initiatives for increasing EHR satisfaction, reducing physician burnout, and optimizing the use of technology to facilitate meaningful patient interactions. At home, Gasser and his wife Lisa are raising six children, having recently officially adopted their 6-year-old daughter into their family. Gasser plans to utilize the Stoltenberg Future Fund Scholarship toward his MBA education at the University of Akron this fall.
"In the complex landscape of healthcare IT, my vision revolves around catalyzing positive changes that enhance the experiences of both clinicians and patients," Gasser said.
Stoltenberg Consulting committed to hosting the annual CHIME Education Foundation scholarship over a span of 25 years. Gasser is the 14th scholarship recipient of the Stoltenberg Future Fund program since its inception in 2009. To be eligible for this scholarship, applicants must be CHIME members in good standing, express need for financial support for continuing education, and describe their professional accomplishments and aspirations in the healthcare IT industry. Previous recipients include IT leaders from UC Davis Health, Ascension Saint Thomas, Dayton Children's Hospital, Texas Children's Hospital, UNC Health Care, Brooke Army Medical Center, UPMC Chautauqua, and Jackson Health System.
Learn more about the Stoltenberg Future Fund Scholarship and see previous winners.
About Stoltenberg Consulting
For over 0 years, Stoltenberg Consulting has exclusively served the healthcare industry by providing customizable IT support solutions. FlexSourcing, Stoltenberg Consulting's three-time Best in KLAS Partial IT Outsourcing program, delivers day-one ROI through a versatile, certified health IT support workforce — including Tier 1+ help desk services — that can scale up at any time. Averaging 15 years of experience, Stoltenberg analysts are skilled in both financial and clinical EHR systems with best practice expertise for Epic, Oracle Cerner, MEDITECH, NextGen, Veradigm (Allscripts), Altera, and eClinicalWorks. To see how Stoltenberg simplifies healthcare technology, visit stoltenberg.com.
Media Contact
Shana Tachikawa
Stoltenberg Consulting
stachikawa@stoltenberg.com
Stoltenberg Consulting solely serves the healthcare industry. Trust our team's extensive EHR expertise to build your health system's competitive IT strategy forward for value-based care alignment. Contact our executive team today.
