Gary Folker appointed chair of ITAC Health board

TORONTO – Orion Health, a leader in population health management solutions, is pleased to announce the appointment of Gary Folker (pictured), Senior Vice President of Orion Health Canada, as Chair of the Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC) Health Board. ITAC Health champions the development of a more efficient Canadian healthcare system.

“On behalf of the board, I’d like to congratulate Gary on his new role as Chair of ITAC Health,” said Elaine Huesing, Executive Director, ITAC Health. “As a long-time member of ITAC Health, Gary’s passion, energy and vision have helped drive significant changes to healthcare policy. We are privileged to have him in this leadership role for the next three years.”

On the heels of Gary Folker’s appointment, Orion Health is also strengthening its internal leadership team with the promotions of Mark Boudreau to the role of Vice President of North American Strategy and Bill O’Connor, MD, as the Chief Medical Informatics Officer (CMIO), in addition to his continued responsibilities as Vice President of Advisory Services.

“As the healthcare industry strives to ensure that the right tools are in place to effectively treat and ensure patient safety, we are building our team with the best expertise in healthcare that will deliver those solutions – and more,” said Folker. “With over 40 years of combined experience, Mark and Bill provide the necessary experienced and consultative approach to help our clients be more successful.”

Prior to joining Orion Health, Mr. Boudreau was a partner in Boudreau and Associates, where he provided advisory and management services to a number of leading IT organizations and their clients, including professional services firms, value-added resellers, and software product organizations.

He has over 25 years of experience in improving client service delivery processes. In his new role, Mr. Boudreau will support Orion Health regional businesses in the US and Canada. He will focus on the strategic development as it applies to both internal organizational needs as well as to specific client opportunities and pursuits.

Dr. Bill O’Connor has 20 years of healthcare experience focused on operations, strategic planning, consulting, client delivery and thought leadership across the healthcare industry. He specializes in assisting large health systems, academic medical centers, community hospitals and payers in leveraging healthcare information technology and operational improvements to advance their clinical and financial outcomes. In his new position as CMIO, Dr. O’Connor will be responsible for helping clients leverage Orion Health software to improve the health of their populations, drive meaningful adoption and achieve their strategic objectives.

In addition to promotions, Orion Health has hired a Sales Director for Eastern Canada. In her new role, Wendi Elms will be responsible for building trusted relationships with clients and business partners within Eastern Canada. Her education in IT and more than 14 years in healthcare sales leadership roles at global companies like GE Healthcare and TELUS Health Solutions will help Orion Health continue to grow its footprint within Canada. Wendi has demonstrated success in establishing new customers, building relationships with customers in both Canada and the US. Wendi has managed a number of multi-million dollar projects.

About Orion Health

Orion Health is a leading population health management company and is one of the world’s leading providers of electronic health records (EHRs) and healthcare integration solutions to healthcare organizations. Worldwide, Orion Health solutions are used in 30 countries by more than 300,000 clinicians. In Canada, thousands of clinicians and hundreds of provider facilities and OEM partners rely on Orion Health to facilitate data exchange between hospitals, health systems and EHRs, resulting in improved care coordination, increased cost savings and efficiencies, and enhanced quality of care. Orion Health is a preferred Canada Health Infoway Solution. More information can be found at www.orionhealth.com.