Heather Nelson is currently in the role of Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer for the Information Technology division at UChicago Medicine.  In the role of SVP/CIO, she has responsibilities for supporting all the information management systems (clinical & business/administrative), infrastructure, clinical engineering, IT support services, IT Project Management Office, integration, reporting, and analytics capabilities & technologies, as well as the privacy & IT security functions for UChicago Medicine.  Her teams are comprised of talented IT professionals that are dedicated to supporting patient care and care teams throughout the health system and in our communities through a shared services operating model. With that, the teams have been recognized for their contributions to UChicago Medicine by receiving the Most Wired Award (level 8) in 2019 from CHIME’s annual survey.

Heather joined UChicago Medicine in 2014 as the Executive Director of Applications Systems with oversight of all the clinical and revenue cycle management applications, clinical engineering team, population health strategies and systems, and support of the UCM Care Network strategies and systems.  She was named Interim VP/CIO in August of 2017, named the VP/CIO in April of 2018, and promoted to SVP/CIO in 2019.

Prior to joining UChicago Medicine, Heather spent time at Baystate Health in Springfield, MA as a Senior Director of Applications and IT Operations, including an Interim CIO assignment and 10-years at Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids, MI with roles in Laboratory Services, Case Management, and increasing leadership responsibilities within the Information Technology division.  Heather holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from Alma College in Alma, MI as well as a Master’s in Healthcare Administration from Central Michigan University.  She is a Certified Healthcare CIO (CHCIO) through the CHiME organization.

Heather is active in community organizations including the American Heart Association Go Red/Go Women & Go STEM committees within the Chicagoland area since 2016.  She has been the Chair of the AHA Go Red for Women Committee as well as the Chair for the AHA Go STEM Committee for 2020 & 2021. She also is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives, including the Chicago Chapter, CHEF.  Heather is a member of the Society for Information Management (SIM) and is a graduate of their Regional Leadership Program as well as a member of HIMSS. She also provides IT consultative services whenever needed to the Misericordia leadership team in Chicago. The mission of Misericordia is to support children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities that choose the Misericordia community by providing the highest quality residential, training, and employment services. Heather was named the 2020 CIO of the Year by SIM/AITP/The Executives Club of Chicago last year. This is an award that brings CIOs from across industries and showcases their commitment to their teams and the organizations they serve. Lastly, Heather is a member of the International Women’s Foundation.

Bio updated April 2021

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