Event
HSI Internal Research Meeting
Dr. Carladenise Edwards of the Georgia Department of Community Health
DATE: Tuesday, December 8, 2009
TIME: 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
LOCATION: 828 W. Peachtree St, NW - 207A Exec Boardroom
Let's Work Together: Building a State Health Information Exchange and Other Opportunities for Collaboration
Carladenise Armbrister Edwards, MS.Ed, Ph.D. will share her knowledge and experience as Chief of Staff for Georgia's Department of Community Health, specifically focusing on the state's activities in the area of Health Information Technology and Transparency. Georgia's Department of Community Health has been designated as the state entity responsible for the implementation of the HITECH provisions outlined in ARRA and Dr. Edwards serves as the State HIT Coordinator. She will share the latest information related to building the state HIE and other ARRA related projects.
About Dr. Edwards
Dr. Carladenise A. Edwards is the Chief of Staff at the Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH) and the State;s HIT Coordinator. DCH is the state agency responsible for health care planning, financing, and regulation. Dr. Edwards serves as the principal advisor to the Commissioner on all major issues and initiatives, including Medicaid, State Health Benefit Plan, public health, health information technology, health care access, and health planning and regulation. DCH provides health care for approximately 2 million people with a $12 billion budget and a staff of over 2000 people.
Immediately prior to her position with DCH, Dr. Edwards was the executive director of the South Florida Health Information Initiative, a regional health information organization aimed at improving health care quality, access, and efficiency through technology. She is the Founder of The BAE Company, a Miami-based health care consulting business that provides business management, strategic planning, and consulting services to health care institutions, including Florida’s Department of Health, Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration, Health Choice Network, and numerous not-for-profit and private health care entities.
Dr. Edwards has significant management experience in the public and private health care arenas, including serving as the first executive director of Florida’s Governor’s Health Information Infrastructure Advisory Board; Vice President of Operations for Williams, Stern, and Associates; a Presidential Management Intern for the Center for Mental Health Services in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the Disabled and Elderly Health Programs Group of the Center for Medicaid and State Operations at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; an administrator at Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration; and a senior analyst for several health care consulting firms, including Abt Associates and The Urban Institute.
Dr. Edwards holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology and Masters of Science degree in Education with a concentration in psychological services from the University of Pennsylvania. She also has a doctorate in medical sociology from the University of Florida. She is a well sought motivational speaker who focuses on issues related to health information technology, health care reform, change management, leadership and organizational development.