I am an emergency medicine physician, and I joined the Vanderbilt community as a Clinical Informatics Fellow in August 2021. I attended medical school at Georgetown University in Washington D.C., and was introduced to the field of Clinical Informatics through research projects at the Medstar Health National Institute for Human Factors. I worked for a digital front door health-tech company called Clearstep Health. My deepest interests lie in the exploration of new, innovative technologies that can be adapted to healthcare, telemedicine, and electronic health record usability.

Fall 2021-Spring 2023

I am a critical care physician currently working at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville Florida. I also have an MPH with a Biostatistics focus. I want to look at the data we generate from patients admitted to the ICU and use advanced analytical techniques like machine learning or deep learning to develop solutions that either improve our ICU workflow or help us understand complex diseases better.

Informatics is important to me because it allows me to understand and fully harness the underlying infrastructure as I collaborate with clinicians, data scientists, and implementation experts in these efforts. I am particularly interested in understanding how we can seamlessly extract data, run our algorithm, and implement it as a tool to improve what we already do. As ICUs and hospitals augment their digital infrastructure, this experience along with my clinical experience will be key for me as a stakeholder to advocate and prioritize what is important in this transformation.

In my free time I like to travel or read about technology.

Fall 2021-Spring 2023

I am an interventional cardiologist who is interested in medical informatics. In particular, implementation of IT systems and its subsequent management in a large hospital-based practice. In addition, I am seeking ways to harness the large amount of data in EHR systems to generate insights and guide strategies in optimizing care delivery, as well as resource utilization. I work closely with the hospital medical informatics team currently and together trying to overcome the challenge of EPIC go-live in the coming months.

To destress, I enjoy playing tennis, the guitar, or just unwinding with my wife and two kids.

Dr. Kelly Aldrich is a distinguished nurse executive, innovator, and nurse advocate with over 40 years of healthcare experience. She serves as Professor of Nursing, Informatics and Director of Innovation at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, with a secondary appointment in the Department of Biomedical Informatics. A Fellow of both HIMSS and the American Academy of Nursing, Dr. Aldrich is a Board-Certified Informatics Nurse Specialist.

Dr. Aldrich’s career has been defined by her pioneering contributions to healthcare innovation. During her doctoral work in 2010, she developed a medical device for wireless automation of vital signs capture in medical surgical units, which was implemented across 180 hospitals and established the national standard automating documentation with real-time notifications. As the invited inaugural Chief Nursing Informatics Officer (CNIO) for HCA, one of Dr. Aldrich’s many contributions to the modernization of healthcare through informatics innovation was her leadership in developing a $500 million mobility strategy at HCA. This visionary initiative included strategic leadership and implementation pilots of iPhones to enhance care coordination and nurse communication, significantly advancing the integration of technology in clinical practice. This transformative initiative enhanced nurse communication and streamlined care delivery, positioning HCA at the forefront of healthcare innovation.

An advocate for interoperability and nursing empowerment, Dr. Aldrich, as Chief Clinical Transformation Officer at the Center for Medical Interoperability, created the RN Digital Citizen framework. This initiative built on blockchain incorporated the unique nurse identifier, advancing both nursing practice and interoperability across healthcare systems. This initiative introduced trust platforms and the unique nurse identifier to advance nursing practice and interoperability. At Vanderbilt, her work continues to transform nursing through initiatives in informatics education, immersive virtual reality self-care scenarios for nurses, and AI-driven tools for patient-centered care. The Mindful Immersive Nursing Demonstration (MIND) Lab, which she founded, exemplifies her dedication to leveraging advanced technologies to improve education, practice, and well-being.

Dr. Aldrich earned her Master of Science in Healthcare Systems Leadership and Nursing Informatics, as well as her Doctor of Nursing Practice, from the University of South Florida. A significant contributor to the field, she has authored numerous publications, book chapters, and podcasts and is a sought-after keynote speaker at national conferences. Her legacy as a nurse executive, innovator, and advocate underscores her transformative impact on nursing informatics and healthcare.

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