Dayton Children’s names new chief information officer

J.D. Whitlock joins Dayton Children’s as the new chief information officer (CIO) with the goal of increased focus on making care easier for families.  “Most often, the parents of our patients are millennials and they have high expectations for customer service,” says J.D. “They are tech savvy and want to take advantage of new automation and communication technologies. That’s an IT guy’s wheelhouse!”

With over 20 years of experience in practice management, hospital administration, healthcare IT and analytics, .J.D. has significant depth and breadth of operational and technical health care experience. He managed system operations at Wright-Patterson Medical Center, held various roles in healthcare informatics at the Air Force Medical Service HQ in Falls Creek, Virginia and most recently served as the Vice President of Enterprise Intelligence at Mercy Health.

He’s excited about the road ahead of him at Dayton Children’s. “Information technology is an essential enabler of improving quality of care, improving patient and provider experience, and reducing the cost of care. Whether it be making it easier to connect with your child’s doctor through MyKidsChart or making clinical work flow better for clinicians, technology teams connect all those dots.” 

J.D.’s information technology background is supported by a deep commitment to population health.  “I started out in health care with a public health degree so I am passionate about improving the health status of all children, not just those in the hospital.  I want to help build up Dayton Children’s Health Partners – a collaboration between Dayton Children’s and community pediatricians – in order to keep our kids out of the hospital and emergency department to the extent possible.  This requires a whole new level of partnership between doctors, the hospital, and insurance companies, and this partnership requires a whole new level of IT support. I’m excited to help make that happen.”

J.D. is also happy to be working in Dayton, three miles from home instead of commuting to Cincinnati. “I am one of those Air Force retirees that moved back to Dayton after having been stationed at Wright-Patt previously. This is a great place to raise a family: Not too big, not too small. Low cost of living. Four seasons, zero hurricanes. Downtown renaissance. The most microbreweries per capita in Ohio. Rust belt chic with a culture of innovation. What's not to love?”