Oh my goodness, how shall I describe how we tackled the last leg of the #HITtheTrails tour? As if you don’t get enough steps at a typical annual HIMSS conference, we kicked off the event on Sunday, August 8, with a healthy two-mile sunrise hike out in the Red Rock National Conservation area. The weather in Vegas has been 100+ degrees lately, so the timing was intentional for us to beat the heat, but we also benefitted from the better air quality and gorgeous lighting at that time of day. It was also nice to take in the Nevada scenery, away from the Las Vegas Strip, knowing that we would be fully masked and indoors for the rest of the week

I was joined by Melody and Steven - a Portland-based couple who both work for Silver Linings Technology and were on a road trip to a couple IT conferences in the Southwest over the coming weeks. We connected about traveling with dogs during COVID times, the IT-compliance needs of the growing cannabis industry and how it is similar to healthcare in some regards, how Melody’s work as a theater director waned and waxed over the past year and a half, and shared some lifetime accomplishments we’re proud of.

Over the coming days, we reconnected with the #HITMC community in person. I can’t tell you how much it means to be able to look people in the eyes while they're talking, even if they have a mask on. I got a lot of quality time with John Lynn and Colin Hung—the dynamic duo of Healthcare Scene, healthcare’s friendliest, most helpful media outlet.

We met with women at the HIMSS Opening Reception, the Women in HIT networking event, and spent time with the New England Chapter of HIMSS at the HIMSS Awards Gala.

Shereese and I were able to finally meet Sara Gallo, a HIT Like a Girl podcast listener and active community member, in person, since we were able to gift her a ticket to the event — a perk of being an official HIMSS Collaborator.

We live-tweeted several sessions that were important to our community. That included the Machine Learning/Artificial Intelligence breakout session and nearly all educational sessions that had an impact on women—from Leading in Turbulent Times: Inspiring More Female Leaders to Join Executive Ranks to the State of Femtech and a Maternal Health White Paper. (I’ll recap each of those in separate blog posts soon!).

For the podcast, we sat down with the women leaders in charge of Communications at HIMSS, Karen Groppe and Terri Sanders and heard their behind-the-scenes stories of how canceling HIMSS 2020 and planning for a million possible scenarios for HIMSS 2021 has affected them personally.

I got to meet with Beth Quinn, Cristin Gardner, and Kelly Conklin to learn more about their pieces of the health IT puzzle.

And at the very end, I was even in the same room as ARod for lunch. What?!

Ultimately, there’s no way to get it all in just one post. We met with our mentors and the people who inspire us to do good work, we brainstormed ways we can have a bigger impact for women in healthcare and health IT, and made connections to help us do just that.

We declare the #HITtheTrails efforts and collaboration with HIMSS a success. THANK YOU to all who participated!

Las Vegas, NV

Where we stayed: Treasure Island Resort & Casino

Where we hiked: Calico Tanks Trail

Indigenous Acknowledgment: Chemehuevi Indian Tribe | Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah | Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians

Friends We Made

Thank you

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