Leah Fullem, MHCDS, Elected New VITL Board Chair

Bruce Bullock, MD, retires after 10 Years of Service on the VITL Board, Leah Fullem, MHCDS, Elected New Board Chair

Burlington, VT: The Vermont Information Technology Leaders, Inc. (VITL) board of directors elected Leah Fullem, MHCDS, as the new board chairperson in July.   Her election follows Dr. Bruce Bullock’s announcement of his retirement from the board earlier this year.  Bruce Bullock, MD, is a private primary care physician in Rutland, who previously served as Chief Medical Information Officer for Rutland Regional Medical Center, where he drove the transition from paper records to an electronic medical record system.  Bruce’s work with VITL spanned ten years of service on the board, having served as board chair for the last four years.  During his tenure, he served on multiple committees, including the executive and finance committees.  During his time as VITL board chair, he led VITL through both positive and challenging times and helped the organization to emerge as a lean, more focused team. 

Leah Fullem, MHCDS, is the Vice President of Enterprise Information Management and Analytics at the UVM Health Network. In this role, Leah oversees operations for data management, data services, reporting, and analytics for all enterprise data for the Network. Leah has served on the VITL board of directors since September 2018.

In addition to Leah’s appointment, the board unanimously voted two existing members to leadership roles, Kelly Lange is board vice-chair, and Joel Benware is board secretary.   

The VITL board is also proud to announce the election of two new board members, Vermont Association of Hospitals and Health Systems (VAHHS) President and CEO Jeff Tieman, as well as Tim Kenney, CEO of AI Certain.  The board made up of twelve dedicated, industry-leading professionals who are passionate about healthcare and healthcare reform for the State of Vermont.

When asked about the transition, Leah Fullem stated, “I am honored to have the opportunity to lead the VITL board and work alongside a group of highly engaged, caring, and smart people to help lead VITL into the next phase of their evolution.  VITL is an important steward of health data in Vermont and helps facilitate better patient care through the electronic exchange of data between providers and hospitals.  The VITL board has a responsibility to Vermonters to ensure that our data is used in an appropriate, safe, and responsible manner, and also to realize that the potential for better use of healthcare data opens up a world of possibilities for incredible improvements in our system.”

The VITL board meets six to twelve times a year and has three active standing committees.

About VITL

Vermont Information Technology Leaders, Inc. (VITL) is a nonprofit organization working to advance health care reform efforts in Vermont through the use of health information technology. VITL is legislatively designated to operate the Vermont Health Information Exchange (VHIE), a secure, statewide data network, which provides health care providers in Vermont the ability to electronically exchange and access medical records. VITL collects and manages patient data from sources across the State, including hospitals, primary and specialty care providers, Federally Qualified Health Centers, home health, long-term care, designated agencies, and commercial labs. For more information, visit VITL’s website: www.vitl.net