Flourish with Sarah Richardson

January 19, 2026: Bill Russell, Drex DeFord, and Sarah Richardson unpack OpenAI's two major healthcare announcements that could fundamentally reshape how patients interact with their health data—and how health systems govern AI. ChatGPT Health promises to finally deliver on the personal health record dream, letting patients aggregate everything from Apple Health to medical records in one secure pl...

January 15, 2025: When Heather Nelson stepped into the SVP and CIO role at Boston Children's Hospital from outside the organization, she knew she had to earn trust before driving change. Over the next few years, she led three major restructures, optimized their Epic environment, reduced third-party applications from 400 to 186, and delivered $14 million in cost savings. But her most powerful insig...

January 14, 2026: Identity has evolved from a back-office security concern into the foundation of healthcare's competitive strategy. Steve Gwizdala , VP of Healthcare at Ping Identity , reveals how health systems are rethinking identity to win patient loyalty in an era of unprecedented choice. With patients selecting care based on digital convenience and clinicians demanding frictionless access, t...

January 12, 2026: Epic is defending three simultaneous lawsuits while CIOs grapple with vendors imposing staggering price increases—some as high as 600%. Bill, Sarah, and Drex tackle the uncomfortable truth about AI leadership: it's time to figure it out or risk getting left behind. They explore why AI with context is transformative while AI without it looks foolish, discuss whether board members...

January 8, 2026: Three powerhouse executives tackle healthcare's most complex sourcing decisions in this essential conversation. Lisa Davis , former CIO and Founder/CEO of Lisa Davis Advisory ; Janet Malzone , Former CEO and Board Member; and Kristine Jarvis , Organizational Transformation Leader , reveal what leaders get wrong about offshore, nearshore, and automation strategies. From the pre-mor...

January 6, 2026: Healthcare is transforming through connection, and 2026 promises to take that mission further than ever before. This Week Health is expanding its reach with 63 events across 30 cities, bringing healthcare leaders together for deeper conversations and meaningful relationships. From coast-to-coast dinners connecting local leaders to new training programs educating both sides of the...

January 5, 2026: ServiceNow's $7 billion acquisition of Armis signals a major shift in healthcare IT consolidation strategy. Jason Rose , CEO of Clearsense dives into what this deal means for health systems juggling overlapping security tools and bloated app portfolios. The conversation shifts to bold predictions for 2026, including a massive wave of multi-billion dollar health system mergers and...

December 29, 2025: As 2025 draws to a close, Drex, Sarah, and Bill gather to reflect on a year of struggles and triumphs. From unprecedented CIO turnover among top talent to the stark reality of workforce exhaustion, this candid conversation reveals why even quality leaders are finding themselves displaced. They explore how fear has stifled innovation, why AI advanced faster than expected with syn...

December 23, 2025: The AI revolution swept through healthcare in 2025, but did it deliver on its promises? Bill Russell, Drex DeFord, and Sarah Richardson pull back the curtain on what really happened in AI this year—from North Korean deep fakes infiltrating hospital workforces to the sobering reality of billion-dollar AI investments with ROI timelines stretching to 2030. They reveal why ambient l...

December 19, 2025: CMS has unveiled its new ACCESS Model—an ambitious 10-year initiative aimed at expanding digital, tech-enabled care for millions of Medicare beneficiaries. In this discussion, Laura O’Toole , CEO of SureTest , joins Bill and Sarah to unpack how outcome-based reimbursement could finally accelerate innovation in remote monitoring and chronic disease management. They explore what t...

December 15, 2025: What if healthcare's biggest breakthroughs require throwing out the playbook? Joined by Daniel Schubert , CEO and Co-Founder of Revuud , this episode explores how AI is fundamentally reshaping healthcare IT strategy, from deploying countless virtual PhD-level agents across operations to rethinking patient access and workflow automation. Healthcare leaders discuss the challenge o...

December 12, 2025: When cloud platforms like AWS and Azure experience outages, hospitals across the country feel the impact. But are healthcare organizations truly prepared for these disruptions? Charles Knight , Founder of EHC Consulting , explores the critical gaps in healthcare's cloud resilience strategies. From understanding single points of failure to running actual failover tests, this conv...

December 10, 2025: Leigh Williams , VP and CIO at Augusta Health , shares how a 255-bed independent community hospital is reimagining care through strategic EHR transformation. In this conversation, Leigh discusses leading a MEDITECH Expanse implementation while maintaining deep community ties through comprehensive health needs assessments and patient advisory groups. She reveals how independence...

As 2025 comes to a close, we reflect on the transformative conversations that shaped healthcare leadership this year. From finding courage in uncertainty to leading with empathy in high-stakes environments, these moments reveal what it truly means to flourish. Healthcare leaders shared how they navigate daily alignment, build trust through authentic presence, and create cultures where growth isn't...

December 8, 2025: Healthcare systems are drowning in administrative calls while patients struggle with fragmented portals and coordination nightmares. Will Akers , Chief Strategy Officer from Switchboard, MD , joins Bill Russell, Sarah Richardson, and Drex DeFord to unpack a stunning reality: 25-40% of health system calls are simple scheduling requests that could be automated today. Drawing from h...

December 4, 2025: Candice London , SVP of Client Success at Clearsense , shares the unfiltered truth about her transition after 20 years in health systems. She reveals why the move was more humbling than she expected, the mindset shifts that made the difference, and the one critical mistake healthcare organizations keep making with digital transformation. If you've ever wondered whether you could...

December 1, 2025: As AI tools rapidly transform healthcare IT workflows, leaders face an unexpected challenge: what happens when your team becomes dramatically more productive? Bill Russell, Drex DeFord, and Sarah Richardson explore the productivity paradox hitting healthcare organizations—when AI enables staff to accomplish in hours what once took weeks, do you need fewer people or different appr...

November 24, 2025: Healthcare organizations are drowning in applications they can't even inventory, especially after mergers and acquisitions. But the real shock comes when they try to access archived data years later. Dave Dyell , Managing Partner at Innovative Consulting Group , reveals why cloud storage fees are forcing health systems to rethink their entire archiving strategy, particularly for...

November 21, 2025: What if your organization could reclaim millions of dollars just by rethinking processes you already have in place? Bill Willis , CTO of IDMWORKS , discusses the hidden costs plaguing healthcare IT, from runaway cloud storage bills to the shocking economics of password resets. Discover why identity management isn't just a security issue but a massive financial opportunity, how H...

November 20, 2025: What if transforming your operating rooms started in the parking lot? Dr. Sarah Pletcher , Chief Digital Health Officer at Houston Methodist , is joined by Joseph Seliski , Director of Technology Strategy and Digital Health at Allegheny Health Network , to discuss why surgical innovation requires thinking far beyond the OR itself. From ambient cameras tracking efficiency to AI t...

November 18, 2025: Ever wonder why empathy gets dismissed as a "soft skill" when it's actually your most powerful leadership tool? Eric Williamson went from being what he calls an expert jerk to becoming a jerk expert, and his transformation story will change how you think about workplace dynamics. From invisible disengagement in hybrid teams to managing star performers who steamroll everyone, Eri...

November 17, 2025: How does a 25-bed critical access hospital successfully stop a cyberattack when larger health systems fall victim? George Pappas , CEO of Intraprise Health , unpacks the Colorado hospital that shows how security culture beats expensive technology. The conversation reveals why vendor transparency remains elusive despite high-profile breaches, explores the harsh reality of hospita...

November 12, 2025: After a major consolidation and Epic implementation during COVID-19, Ballad Health could have focused solely on survival. Instead, Pam Austin , CIO at Ballad Health , partnered with Chris Jenkins , EVP of Digital Strategy and Enterprise Imaging at Healthlink Advisors , to build a comprehensive five-year digital roadmap anchored in six strategic pillars. This conversation explore...

November 10, 2025: When AWS experienced a major outage affecting over 500 companies, healthcare IT leaders were reminded that cloud architecture isn't just a technical decision; it's a strategic imperative. Vik Patel, COO from Tido , dives into the cascading failures that exposed vulnerabilities in healthcare's cloud dependencies. From Epic instances running on AWS to the emerging challenges of AI...

November 6, 2025: From loading backup tapes in a Phoenix data center to becoming a sought-after disaster recovery expert, Melissa Muñiz , Principal Consultant at Zion Resiliency, proves that curiosity and preparation trump luck every time. In this episode, she reveals how rigorous DR testing at HCA created teams so well-prepared that major outages were handled without her even knowing. Melissa sha...