Pentagon Taps SPAWAR Folks to Run Electronic Health Record
By
Bob Brewin
Multiple Space and Naval Warfare employees move to EHR project.
The new Defense Department office set up to manage development of the next generation, multi-billion dollar electronic health record has filled its key positions with personnel drawn from the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, Nextgov has learned.
Christopher Miller, former executive director of the SPAWAR Systems Center Atlantic, was appointed on Sept. 13 to serve as program executive officer of the new Defense Healthcare Management Systems Modernization, or DHMSM, project tasked to develop the EHR.
On Tuesday, Miller tapped key players from SPAWAR for his management team, as detailed in an email provided to Nextgov.
Capt. John Windom, who previously worked on the Navy’s Next Generation Enterprise Network project for SPAWAR will serve as the DHMSM program manager responsible for requirements development, requests for proposals and source selection.
Heather Burke, who served as chief engineer for the Global Theater Security Cooperation Management Information System at SPAWAR Systems Center Atlantic, will take over the chief engineer job at DHMSM.
Steve Harnig will be senior contracts subject matter expert and DHMSM procuring contracting officer. He will support the program executive officer and DHMSM as an SSC Atlantic employee. Harnig has more than 20 years of experience and served as the contracting officer on acquisitions at various Navy System Commands.
Miller did reach outside his SPAWAR network for two other key DHMSM positions. Col. Thomas W. Greig, an Army doctor who has served as the Pentagon chief health information officer since 2011 will take on the same job at DHMSM.
Miller himself was appointed by Fran Kendall, undersecretary of Defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, who has loaned Gregory H. Whitten to DHMSM for the next six months to serve as its chief of legislative affairs. Whitten has “has significant experience leading the development of legislative strategies and executing Congressional engagements on a number of complex programs and initiatives,” Miller said.
The Air Force probably has the right to beef since none of its folks ended up with a top job at DHMSM.