Dr. Melek is the Chief Health Informatics Officer (CHIO). He is an extraordinary nurse in an expanded nursing role. Dr. Melek is a resource not only from Providence HCS, but the VISN and national offices. He is an expert in his field and is truly extraordinary. In his role as CHIO, he is able to pull data and create reports and dashboards used by units, services, facility leadership, and the VISN. He has made data more easily accessible. For example, he has created dashboards to review consults, open encounters, productivity reports, and much more. The thing that makes George even more extraordinary and demonstrates he goes above and beyond his role, is that he models and fosters an environment for others to learn and professionally grow.

Being newer to data myself, George always provides me an opportunity to learn and pushes me to reach higher goals personally. He pushes staff to critically think and problem solve about what the data is telling us and brainstorm possible solutions. He motivates many staff who have a shared enthusiasm for data and quality management to achieve greater goals for themselves. Even for those who are newer to data, he always is open to teaching and supporting staff in an opportunity to learn. He is always accessible and responsive to requests even with all his competing priorities.

Outside of his CHIO role, he is a member of the VA APRN practice council, the Quality/Safety/Value Committee, Medical Records Committee, Clinical Leadership Committee, and the National Informatics Council. If that wasn’t enough, he goes beyond just VA committees and participation. He is also a member of the Behavioral Health Informatics Council and Restraint Free Environment Council at Yale. He upholds the Providence nursing mission and vision statements. As a nurse in an expanded role, as a nurse leader and a nurse consultant with indirect patient contact, he helps improve systems and processes in place to allow the Veteran a more holistic and safe experience within the VA. He demonstrates expert knowledge in evidence-based care to help ensure optimal patient outcomes. I am happy to be able to work with and recognize him as a true DAISY Nurse Leader.