Northwestern Memorial's Timothy Zoph Named the CHIME-HIMSS John E. Gall CIO of the Year

CHICAGO, Feb. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Timothy R. Zoph, vice president, Information Services and chief information officer (CIO) at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, was recently named the 2003 John E. Gall CIO of the Year. The award was presented jointly by the Health Information Management and Systems Society (HIMSS) and the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) at the annual HIMSS Conference and Exhibition in Orlando, Florida on Tuesday, February 24, 2004.

The CHIME-HIMSS John E. Gall Jr./CIO of the Year Award recognizes an information technology integration executive who has made significant contributions to their organization and the profession. The award is named in honor of John E. Gall, who pioneered the implementation of healthcare information systems at El Camino Hospital in the 1960's. Award candidates were chosen based on various criteria including: demonstration of leadership through technology usage and support at their organization, recognition as a role model by peers and membership in HIMSS and CHIME.

"Northwestern Memorial Hospital's focus on technology combines state-of- the-art facilities with significant and growing technology investments that together change the way we are able to deliver patient care," said Zoph. "We are fortunate to employ talented and dedicated people who have the vision and skills that keep our hospital relentlessly focused on patient care. I am honored to receive this award that recognizes our commitment to technology."

Zoph has been vice president of Information Services and chief information officer for the Northwestern Memorial Corporation since 1993. He served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of CHIME in 2000. In addition, he currently serves on several corporate and association strategic advisory committees in the healthcare industry.

About Northwestern Memorial Hospital

Northwestern Memorial Hospital (NMH) is one of the country's premier academic medical centers and is the primary teaching hospital of Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine. Northwestern Memorial and its Prentice Women's Hospital and Stone Institute of Psychiatry have 744 beds and more than 1,200 affiliated physicians and 5,000 employees. Providing state- of-the-art care, NMH is recognized for its outstanding clinical and surgical advancements in such areas as cardiothoracic and vascular care, gastroenterology, neurology and neurosurgery, oncology, organ and bone marrow transplantation, and women's health.

Northwestern Memorial was ranked as the nation's 5th best hospital by the 2002 Consumer Checkbook survey of the nation's physicians and is listed in the majority of specialties in this year's US News & World Report's issue of "America's Best Hospitals." NMH is also cited as one of the "100 Best Companies for Working Mothers" by Working Mother magazine and has been chosen by Chicagoans year after year as their "most preferred hospital" in National Research HealthCare's annual survey.