Alum’s IT solutions for local hospital lead to recognition from Microsoft
Since 1920, Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center and its network of family clinics have served hundreds of thousands of Waco residents. Naturally, technology has changed a little bit over the years. When Hillcrest first opened, it didn’t even have air conditioning; two years ago, when the new Hillcrest hospital opened at I-35 and Highway 6, the price tag included more than $30 million for new equipment and medical technology.
Since 2007, Michael Allison, BBA ’03, MSIS ’05, has provided support for Hillcrest Family Health Clinics as IT administrator, assisting doctors, nurses and administrators across nine sites around the city. In 2010, he oversaw an overhaul of the medical center’s systems that caught the eye of a computer industry giant — Microsoft.
The innovative solutions employed by Allison and Hillcrest were featured in a story and case study on Microsoft’s website, and Allison was invited to give the keynote address earlier this month at the IDC/IDG SmartTech World Technology Conference in San Francisco. There, he spoke alongside chief information officers from a pair of Fortune 500 companies (Yum!, which owns Pizza Hut, KFC and Taco Bell, and Ford Motors).
“A lot of what I learned at Baylor directly led me down the path I have taken,” says Allison, whose sister, Dr. Beth Barr, BA ’96, is a history professor here. “I have stuck by [the ideas I learned at Baylor] and am constantly looking for ways to improve the work environment, through technology, for my providers and nurses and admin staff. In the end, if I make it easier and more efficient for the providers and nurses and admin staff to do their jobs, that directly translates to better patient care and improved patient health.”
Sic ’em, Michael!
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