825 Spotlight: IT Operations Center

In an effort to highlight the work of teams behind the scenes, every other month we'll be featuring an 825 Building department in a series called “825 Spotlight.” The work of these departments plays an important role in our mission and in The Meaning of Care. With each update, we'll shed light on a specific function and the amazing teams that drive its work.

The IT Operations Center (ITOC) is staffed 24/7, 365 days a year and is the primary control point for all IT-related Priority Level 1, 2, 3 and 4 incidents across Methodist Health System.

The ITOC’s primary objective is to detect, isolate and alleviate technical issues before there’s impact to the customer. The ITOC also fields customer calls and inquiries, resolving issues with first-call resolution when possible. If unable to determine probable cause, the ITOC will escalate to the appropriate support teams via the event management system and monitor progress to resolution.

The support team provides exceptional customer service to the end users to ensure that all IT systems are functional across the enterprise. The team’s support ensures that the downstream business units can take care of patients, educate students and continue to provide innovative solutions to support the health of the communities we serve.

The teamwork and dedication of the team is exceptional. Everyone helps each other out to provide outstanding customer service. The team’s No. 1 priority is to assist medical staff members with issues at hand so they can help with patient care. For the last 10 months, the team has achieved greater than 80% first-call resolution, an accomplishment very few in the industry can attain.

The ITOC is composed of 18 full-time, one part-time and two casual employees. The management team consists of a supervisor, manager and a director. The group has a total of 231 years of experience. Team members come from a variety of backgrounds, including clinical care, network, business and IT. The IT Operations Center’s success is related to the diverse backgrounds of the employees and the way team members capitalize on each other’s strengths to provide exceptional customer service.
 

First row, from left: Rhonnie Berman, Devin Farrens, Cindy Knickerbocker, Ed Crawley, Paula Leibrandt, Lanette Morgan, Roy Meadows. Second row, from left: Zach Drahota, Michael Engwell, Tim Hawkins, Shanta Curtis, June Leland. Not pictured: Ruth Boddicker, Paul Butterfield, Chelsea Castillo, Margaret Cleghorn, Reana Cribs, Ash Karoumi, James Pearl, Scott Pellegrino, Ashley Quade, Chris Robins, Jacob Sharp, Mike Yost.

"I often refer to our IT Operations Center as the face or voice of IT. It takes special talent in this space; you are often dealing with employees or even patients who are not having the best of days, and emotions can be high. Our people in the IT Operations Center are the calming force, reassuring everyone that we have this, and we WILL get their issues resolved. The team never ceases to amaze me with their breadth of knowledge. Our IT Operations Center sets the bar high!"

– Kent Sona, vice president and chief information officer