The Greystone.Net Blog

If you are reading this blog, you’ve probably seen that I have left Aurora Health Care and the award-winning AuroraHealthCare.org, and have joined Greystone.Net. This career move gives me the chance to do what I like best for health care providers all over the country (I’m actively seeking clients in Hawaii).

Here’s why the change made sense to me:1. I really enjoy strategy development, coming up with new ideas and trying new things. That’s what Greystone.Net does. 2. You have probably heard me say this before, but the web team at Aurora is so small that I spent way too much time on the day-to-day little things that are necessary to keep a good Web site running. 3. It’s hard to find an organization that has done more to advance the field of healthcare on the Internet than Greystone. And after years of seeing the team at the annual conference, talking with them about the latest approaches on the phone and via email, I feel like we were already colleagues, even before my official start date.

So while the move would seem to make sense for me, it was still met with a surprising amount of shock. Some who heard the news were very happy for me, but many others reacted as if I’d died or left the industry altogether. Friends and peers from outside Aurora would say, “I’ll miss you,” or “The field won’t be the same without you.” While I appreciated their sentiments, I’m still very much alive and hopefully will be able to add more value to the “field” than I ever did from the vantage point of just one health system.

Certainly the reaction would have been different had I left Aurora to join another healthcare system. But why? I’ve worked with plenty of consultants over the years who were true partners without whom I could not have achieved the same level of success. They brought insight and impartiality that is often hard to find inside your own organization.

I know that was true at Aurora, and I hope to offer that kind of value to a wider range of healthcare providers, applying the same expertise and experience that contributed to the success we enjoyed at Aurora.

It’s not even been two weeks yet, and the new gig feels like a good fit to me. Last week’s Webmaster’s Workshop was a joy, getting to know and help a lot of different healthcare providers with their online strategies. I’m already looking forward to the next one in Charleston in August.

But I do wonder about the reaction when I see old friends at the conference in Orlando this fall. Please remember that we didn’t win all those awards and generate high double-digit ROI based on my good looks. If you’ve got issues with your online strategy, are looking for possible solutions or just want to take it to the next level, I still have a lot to offer. Due to the very nature of my new position, all that advice and expertise can’t come free. But there’s no charge to share a drink or a laugh!