Marie Medenbach, is a three year owner and operator of Grapevine IT Consulting, LLC. She is a resident of Colorado Springs, Colorado. Three years ago, with passion and goodwill, and a background in Healthcare IT and Electronic Medical Record Technology, she opened her business to help smaller healthcare organizations thwart the costs of the ever increasing rates of competitive healthcare IT consulting organizations.
She is twice the recipient of the “Spirit of HIMSS” 2007 & 2009 for exemplifying the mission of Health Information Management Systems and Society (HIMSS) through recent and volunteer efforts. Currently, she holds a Fellow position within the HIMSS organization. In addition to holding several positions on the local Colorado HIMSS Board of Directors (CHIMSS), she has participated on the HIMSS national committee credentialing CPHIMS and the national Board of Directors for the PMI Healthcare Special Interest Group as well as a mentored and lead in Toastmasters.
Her expertise in Electronic Medical Record consulting has extended her work to locations such as Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago, Minneapolis, Nashville, Orlando, Atlanta, Oakland, and within her home state of Colorado. Most recently she has been working in Seattle where she fosters a humorous, yet caring work environment resulting in many of her clients recalling her for future projects. Clients have noted her genuine concern for their plight in EMR implementations and her help to advise them of hurdles and ‘gotchas’ from previous implementations. She has also been noted as ‘not a salesperson for her company – rather, she is part of the team – hung in there with us during some very challenging implementations’.
Marie is a recent (less than 1 year) breast cancer survivor. She recognizes the value of her husband, sisters, nieces, friends, neighbors and peers that have given support to her through the most challenging time in her life. When she was diagnosed, her client held her to an open-ended contract, working around chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Additionally, each of the project managers (6) she worked with took shifts in driving and attending Marie’s chemo sessions while a sister flew out for a surprise chemotherapy visit. As with any cancer diagnosis, one has to face the unknown, and in many ways – start anew. A diagnosis can be devastating and the treatment grueling, but also the worry of what comes next may be just as upsetting. You’ve got to look for and demand Joy and Happiness as if your life depended on it. One has to deal with the fall-out, learn more about themselves, and create a ‘new normal’.
