Michigan Medicine names Anika Gardenhire as first Chief Digital and Information Officer

ANN ARBOR – Anika Gardenhire, R.N., MMCI, will become Michigan Medicine’s first Chief Digital and Information Officer on March 1.

Gardenhire has more than 20 years’ experience leading technology, digital strategy, data and cybersecurity functions. Most recently, she served as Chief Digital and Transformation officer for Ardent Health, a system of 30 hospitals and more than 200 sites of care headquartered in Brentwood, TN.

In her new role at Michigan Medicine, Gardenhire will lead the organization’s IT strategy and operations and guide implementation of Michigan Medicine’s multi-year information technology plan. She will also spearhead comprehensive digital strategies, leveraging current and emerging technologies.  

“We are thrilled to have an experienced information technology leader like Anika join our team. Her background in nursing and bedside care is a real advantage as we continue to find the best ways to use technology to improve our patient care delivery,” said Quinta Vreede, MHSA, Chief Administrative Officer for Michigan Medicine.

“Anika will lead efforts to ensure that our information technology structure enables the highest standard of care and operational excellence, while also advancing biomedical and health sciences research and education.”  

Gardenhire is a clinically trained registered nurse with a Master of Management in Clinical Informatics from Duke University. She says her nursing background helps tremendously in roles leading digital strategy and information technology in health care.

“Technology has the ultimate ripple effect,” said Gardenhire. “Technology kept happening to us at the bedside and no one ever asked us how it could be better. If you actually talk to end users and try to listen and design to their needs, you end up with technology that’s better, faster and more convenient for our health care teams and most importantly for our patients.”

Gardenhire said she’s eager to join Michigan Medicine, which has a statewide network of 12 acute care hospitals, 48,000 employees, the U-M Medical School and research funding over $800 million.

“This is a career-culminating move,” said Gardenhire. “You know the brands and organizations you aspire to, and Michigan Medicine is at the top of that list for me.”

About Michigan Medicine: At Michigan Medicine, we advance health to serve Michigan and the world. We pursue excellence every day in our 12 hospitals and hundreds of clinics statewide, as well as educate the next generation of physicians, health professionals and scientists in our U-M Medical School.

Michigan Medicine includes the U-M Medical School and University of Michigan Health, which includes the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital, D. Dan and Betty Kahn Health Care Pavilion, University Hospital, the Frankel Cardiovascular Center, Kellogg Eye Center, University of Michigan Health-West, University of Michigan-Sparrow and the Rogel Cancer Center. The U-M Medical School is one of the nation’s biomedical research powerhouses, with total research funding of more than $800 million.

More information is available at www.michiganmedicine.org.