The Agile Health System: Infrastructure, AI, and Leadership in Motion

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Guest: Shane Rodabaugh, System VP of IT & Infrastructure, Baptist Health KY & IN
Host: Vik Patel

In this episode, Vik welcomes Shane Rodabaugh to discuss infrastructure modernization, cloud strategy, AI readiness, and leadership in a rapidly evolving healthcare environment.

They begin with a look at Baptist Health’s current infrastructure—a hybrid model with Epic EHR hosted on-premise and new efforts like Cogito Cloud moving to Microsoft Fabric. This transition lays the foundation for advanced analytics and future AI capabilities.

Vik and Shane explore the challenges of defining a “cloud strategy” in a world that evolves faster than any 3-year plan. Shane emphasizes the importance of flexibility and prioritization, especially when resources are limited but the demand for innovation is high. Vik introduces Tido CortexAI, an AI-ready data cloud, noting that CMIOs are often at the forefront of these initiatives. Shane mentions Baptist’s CMIO, Dr. Brett Oliver, and how he's helping drive AI strategy from a clinical lens.

As the conversation deepens, Vik asks about collaboration with clinical leadership. Shane explains that the dialogue is open and energetic—but sometimes he has to “hold the horses back.” Even with compelling ROI and excitement from clinicians, resource capacity often becomes the limiting factor. Still, the team focuses on staying agile, learning from fast failures, and pivoting quickly when needed.

They shift to discussing AI governance and risk. Shane underscores the importance of understanding the algorithms and data behind models before deploying AI solutions in clinical settings.

On the topic of build vs. buy, Shane shares insights from recent leadership discussions. While he's not opposed to building, he notes that Baptist isn't a development shop and scaling internal dev teams is a major investment. They view partners—like Epic—as their development engine for core platforms. Vik adds that a hybrid model often works best: internal teams guiding strategy while partners focus on execution. This balance helps mitigate key personnel risk and increases long-term sustainability.

The conversation rounds out with leadership and collaboration. Shane shares how closely he works with the CIO and PMO, including weekly meetings focused on project prioritization and transparent communication—something he says is a strength at Baptist.

They close the episode by talking about work-life balance. Shane shares a recent family vacation experience and how it’s important to model healthy balance from the top. Lastly, he offers a grounding reminder: no matter how complex the tech or fast the pace—it’s all for the patient.

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