As financial headwinds continue to challenge healthcare organizations, Tim Skeen, executive vice president and CIO of Hampton Roads, Va.-based Sentara Health, told Becker’s he is taking a strategic, disciplined approach to technology investment—prioritizing initiatives that align with fiscal responsibility, workforce sustainability and long-term innovation.
“A lot of our IT strategy is grounded in the financial headwinds we and all health systems are facing,” Mr. Skeen said. “We think about what we want to do and what we can do in light of those pressures.”
AI and analytics as strategic levers
At the top of Sentara’s IT agenda is the continued build-out of its enterprise data and analytics roadmap. The system is investing heavily in a comprehensive platform that integrates internal and external data sources—including social determinants of health and health information exchanges—to enable advanced analytics and AI-driven decision support.
“The goal is to use advanced analytics and AI to optimize the 360-degree view of our patients and members and then determine the best next actions,” Mr. Skeen said. “That means making it easier for people to navigate care, simplifying the experience and ultimately making it more cost-effective—for us and for them.”
Another top priority for Sentara is deploying high-value AI. That includes automating revenue cycle processes, improving operational efficiency and supporting clinical decision-making.
“We’ve had governance in place for AI ethics and bias for over two years, so we’re building on a strong foundation,” Mr. Skeen said.
That foundation has paved the way for broader deployment of AI-powered tools across the system.
Sentara’s efforts also extend to clinician efficiency and reducing burnout through ambient documentation solutions.
“We started this journey over two years ago with Nuance DAX, and now with Copilot’s rollout, clinicians are seeing real value,” he said. “We just signed a new multi-year contract for Copilot and plan to expand its use beyond physicians to nursing and other care teams.”
Building a virtual care ecosystem
In addition to its AI strategy, Sentara is investing in a comprehensive virtual care ecosystem. This includes telehealth, virtual nursing, telesitting, remote patient monitoring, eICU and hospital-at-home programs. The overarching goal is to optimize access, reduce strain on frontline workers and provide care continuity across touchpoints.
“It’s about meeting the patient where they are,” Mr. Skeen said. “It sounds simple, but creating a truly ubiquitous digital care platform is incredibly complex.”
Developing the future healthcare workforce
Technology adoption is only one piece of the puzzle. In tandem with its digital initiatives, Sentara is focused on workforce development. The system has launched a strategic workforce management program to identify and cultivate the skills required for future healthcare delivery, including training programs, staff augmentation and long-term talent planning.
Making the business case
Given economic constraints, building a strong business case for IT investment is more critical than ever for CIOs. Sentara has adopted an agile portfolio management process using a tool called Wave, which tracks each project from ideation to value realization.
“Finance has to sign off at each stage, and we’ve built the discipline to train our teams—especially clinical leaders—on how to define soft and hard ROI,” Mr. Skeen said. “That transparency is key to prioritizing our investments.”
Sentara’s IT strategy reflects a clear recognition of the need to balance innovation with fiscal accountability—ensuring that each step forward in AI, analytics or virtual care aligns with measurable value for patients and providers alike.
The organization has also created a category of foundational initiatives called “Big Rocks”—critical investments required to operate effectively, regardless of short-term financial return. One such investment is the system’s multimillion-dollar data roadmap.
“When we brought it forward, we worked closely with the business to get buy-in,” Mr. Skeen said. “The ROI was technically negative, but everyone agreed it was the right thing to do.”
Operational transformation behind the scenes
Behind the scenes, Sentara has modernized its IT operations. The system shifted to agile pods with two-week sprints, strengthened cost estimation and capacity planning, and revamped its vendor strategy.
A major sourcing overhaul reduced the number of staffing vendors from over 100 to a select few with standard rate cards and rebate tiers—saving the system millions.
“It’s been incredibly timely as we’ve faced more financial pressure,” Mr. Skeen said. “We’re stretching our dollars further and making smarter, faster decisions.”
