George Spalding, executive vice president of IT consulting firm Pink Elephant (pictured in front row on the left) congratulates Jerry York (front row, right), vice president and chief information officer, on the UT Health Science Center’s San Antonio selection for the ITSM Extreme Makeover.
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By Rosanne Fohn

Like the families on the television show “Extreme Makeover” who are surprised with a complete renovation of their home, the UT Health Science Center San Antonio’s Office of Information Management & Services (IMS) recently learned that it was chosen from among 220 organizations nationwide to receive an “ITSM Extreme Makeover.”

The makeover, offered by a nationally known team of information technology (IT) consulting companies, is valued at up to $250,000.

ITSM stands for Information Technology Service Management. It is a program comprised of the world's leading IT process management framework and tools, according to Jerry York, vice president and chief information officer at the Health Science Center.

Knowledge from the experts
As the ITSM Extreme Makeover winner, IMS will receive a year’s worth of expert advice as well as state-of-the-art software which will result in continuously improved customer service, improved processes to track IT problems and solutions, and the implementation of industry best practices.

George Spalding, executive vice president of IT consulting firm Pink Elephant, made the surprise announcement May 24 during an IT management meeting recorded by the Health Science Center’s video team and photographer.

Spalding said, “We’re delighted to be lending Pink’s ITSM expertise to The University of Texas Health Science Center as the winners of the ITSM Extreme Makeover for 2011. Their awareness of the importance of culture in the improvement process was the critical factor. Also important was their realization that this was not going to be just some golden handshake from the sponsors. The makeover project can only succeed if they, themselves, provide the right resources and commitment. We’re really looking forward to working with them, along with all the other sponsors, to showcase a great example of what can be achieved with the right approach and execution plan.”

Behind the scenes
“Information technology (IT) services are a critical part of how institutions achieve success, but very often we work in the background,” York explained. “For example, you may not think much about the IT teams that makes sure your e-mail works when you come to work and that your paycheck is deposited into your bank account. Our teams support a wide variety of important Health Science Center missions through technology solutions, such as Blackboard, our course management system. Our clients all depend on customer-oriented and efficient IT services. This work is ongoing and never ending, 24/7.

“While it is great to have IT ‘heroes’ who jump in when things go wrong, we all know that it is much better to have well-rounded IT teams with a strong knowledge base to help the Health Science Center develop better business processes, solve technical problems and develop best practices so that we can be more proactive in implementing process improvements,” York continued. “That is exactly what adapting the ITSM framework to the Health Science Center’s academic culture will do for us.”

During the yearlong IT makeover, the Health Science Center’s progress will be chronicled publicly at www.itsmextrememakeover2011.com so that other institutions can also learn from the process.

“We are truly excited to have been selected as Pink’s ITSM Extreme Makeover 2011 winner,” York said. “Having the opportunity to work with Pink and their partners as we navigate through the challenges and opportunities of implementing a comprehensive ITSM project is special and will no doubt be very rewarding. We look forward to sharing our experiences with others and I suspect we will all learn a great deal over the upcoming months.”