Team Member Bio

Trudy Bearden, PA-C, MPAS, CPHIT
WIREC Consultant
trudyb@qualishealth.org

Professional Background
After obtaining her master’s degree in Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS) in 2002 at the University of New England, Trudy spent two years with the Yale Division of Vascular Surgery. In 2004, she and her husband moved to Idaho after carefully choosing where they’d like to live. She spent a year seeing patients within the Veterans Administration and became keenly aware of the lack of coordination of care among the VA and the community clinicians. She spent five years at the Idaho State University Family Medicine Residency and was an IT specialist for implementation of a fully functional EHR. She was also the clinical manager and clinical instructor at the residency, where she was involved in all aspects of clinic and residency life. She received advanced training in healthcare improvement and became involved in process improvement in the clinic including numerous internal and external quality improvement endeavors.

Her experience practicing as a clinician during a medical home transformation as well as her managerial experience allows her to have a holistic approach to the opportunities for improvement as clinics move towards true adoption of EHRs and Meaningful Use.

Motivation
 “As a clinician, I could never go back to practicing in paper; it’s clunky, inefficient, archaic and frustrating. I feel passionate about embracing technology and leveraging new functionalities to improve patient care and safety, particularly within the construct of the meaningful medical home. I love helping our rural clinics overcome their unique challenges and move towards true EHR adoption and meaningful use.”

Personal
Trudy currently lives in Pocatello, ID with her husband; she has two children and one granddaughter. She also has a clingy, fearful, rescued chocolate lab, Lady, who is full of buckshot and arthritis, and two cats. She grew up in Camphill Village in Copake, NY. In her spare time, she loves to do anything outdoors. Her favorite time is when she has all she needs for the next week on her back, and the trail ahead beckons with new exploration. Trudy is also a wood turner, stained glass artist, photographer, and avid reader.