Steve Baker has worked his way to the top of healthcare IT roles, but his first foray into IT was actually in the Air Force, which he joined after high school. During the nearly 10 years he spent in the Air Force, he maintained computer systems and, as the youngest non-commissioned officer stationed at his base, taught up-and-coming recruits.

“I always have been driven from within,” he said. It is that drive that has led Steve to continuously pursue opportunities to grow in his career.

After leaving the Air Force in 1998, Steve relocated back to Indiana, where he grew up, and joined Columbus Regional Health as a network administrator.

Over the next several years, he took on new roles, including manager of technical services, supporting all of the hardware aspects of the hospital’s information services department, and then director.

He left in 2010 to join UK Healthcare in Lexington, Kentucky, to gain experience working for an academic health system. Then, in 2012, an opportunity came up at East Jefferson General Hospital in Metairie, Louisiana, to be the Chief Information Officer – his first opportunity to join an executive team. While working in Louisiana had its challenges – for one, ensuring that IT systems were always up and running during hurricanes – he values the experience and knowledge gained from serving on the executive team.  

He returned to Indiana again in 2014, this time joining IU Health, where he served as the executive director of IS infrastructure. Steve was responsible for IU Health’s state-wide infrastructure, including phone systems, servers, and security. After serving on the executive team at East Jefferson, however, he knew he wanted to serve on an exec team for the rest of his career. “That shifted for me personally. I could join an executive team, make strategic decisions, and make a difference,” he said.

The role of Vice President and Chief Information Officer opened at CRH, and he was approached by an executive search firm to apply. Throughout his time away from CRH, he had kept in touch with the organization. “They watched me where I was going, and I watched Columbus,” he said. In June 2016, he joined the CRH executive team, and soon after Chief Technology Officer was added to his title. Over the next few years, he oversaw the implementation of the unified electronic medical record (EMR) in both the CRH physician practices and the hospital. Steve said he’s very proud of doing that in his career, because of the great benefits it brings for patients, the community, and our health system.

In August 2020, Steve assumed the role of Chief Administrative Officer, broadening his responsibilities beyond technology and information. Today, he oversees Information Services, Clinical Technology, Food Services, Environmental Services, Purchasing Services, Facilities, Lean Sigma, Revenue Cycle, and Compliance and Legal Services. Steve’s ability to grow in his own career is a result, in part, of his ability to recruit and build high-performing leaders who report to him. They are strong at executing and implementing projects, he said, and that has enabled him to focus on more strategic initiatives.

When Steve thinks about his career so far, he’s proud of working to get the community on one EMR and supporting the 2008 flood recovery efforts for the hospital. He’s also proud of the work he did in the military as that young instructor and later when he built backup IT systems in the event of a system issue during Operation Desert Storm.

Steve is married to his high school sweetheart, and they have two children, a daughter and a son. When he is not busy at CRH, Steve likes to spend most of his time doing outdoor activities, including hunting, fishing, and boating.