In her role, Jeanne Strickland ensures compliance with regulatory and governmental requirements and mandates for the academic medical center.
After several years of consulting at U-M, Jeanne joined the health system as privacy director in June 2003. She was named Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) for U-M Health in October 2003 and continues in her role as HIPAA Officer for the university. The next year her CCO role expanded to include the Hospitals and Health Centers and Michigan Healthcare Corporation and then in 2008, for the Medical School.
In August 2007, Jeanne was appointed Health Information Technology Commissioner (representing Hospitals) by Governor Granholm and served a 3 year term. In 2014, Jeanne was selected as a National Peer Reviewer for the Association of American Medical Colleges. She is a guest lecturer for the U-M Graduate Medical Education Program, U-M School of Nursing (adjunct faculty), U-M School of Pharmacy, U-M Law School, U-M School of Public Health, the Institute for Continuing Legal Education and Eastern Michigan University. She was also the 2010 key note speaker for the Michigan Society for Medical Research.
She was only 25 when she started her first healthcare service company, Package Computer Systems, Inc. (PAC-COMP), which used information technology to reduce the administrative burdens of operating a healthcare practice. After selling her successful business, she maintained a consulting practice while collaborating with another start up business exploring the use of the internet and its ability to impact healthcare delivery between hospitals and patients.
Jeanne obtained a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Eastern Michigan University, with a concentration in management and economics. She is also certified in Healthcare Compliance (CHC), in healthcare privacy compliance (CHPC), past chair of the Compliance Officer Forum/AAMC and continues as a national peer reviewer for the AAMC.
What inspired you to pursue a career in this field?
My background is in healthcare startups. The skills required for a successful startup are not different from those needed to be a successful compliance officer. I had two startup companies in healthcare that exposed me to billing and other healthcare regulations and the business side of healthcare. Running a company is really about relationships and problem solving and building trust - all of which are essential as a compliance officer.
What do you love most about the job?
Solving problems. Problem solving is essential to the work my team and I do because all of us deal with constant change which leads to new challenges and opportunities. Even after three decades in health care, I still learn something new every day. A key to loving my job is being knowledgeable in the subject matter at hand, then working with others to understand operational impact. Sustained and reliable change happens when operations and compliance work together to solve problems and sustain improvements. I work across Michigan Medicine and U-M with the best and the brightest people anywhere, and they all contribute to my love of the work I do.
What is your favorite way to unwind at the end of a busy day or relax on the weekend?
My favorite way to unwind is with a good book and hiking on the weekends. I am a voracious reader of almost all genres and generally have 2-3 books going at one time. Discovering audiobooks allows me to read and hike simultaneously; hence, that’s my happy place!
