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Blue Devil of the Week: Experience as a Patient Fuels Desire to Help

Krystal Greenhaw has a vested interest in keeping Duke Health systems running smoothly

Krystal Greenhaw helps keep Duke Health Technology Solutions running smoothly.
Krystal Greenhaw helps keep Duke Health Technology Solutions running smoothly.

Krystal Greenhaw

Manager for Security and Provider Design for Maestro Care

Years at Duke: 7

What she does at Duke:

Greenhaw’s job with Duke Health Technology Solutions has her working with Maestro Care, the electronic nerve center of Duke Health Systems.

“All of our clinical folks use Maestro Care, everyone here uses it for patient information and documentation,” she said. “It is the center of our electronic health system for everything to do with patients and providers.”

Greenhaw works with two teams. One focuses on keeping information easily accessible for physicians, nurses and providers, while the other makes sure that information stays secure.

“It’s like a huge puzzle, so it’s very, very interesting,” she said.

What she loves about Duke:

Greenhaw’s relationship with Duke runs deep. A complicated heart issue she dealt with since early childhood left her family making the drive from their Wilmington home to see Duke’s specialists often. When she was 16, Duke doctors solved the problem with surgery and a pacemaker.

“That day, moving forward was the first time that I ever felt good waking up and didn’t feel sick,” she said. “I didn’t feel bad. I could go and run and play sports. It was life-changing for me. That was the moment when I knew I was going to be at Duke doing something, I just didn’t know what.”

A memorable day at work:

After graduating from Methodist University, Greenhaw started working as a technician at Duke University Hospital helping patients with heart issues. Soon, her curiosity led her to working with Maestro Care.

The memory that sticks is from her first day with Duke Health Technology Solutions. She said she heard several variations on the same joke.

“It was funny, everybody kept saying ‘You’re going to the dark side,’” Greenhaw said.

Several pleasant years later, she said she’s unclear why the “dark side” nickname got thrown around.

“I don’t know, I kept asking that,” Greenhaw said with a laugh. “It’s not the dark side. Maybe it’s a joke with IT. I don’t know.”

A special object/memorabilia in her office:

Greenhaw carries around a gleaming, new Chief Information Officer Coin of Excellence, an honor she received last month.

“It was shocking to get it because there are so many people here that do such a good job every single day,” she said. “I know a couple of people who have gotten them and it’s important and it means a lot. I try to carry it every day to think about the people who nominated me for it.”

First ever job:

“It was an ice cream shop, Carvel Ice Cream in Wilmington, at the beach. It was bad. I would mess up ice cream cones on purpose so I could eat them. They didn’t want them to go to waste. It was fun. I learned a lot about customer service and it was good ice cream, too.”

Best advice ever received:

“I think Steve Jobs has the best one that I carry around every single day. It’s even on my phone, I keep it on my screen saver. His words are ‘Your work is going to fill a large part of your life. And the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. The only way to do great work is to love what you do.’”

Something most people don’t know about her:

Outside of work, Greenhaw enjoys mountain biking and, until recently, coached lacrosse. In the fall, she can be found hunting deer with her husband.

“For me, I think a lot of people would be surprised at my activity level outside of work because of my heart history and also being a hunter,” she said.

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