Wake Forest Baptist IT Director Stepping Down

The chief information officer for Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center is stepping down, effective May 31, the center confirmed Friday.

Sheila Sanders has served in that role, as well as vice president of information technology, since being hired in 2009 to direct the center’s overhaul of its IT system.

She is leaving at a time when the center is struggling financially and operationally with implementing the Epic electronic health records system — one of the largest overall projects Wake Forest Baptist and most health care systems have undertaken in recent years.

Dr. John McConnell, the center’s chief executive, said in a statement that Sanders decided in January to take “a brief career break” after completing major portions of the overhaul. He said Sanders is relocating to Florida to spend more time with her family.