Kent entered the healthcare world in October of 1973 when a computer filled a room and only had enough storage for half of a digital picture. Immersed in the clinical aspects of IT, Kent relished getting to know many healthcare organizations over the next 24 years as he logged millions of miles in the air to represent early healthcare software pioneers in a rapidly changing world.
Kent transitioned from selling healthcare software and services to measuring how well those healthcare IT software and services companies kept their promises by starting KLAS in 1996. As he partnered with healthcare providers around the world, Kent saw real value in finding and telling the truth about real experiences providers had with their IT investments. It was a thrill to uncover hidden gems and help passionate vendor executives improve so that their clients could be more successful.
Experiences with thousands of individuals from healthcare provider organizations, associations, and vendors have blessed Kent by validating the basic principles that endure through the ages. The people who live those principles end up blessing our lives as we show up at the ER, doctor’s office, clinic, or hospital.
Kent is a graduate of Brigham Young University and has lived in Brazil, Portugal, Germany, and the Philippines. Kent and Eileen, his wife, had the privilege of serving as a missionary couple at the self-reliance and employment center in Lisbon, Portugal (2010–2011) and in Recife, Brazil (2016–2017). Kent has received the Lifetime Achievement Award from CHIME, the 50 in 50 Award from HIMSS, and the title of grandpa from his 26 grandchildren.
