About

Purpose

This site pulls together information from numerous resources and web sites about Clarendon county and its history - from the days of its earliest settlers through the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, up to present time.

Webmaster

Peter Groen worked for the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for over 30 years. During his federal career, he occupied a number of senior Information Technology (IT) management positions within VA Headquarters and in the field. He has served as the Director of the Health Information & Technology Sharing (HITS) Program, the Director of the Medical Information Security Service, Director of VHA Telecommunications Services, the Deputy Associate CIO for the Veterans Health Administration, as well as the Chief Information Officer (CIO) at the VA Medical Centers in Atlanta and Columbia S.C. He served as the national project manager for the VA Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS) as well as the VA Internet and VHA Intranet Redesign projects. Prior to working for the VA, Mr. Groen served in the U.S. Navy for six years. He was a supervisor of the Combat Information Center aboard the guided missile destroyer, U.S.S. Sellers DDG-11, during the Vietnam War.

Mr. Groen obtained his Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree from Clemson University and a Masters of Public Administration (M.P.A.) from The Pennsylvania State University. He served five years as an adjunct faculty instructor at the University of South Carolina and as an adjunct faculty member of the Computer & Information Sciences Department at Shepherd University in West Virginia, for many years. He helped found the Shepherd University Research Corporation (SURC) and served as its Associate Director for almost 5 years. Mr. Groen has written numerous articles and co-authored several books over the years with a focus on information technology in health care. He is regularly invited to speak at professional conferences across the country. He has also assisted with the start up activities of several for profit and non-profit 'open' health IT organizations like the West Virginia Health Information Network and Open Health News.

Mr. Groen is also the CEO of Collaboration, 'Open' Solutions & Innovation (COSI) - a non-profit organization and its associated web sites, blogging sites, social media sites, YouTube channels, and news site. He is lives and works out of Charles Town, WV, Summerton, SC, and/or Haleiva, Hawaii.

* Also see other selected articles & blogs written by Peter J. Groen over the past few years.