Keeping it in the Family
The differences between teenagers and their parents almost seem as vast as an ocean, but the bonds that unite them are often more similar than they appear on the surface.
The Barrow men seem very different at first glance, but in looking closer, there are more similarities than just a strong father and son bond – they also share a focus on the future and turning visions into realities.
Now, the path that Army Colonel DaCosta “dee” Barrow follows is certainly different than his 16-year-old son Joseph, but their passion around achieving their goals and transforming abstract ideas into fully functioning and effective activities that yield impact is where the two unite.
For the senior Barrow, he is driven by transforming today’s technology into viable systems that can serve his fellow service members and those who come after him. Barrow, the Program Manager of the Military Health System’s Office of the Chief Information Officer Defense Health Information Management System program, said it’s the ability to save lives through better technology that excites and drives him.
“This is the closest thing to laying hands on a patient without actually being on every level of care,” said the colonel. “We impact beneficiaries at all stages – at birth – at injury and at death.”
Some would approach the daunting task of managing the most comprehensive electronic health record system in the world with cynicism, but senior Barrow is filled with excitement of what it is and can be. Besides the EHR, Barrow also manages the operation and development of clinical IT solutions that enable continuity of care and timely administration of benefits to service members and their families when and where they need it.
“Somewhere in Iraq right now, there is a soldier laying on a battlefield, bleeding, and he is getting care,” he said. “In Landstuhl, Germany there are a whole slew of service members waiting to be evacuated. Here in CONUS (Continental United States), there are spouses of service members that are delivering babies in our hospitals who are just starting their lives. And, right now, there are beneficiaries, who are taking their last breaths in our facilities. In each case, their care is documented in a product that we deliver and their care is impacted by the data we collect and share. We touch people in all stages and phases of their service. How much more exciting can you get than that?”
Both father and son admit that passion and enthusiasm for their work runs deep in the Barrow family.
While the father is focused on continuing to make a positive impact on the lives of his fellow service members and their families, son Joey has a different future in mind.
His roadmap includes a fast track to being a leading business entrepreneur. The Edison High School junior has a laser focus and is deeply committed to achieving his goals. While many of his peers hit the books and take road tests to pass their drivers tests, Joey spends his afternoons tackling his Edison High homework and his evenings in a college classroom learning about business development techniques and approaches while developing websites on the side as a hobby.
With his father as an example, Joey said he appreciates that there are only some things you can learn from the classroom or books. Some things you have to experience in person.
To that end, Joey spent last summer learning more about computers and information technology at the Office of the Surgeon General Help Desk, and then volunteered this year to be a summer intern with DHIMS focusing on project management.
“I’ve gotten to work with products that are going to affect a lot of people,” Joey said. “It’s been a really great experience.”
For the quick learner, he said military acronyms still create a sea of confusion for him.
“The one thing I won’t be taking away from the experience is all the acronyms,” the younger Barrow said with a smile. “But I learned so much about project management, and so much about the government’s approach to contracting.”
He’s looking forward to applying those lessons to his own work in the coming years when he “owns as many companies as possible.”
Joey said he knows it will take hard work to achieve his goals – a life lesson he has taken from his father’s strong work ethic and passion for mission. Before heading off to a top-tier college in a few years, Joey plans to focus on running a micropreneurial resource planning site next summer instead of rejoining the team here at OCIO.
While the Barrows are on different paths and stages of their careers, their passion, devotion to the mission and desire to make a positive impact continues to drive each one of them every day.
The enthusiasm never seems to fade.
“We are doing great things at DHIMS,” Barrow said. “This is an exciting program to work in and be a part of.”
Of course, there is still one huge challenge facing the Barrow men – the father teaching the son to drive. This is a rite of passage that no matter of technology or classroom lectures can resolve.
Amee Roberson and Kathryn Yuhas, OCIO Communications, contributed to this report.