Economic Vitality Unplugged

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[Keith] Hello and welcome to Economic Vitality Unplugged

The official podcast with Tallahassee-Leon County Office of Economic Vitality. I'm your host Keith Bowers, the Director

of the Office of Economic Vitality, and today we're diving into a conversation that sits at the cutting edge of innovation.

We're talking about the intersection of healthcare and data. We're honored to be joined by Eddie

Gonzalez-Loumiet, a visionary leader, the CEO and co-founder of Ruvos, the Tallahassee-

based company with a national footprint in data integration and health information technology.

Under Eddie's leadership, Ruvos has helped shape how public health systems manage, share,

and protect critical data. Eddie, welcome to the show, we're thrilled to have you here. [Eddie] Thanks,

Keith, and thanks to OEV, and really all the success that you guys have experienced. I know we were in a committee meeting

recently, and there was a ton of information that was shared, and one of my comments was that I was super impressed and it's important

for the community to know all the hard work that you guys are doing. [Keith] Well, thank you, Eddie. We really appreciate that, and we

appreciate all your support,

and your support on the [MWSBE] Citizens Advisory Council. I mean, that's a huge role that you play in helping us shape

our programs, and giving us real-time feedback. So, thank you again for all that you do in this community.

Eddie, we want to jump right into the conversation about healthcare and data. Could you tell our listeners

a bit about your journey, what led you to co-found Ruvos, and how the company evolved into what it is today?

[Eddie] Okay great. So Ruvos, we just celebrated 20 years last year, so we're about to celebrate 21 years, which we're very proud of

[Keith] Congratulations! [Eddie] Thank you very much, thank you very much. And folks are probably wondering "Well, why are you guys in

Tallahassee?"

Well, you go back 20 years, the Department of Health of Florida, which is historically around the nation been in the cutting-

edge of public health technology. So, back 20 plus years ago, they wanted to initiate a project

that allowed data to flow within the state of Florida, and also parts the United States in an electronic

fashion. So get rid of paper, get rid of the fax machine. And so, we basically had an opportunity

to create a team at the Department of Health in Florida located in the Southwood area. And that was our first excuse to form a business.

They we were our first customer. And that's the reason why we're in Tallahassee today. And that was the first problem

that we were asked to solve. And that's a common theme in our organization. And that opportunity has allowed us to grow to close

to a hundred staff members across 21 states. And we also have an operation out of South Africa.

to do work across– at this point actually across the globe, which we're very grateful for. [Keith] Well, that's amazing, organic growth

right here in the Capital City of Florida. And we're just so thrilled to have a company like yours doing the

amazing things that you do, calling Tallahassee-Leon County home. So let's talk about

some of the things that you do. I mean, you've been on the forefront of some incredible work helping public health systems

modernize how they collect, manage, and use data. So one of the things that, and doing the research

for this conversation, was the work that you mentioned earlier that you were doing for the Florida Department of Health.

Can you give us an example of some of the things, if you don't mind sharing, some of the things that you were doing

during the COVID pandemic, that you helped scale with Florida's Statewide COVID-19 data pipeline?

[Eddie] Yeah, no, that's a great question, Keith. And that's actually a good example of when we try to explain what we do.

Sometimes it's a little hard to explain. A lot of it happens in quote—unquote "the cloud." So obviously, during the pandemic, we

all know someone or themselves who went and got tested for COVID-19, whether it was at LabCorp, Quest,

the hospital, a doctor's office. I mean, in some cases parking lots, [Keith] Yeah. [Eddie] Some cases at home, and even football

stadiums, right? And so, at first during the pandemic, testing was a little slow. So the FDA worked with the

different public health agencies and the public health laboratories across the nation to create a test kit. And once they streamlined the

process of the testing, that's the first part, right? Getting Keith Bowers tested for COVID. And then the second part

is the result. What do you do with that result? And so that result obviously goes to the patient

or the guardian of the patient. But it also has to flow to two different levels. It has to flow to the

Department of Health of where you live. In our case, it would go to the Department of Health of Florida for surveillance purposes.

And then it has to go through every Department of Health across the nation. In this particular case with the pandemic, it had to

go to the CDC in Atlanta, and it had to go to the White House. So in the case of Florida,

Ruvos was the organization, of course with other partners and the amazing employees of the state of Florida. We were

tasked with basically receiving all of that COVID data throughout the state and then handing it to the epidemiologists

who are amazing at the Department of Health and to data scientists and other experts all the way to the governor's office.

So we were kind of like the FedEx, right, of the data movement of public health data. However, by this

stage in the lifespan of Ruvos, we had already had clients and customers related to the federal government.

So the association of public health laboratories is a client and then we worked closely with the CDC. So we were also

tasked with moving the COVID data from every state—from Florida, Texas, Minnesota, California—to the

White House and to the CDC. So it's kind of like a double whammy. So during that extremely challenging

time, and we know it was a challenging time for many people across the world, a small business in Tallahassee at that point we were

probably 60 people. We raised our hand and said, "Yes, we can move this data for the United States, not only Florida."

And so I'm proud to say that we moved around 2.5 billion, with a B, COVID test results [Keith] Wow.

[Eddie] from all around the United States to decision-makers, to surgeon generals, to epidemiologists,

to school boards, for them to then make decisions. Now, COVID is one example which you asked, but we also

do that with influenza. We do that with STDs, we do that with HIV-AIDS, we do that with other conditions,

and other use cases across the United States. We're moving around, I would say, probably close to two to

three million messages, let's call it, on a daily basis for the United States of America. Of course,

in a secure fashion in the cloud, and we're doing that right here out of Tallahassee, Florida.

[Keith] That's incredible, 2.5 billion, that is just, I can't imagine. [Eddie] Yeah. And it tells

you, Keith, that a small business, and with partners, of course, can do it, right? Because during that time when there

was a lot of chaos, the governments were trying to figure out, who's going to move this data?

And so as you can imagine, there were some large multinational

companies that were saying, "We got it." Right? "We're a multinational company, we can take this on." And we're

very grateful that the different government organizations trusted a small business to do it.

Were we a little nervous? Were we a little stressed out? Absolutely, but I'm very proud to say that our team stepped up and delivered.

And of course, that's opened up other doors, which we're very grateful for, to do other things in public health, not just move the data,

which is very exciting. [Keith] An amazing story, an amazing story. And you mentioned data going everywhere, all

these different folks that need to have this data in relatively real time. And whenever we talk about

health care and data, privacy inevitably becomes a concern. How does Ruvos approach

issues of data security and public trust? [Eddie] That's a great question. For us, it's not optional. It's foundation.

I remember having to go to Atlanta in the CDC offices and the nice building where a lot of decisions

are made. And I had to give a presentation on moving to the cloud. And I remember 20 minutes

before I put up my PowerPoint presentation. Kind of made a game-time decision. I said, "You know what?

I'm going to move the security slide and the privacy slide and the compliance slide. From the second to last slide in the

deck. I'm going to move it to the second slide." Right– right after introductions. And it wasn't,

I mean, I don't have to be a genius to understand that that's extremely important.

But that was kind of like this moment where I realized that

is the most important thing here, right? Is making sure that we have the most secure environment. We have some of the most

highly-skilled technologists when it comes to security. We have people that are experts in cloud computing, people

that were in the military and were in intelligence, for example, now working in our security team. And it's also being

able to use tools. There's a lot of tools out there. So knowing how to use tools because people may think

that you have a thousand people in a room looking at a bunch of TV screens. Now some organizations may

have that. But as a small business you have to be very creative. You have to be nimble, scrappy, and

you have to be able to do things in an innovative way.

And honestly, security is the most important. If you don't have the security, if you don't

have the compliance, if it's not a foundational component of any of this, it doesn't matter. And so it's something that's a living thing.

It's not a project. You know a project has a start date and an end date. It's a living thing. And everyone in your

organization has a role to play. Whether it's the office manager, to a CEO, has a role to play in security.

That's a major, if not biggest priority in our organization. [Keith] Yeah. I can imagine, again

with all that sensitive data you just have to safeguard it. And it sounds like you guys worked it out and

continued to keep your finger on the pulse for cyber security and data security. So again,

just blown away by the depth of what you and your team have been able to accomplish, especially during

a time where, you know, the entire world was in crisis and trying to figure out a problem and how this data and

the role that you played helped everyone stay ahead of these issues in terms of making sure

this information was related to those who needed to have it. So again, I'm just blown away. Let's switch gears

here for a second and talk about the economic side of health tech. At OEV, we often talk about economic

vitality of our region. Companies like Ruvos show how tech and healthcare can drive job growth,

also talent retention and innovation. From your perspective, what role does IT play

in our local ecosystem and economic development? [Eddie] I think that's a great question.

I love it. Now, I think the future driver for our economy, in our region, I firmly believe, is

going to be around health care. Now, I think the way it's going to work, in my opinion, is it's a combination

of innovation, workforce development, technology, and you couple that with healthcare, which

is something that everyone understands. It's something that everyone needs. I believe our region

should not only, you know, be recipients of healthcare, but should be creators of healthcare.

We have, as you know better than anyone, highly-skilled people, strong infrastructure. We have organizations

that are mission-driven, strong healthcare organizations. Some that are potentially partnering in the

future, which I think would be an amazing thing. And so we're starting an ecosystem. And I believe

innovation and technology is going to be a key piece. The future of any economy is going to be data-driven. And honestly, at the end

of the day, healthcare is no exception at all. I think our region can be a place where people come to travel for healthcare.

And I almost feel like there is going to be almost like this clustered development where, yeah, I mean, Ruvos is here, which is great. However,

there may be other health IT companies or manufacturers of orthopedic equipment

or training organizations for nurses. You'll have surgeons and doctors, researchers

potentially, moving into our community and to do work in healthcare or around healthcare.

And at the end of the day, if you go into any home in our region, in our community, and

you talk about healthcare, they understand how important it is. And so we have a responsibility to make sure that people have

good quality healthcare. But at the same time, like you mentioned, it will move the needle economically.

So I'm very bullish on that. And I think a big component is going to be the data and the technology side.

And in 10 years from now, when we have another version of this podcast, we're going to see that Tallahassee

is going to be known not only for the most powerful magnet in the world, and the government, and of course, sports and other

amazing things, but also a destination for amazing healthcare. And so there's

a very good chance that the vision for our community, as we all come together, public and private sectors,

may include the word healthcare, that could be it. [Keith] Yeah. [Eddie] Like many other cities that we study, Keith, you know,

Salt Lake City, for example, they have a really cool project where they combined healthcare, and they combined

technology together, and it's really improved their economy. So studying other cities like that, I think

is great. And once again, we all understand healthcare, we all need it, and so I'm really excited about that.

I think it's going to create jobs. I think it's going to attract businesses, which OEV does a great job doing, and technology

is going to be all over that. [Keith] Excellent. Excellent. You touched on it a little bit, but looking ahead,

what do you see the biggest opportunities for innovation in health data over the next 5 to 10 years?

And are there any particular technologies or trends that you're especially excited about? [Eddie] I think

artificial intelligence, I alluded to Ruvos being FedEx of healthcare delivering data. We've had some really

cool opportunities recently to work more on the data science and artificial intelligence space. For example, we're

working with the World Health Organization to create a pandemic simulator. It's used data and it's

used global variables like weather and demographic data to determine potentially where

a pandemic would go to. And that's one project, right? And so we're

partnering with Johns Hopkins on that and we're partnering with the World

Health Organization. And so I think being able to make faster decisions is key. You know, one of the challenges is

that our amazing in epidemiologists across the nation, really the world, experienced during the pandemic was

we were a good at capturing data and then we got better at moving the data and suddenly an epidemiologist named Keith

Bowers has a ton of data in front of him. What do you do with the data? And so being able to use some of these modern

technologies, some of these digital tools and data science I think will allow us to make, those epidemiologists, allow them to make better

decisions. So you know, almost like a digital epidemiology, I think that's going to be a huge factor. I think it's

also going to help with research and development. You know,

I was talking to a group out of FSU in the engineering school and they're

biomedical experts. And first of all, I was so happy that we we're able to meet them and that they

want to learn more about our economy and they want to do more work. And so they're using data science. They're using

real cool modern technology to do some trials and some projects right here in our community. And so there are several

initiatives happening in our community around artificial intelligence. There's several events happening. Actually, this week

and next week, with Tallahassee State College, as you know, with the chamber and other groups.

And we're kind of in that phase where it's let's harness it. Let's not be scared about it. And let's educate ourselves

about it. But if it's done right, it can really be powerful and it could position, not only our nation and our

state, but really our community in an amazing opportunity. And I have to commend organizations like OEV, TSC, FSU,

FAMU, the chambers for kind of getting ahead of it and creating forums for people to

learn about AI and also share how they're using AI. My imagine other communities are doing the same, but I'm

very, very pleased with the movement and the momentum we have here in our community around this space. [Keith] Yeah,

you know, it's interesting that you talk about AI because it has its tentacles in everything that we do, but

it is interesting to hear some examples of it being used in health care, in prediction

of disease, and factoring in a whole lot of other information and being able to provide

that data to those folks and synthesize that data for those folks that need to utilize it the most.

One of the things that I was looking at earlier was the relationship with IBM Watson and the Mayo

Clinic, as one example of how that hospital is leveraging technology

and AI to help them stay ahead of the curve and run different scenarios for them

to better provide healthcare services and to be nimble enough and responsive enough. You know and

it's so interesting because, my parents when they went to see the doctor, everything

was just written on paper. If you wanted to have someone else review your information, your

healthcare records, you'd have to pack them up and send them. This was before fax machines. You'd have to pack them

up and send them and then by the time they got there and someone had an opportunity to take a look at it.

I mean a lot of things could occur. So what you're talking about is being able to share this information

and provide it to those healthcare providers at the speed of the sound, really. And with the technology

in place, where do you see the healthcare industry itself? How do you think this going to shape the landscape?

And we've heard of tele-medicine, but what do you think the next frontier is? [Eddie] I think a lot of it, you know, yes healthcare

is local, so I think we have opportunities in our community to potentially improve the way data is exchanged

between different doctor's offices and different groups in our community. Sometimes they're across the street, but

they're not exchanging electronics. I think there's some major opportunities here locally

as well. And there are some groups, including Ruvos

and others, that are working on that. I also think, you had mentioned your parents. I think from a personal perspective,

being able to carry the information with you. You know, there's a startup out their called WellConnector. There's a few others that almost

like, I mean, a digital passport and being able to go from doctor to doctor and being confident that you, whether

it's on your phone or some other device, you have your complete health record. Or you have the complete

health record of your children or the complete health record of someone that you are taking care of, right? A family

member, for example. And being able to go from primary care physician to a radiology group to a dermatology

group and having that consistent data, clean data, good quality data, across

the different organizations. We've all been to doctors offices with a file with papers.

And some of us may not have physical paper, we may have like a little note pad in our phone with our prescriptions

or the time we had a surgery here and there. And we're doing the best we can, but there's opportunities

there to improve. And those are foundational components, I believe it's almost like infrastructure. It's like foundational components,

we need in place. And then from there you can get into the more complex thing, right? And so we do have

some opportunities here. There is movement, there is momentum. And there's opportunities for companies to come to are

region, and implement their widgets and hire people and be able to help solve some

of the challenges that our community has around that and other communities do. And so hopefully this

podcast will inspire some companies to come here and help us out. [Keith] Hopefully, yeah, that's the goal here.

Well, Eddie, it has been a fascinating discussion and I knew it would be. Before we wrap up, is there anything

else you'd like to share with our listeners? Whether it's about your work at Ruvos, your vision for the future, or

a call to action for our community, or your upcoming chairmanship of the Greater Tallahassee Chamber?

Do you have anything you want to leave us with? [Eddie] No. I appreciate it, Keith, again for the opportunity and for the staff

at OEV, and for all that you guys are doing. I think 2026 is going to be an amazing year. I have the opportunity

to be Chair of the Board of the Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce and

working with the other chambers and OEV and other organizations.

We want to take a bold approach, an innovative approach, working closely with our partners and thinking big.

I always tell folks, even if it's a radical idea in your eyes, let's try something. Worst case scenario, it didn't

work out. And create opportunities like a healthcare ecosystem that I believe will bring our community

together. I think more than ever, communities across the United States need to work together. We have opportunities

here in the community to work together as one solid community. And I think healthcare can do that with a mix of technology and innovation.

And that's going to have a trickle-down effect to education, to crime, to other areas of our community and other communities

have for improvement. So it's one of being together, right? Collaborative,

being bold, maybe sometimes saying things that not everyone would like, but comes from a principled place

and a good heart and a good place overall. And like I said, working as one group, we have an amazing community as you know. People

who really love this community. We may not always agree, but that's okay. Let's work together and

try some new things out there, and maybe get some of these students to stay in our community, recruit new organizations,

recruit new people to come here, to not only Florida, but to our region. So I'm very, very excited about next year, very

excited for our partnership with OEV. [Keith] Well, thank you and we're excited to partner with you. We're going to work shoulder

to shoulder with you as you Chair the Greater Tallahassee Chamber, and we're going to pull you in on some conversations that we're

having with some other tech companies, as we try to grow our footprint in that industry. So thank you for all

the wonderful things that you do to support our community. And to our listeners, thanks again for joining

us, stay tuned for more conversations to spotlight leaders, innovators, and ideas driving

economic vitality in Tallahassee-Leon County and beyond. Until next time, thanks

again, and we'll see you with another episode, real soon. So take care!

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