All Entries Tagged With: "Professional of the Year"
First ‘official’ day of ACDIS conference goes over great
You can say 450 in any number of ways. . . 450 is, for example, the number 10 multiplied by 45. . . and it’s also the weight of a black marlin recently caught off the coast of Australia. . . And it’s around the number of attendees who registered for the second annual ACDIS conference last night and this morning. Although I tossed the number 450 around quite a bit in the past few weeks I did not have enough respect for the words I typed.
Everyone I spoke with throughout the course of the day today had their ‘ah-ha’ moment whether it came from Dr. Carl Hammerschlag’s keynote address or Gloryanne Bryant’s general session discussion regarding the AHIMA physician query practice brief. Actually, I had several ‘ah-ha’ moments today.
The first came when a packed room actively engaged speakers Martha Collins, RN, Trey La Charite, MD, and Carla Stump, RHIT, CCS, seeking to learn from the University of Tennessee Medical Center at Knoxville’s experience starting a CDI program. It was amazing to witness the UTMC team’s generosity as they shared the experiences of their CDI program’s first year. We all need to learn from each other, to hear each other’s struggles, in order to improve our own programs.
The second ‘ah-ha’ moment of mine was ACDIS Director Brian Murphy’s award luncheon speech. As you know I joined the ACDIS group in October 2008 but Mr. Murphy’s been working so hard for ACDIS for more than two years now. As he talked about the organization’s growth, discussed CCDS credential developments, and outlined plans for the future it was impossible not to see how much work Brian and all our advisory panels put into the growth of this association. (I’ll talk more about all these wonderful folks in a seperate post.)
My third ‘ah-ha’ moment came later when the breakout sessions ended and attendees poured out into the hallways, talking in groups of ones, twos, threes, their purple ACDIS bags in hand chatting about the session, talking about what they’d learned. The exhibit hall was full. New/old friends from ACDIS local chapters greeted me like we’d known each other for years.
Essentially, my ‘ah-ha’ moments all added up to one big one. . . 450 is just a number. . . ACDIS is an association that’s bouyed by the hard work and guinine good will of all of you. . . and all those moments, all those good intentions add up to a good deal more than any number can measure.
I promise to blog more later about the specific sessions I’ve attended and the award winners. . . There’s so much to say, I swear it will take weeks to sort through everything I’ve learned. . . On to day two! Ready for the chapter breakfast! I’m so excited.
ACDIS 2nd annual conference, registration, day one: What you need to know before you go
If you think registering 100 people for the ACDIS preconference sounds hectic, consider what it takes to register 450 attendees! The registration booth is open:
- Wednesday, May 13, from 4:30-7 p.m.
- Thursday, May 14, from 7-8 a.m.
If you’re arriving on Wednesday please make it a priority to swing by to pre- register and say hello. Mr. Murphy and I are looking forward to meeting you.
Register early to get your ACDIS bag! It looks like this only it says ACDIS and is purple!
We will have tote bags. They will be purple in honor of the ACDIS color scheme. They’ll have all kinds of goodies in them including a cool light-up pen from 3M and of course your program workbook with all of the presentations.
We’ve scheduled some great sessions, with some terrific speakers. We get started right away at 8 a.m. on Thursday, May 14 with Carl Hammerschlag’s keynote address “Healthcare at the Crossroads: Sustaining our Healing Spirit.”
You don’t need to worry about lunch on Thursday. We’ve lined up an amazing meal. (They tell me last year’s was fantastic!) Mr. Murphy will deliver his state-of-ACDIS address and we’ll honor our CDI Professional of the Year.
The first day adjourns at 4 p.m. if you’re not too tuckered out, I highly recommend taking a walk over to the Bellagio to check out the fountain shows which take place every hour.
ACDIS announces CDI Professional of the Year
The Association of Clinical Documentation Improvement Specialists recently announced the 2009 CDI Professional of the Year. After reviewing all the nominations, the 2009 ACDIS Conference Committee selected:
Beth Kennedy, RN, BS, CCS
Assistant Director Documentation Improvement
Montefiore Medical Center
Congratulations Beth! Beth recieved free admission to the upcoming ACDIS conference in Las Vegas and will receive her award at our Networking and Awards Luncheon on Thursday, May 14. She will also be featured in the upcoming issue of CDI Journal.
The 2009 ACDIS Conference Committee also awarded two ACDIS members for Recognition of CDI Professional Achievement. The two winners include:
Lynne Spryszak, RN, CPC-A
Senior Consultant
FTI Healthcare (and formerly of Alexian Brothers Medical Center)
Wendy Clesi, RN
Director, Documentation Excellence Department
Ochsner Health System
Along with Beth, Wendy and Lynne will also be honored at the upcoming ACDIS conference. Congratulations to three very deserving winners.
Finally, please keep those nominations coming for 2010! The voting was extremely close, so if you’d like to re-nominate a candidate for next year, please send me an e-mail.
Recognizing greatness: Nominations open for CDI Specialist of the Year
As most of you know, I’m a writer by trade and, some say, talent. I’m constantly telling ACDIS Director Brian Murphy how lucky he is to have me on board as ACDIS’ No. 2 go-to girl. (I think I nearly have him convinced.)
CDI specialists do not need to lean on self-promotional tactics like mine, thanks to the annual ”CDI Professional of the Year” award. Thankfully, there’s a little more glam and sparkle to this contest than there is to my generally unheeded boastings to Brian. For starters, winners get free admission to the annual ACDIS conference. And don’t forget about the nifty trophy, of course.
Perhaps most importantly those chosen from the collection of nominations become the standard bearers for best practices of the CDI profession.
Last year, Randi Ferrare, RN, BSN, a CDI specialist at Morton Plant Mease Healthcare in Clearwater, FL, earned the award for revamping the program and instilling a multidiciplinary approach to documentation improvement.
“[Ferrare is] a very strong leader, and with that, she brings the mentoring piece. We’ve never worked with anybody like her,” said co-worker Kimberly Richert, RN.
In addition, CDI Professional Achievement awards went to Karla Johnson, clinical documentation specialist supervisor at Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines and Nancy Taylor Ward, director of case management/documentation improvement at Tampa (FL) General Hospital.
We get so busy actually performing the duties of our respective professional roles that we neglect to see the proverbial forest through the trees. CDI specialists provide an important function in healthcare. This is your opportunity to earn accolades for your accomplishments. Please take a moment to fill out the form and send it to bmurphy@cdiassociation.com. And good luck!
~Melissa