Calendar of Events · 2016. 12. 2. · Calendar of Events March 1, 2008 – NvHIMA Board of Director’s Meeting – Channel Publishing – 10 a.m. March 6, 2008 – Team Talks –

Spring Newsletter March 1, 2008 1

Future News Network Newsletters: Jun. 1, Sept. 1 Dec. 1

NEWSLETTER MARCH 1, 2008 CONTENTS

Calendar of Events 1 President’s Message 2 Message from the Director 3 Legislative Committee 4 It’s High Time, America! 4 Distinguished Member 5 Mentor News 6 College Corner 7 Convention News 7

Board Members 8 Coding Excellence 9 Proposed Bylaws Amendment 9 NNvHIMA 10 SNvHIMA 11 Nominating Committee News 11 Strategic Plan 12 Coding Roundtable Update 12 NvHIMA Committees 13

Calendar of Events March 1, 2008 – NvHIMA Board of Director’s Meeting – Channel Publishing – 10 a.m. March 6, 2008 – Team Talks – Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas March 19, 2008 - CSA Financial Management Series #4 Webinar – Financial Statements and Budgets March 21, 2008 – Extension of deadline for NvHIMA Scholarship March 27, 2008 – Northern NvHIMA Meeting – 5:30 p.m. March 29, 2008- Southern NvHIMA Meeting 10:00 a.m. Location to be announced April 7-8, 2008 – Hill Day, Washington, D.C. April 17-18, 2008 – NvHIMA Annual Convention at Harvey’s Casino & Resort - South Lake Tahoe April 17, 2008 – NvHIMA Board of Director’s Meeting April 17, 2008 – Dinner at the Riva Grill on Lake Tahoe in Celebration of NvHIMA’s 35th Anniversary and its volunteers. Dinner is included in your registration for the Convention.



As I write this message to all of you, it’s wintery and cold here in Northern Nevada with another snowfall arriving last night. The daffodils are showing signs of life in my garden, however, and the hope of spring is on its way! The Board of Directors continues to focus on our strategic plan. With Board approval the Education/Scholarship Committee has extended the scholarship deadline to March 21, 2008. The committee has written a letter to the students at the College of Southern Nevada notifying them of the extension and including an application. It is the Board’s hope that we will have scholarship recipients to recognize at the Annual Convention. The Convention Committee has mailed out the convention brochure to all of you and it is posted on the NvHIMA website at www.NvHIMA.org. The committee is working diligently to have timely topics and outstanding speakers at the convention, including our Governor, Jim Gibbons. An added benefit of your registration this year includes dinner on Thursday evening at the Riva Grill on Lake Tahoe. We will be celebrating our 35th Anniversary as an association, recognizing our vendors, volunteers and members! Please plan on attending. I recently checked the airfares from Las Vegas to Reno and they are very reasonable, so make them early. Make your hotel reservations at Harvey’s by April 2nd to get the reduced rates. The Mentorship Program has been approved by the Board and the committee members, Rhonda Faul and Shelly Toddy, are now coordinating and requesting the NvHIMA members to participate by posting a brief, biographical summary on the NvHIMA website. This is a great way to get involved with our future HIM professionals. Please see the additional article that is printed in this Newsletter. The active membership of NvHIMA was mailed a letter within the last month regarding electronic voting in our next election and the steps necessary in becoming a member of the Geographic Nevada CoP. The Nominating Committee has taken on this challenge along with Kathy Carr, our Director, in loading the necessary membership information so that this electronic voting process will be successful. It is important that each of you become a member of both the AHIMA’s Geographic Nevada CoP AND NvHIMA website to stay in close communication with the activities of our Association and to vote. The Nominating Committee is working hard to find candidates who are willing to place their name on the ballot. Please consider an office at the state level. It’s rewarding and truly a learning experience to serve as a delegate to the national convention, participating in the business of the House of Delegates and then bringing that information back to our membership to strengthen and fortify our activities. If you know someone who would make a great officer or committee member, let the Nominating Committee know so that they can contact them. It’s really the responsibility of each of us to participate in some way for the strength and future of our association.



If you were a volunteer for our HIM Marketing Program to the Nevada high schools, please take a moment to make a follow-up call to the counselor, answer any questions they might have and offer your assistance again regarding the HIM profession. If more brochures are needed, let me know and I can send them off to you. Please also remind the counselor of our scholarship opportunity for any student considering an HIM career. You can find the scholarship application posted on the NvHIMA website at www.NvHIMA.org . We are still waiting to hear from a local high school in Sparks regarding their career fair date. In January, the HIM brochures were included in packets given to the attendees at the Washoe County Regional Technical Center Family Career Night. We hope that next year NvHIMA will be invited as a presenter. My thanks to each of you who have participated and supported these marketing efforts. You will find the Distinguished Member Nomination Form in this newsletter. Do you know a NvHIMA member who deserves recognition for a job well done, or outstanding work on a committee? Please take time to complete it and return to Tamra Wood at [email protected]. The Distinguished Member will be recognized at the Annual Convention. I am looking forward to seeing some of you at the Team Talks in Las Vegas. I am excited about our Annual Convention and hope that you will consider attending this year. It is my once a year opportunity to see many of you from the rurals and Las Vegas areas and to renew that professional connection. Wishing you well… Happy Spring,

Jo Ann Jones, RHIA, CCS President, NvHIMA

MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR!

This report consists of Nevada Health Information Management Association activity from November 2007 through January 2008 as reported by AHIMA. NvHIMA would like to WELCOME the

following new members:

For the South Jaime Kocanda Martha Luebke Darie Sticka, RHIT, CCS – from Minnesota

CONGRATULATIONS to the following people who have recently achieved their credentials:

Lisa Staikoff, CCA – 9/07

Chatty Becker, CCA Barbara Price, CCS Barbara Smith, CCS-P Angela Torrentera, CCA

Also CONTRATULATIONS to the following student who has recently graduated:

Linda Jessmer

Just beginning to discover the HIM profession is the following new student:

Shari Parkin-Krentzel I apologize if I’ve missed anyone. Hope to see lots of members at Lake Tahoe for the Nevada Annual Convention in April.



Kathy Carr, RHIT Director, NvHIMA

Legislative Committee

Submitted by Kimberly Billmeyer, RHIT, CCS

Here is the contact information for our state representation in Washington, D.C. Keep it handy as we may be contacting you and asking for your assistance regarding legislative issues in the state as well as nationally. Legislative Update: Nothing new is happening from a legislative standpoint. I continue to monitor the updates through AHIMA. Senator Harry Reid 528 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510-2803 Phone: 202-224-3542 Fax: 202-224-7327 Las Vegas: 702-388-5020 LV Fax: 702-388-5030 Representative Shelley Berkley 405 Cannon House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515-2801 Phone: 202-225-5365 Fax: 202-225-3119 Las Vegas: 702-220-9823 LV Fax: 702-220-9841 Representative Jon C. Porter 218 Cannon House Office Building Washington, D. C. 20515-2803 Phone: 202-225-3252

Fax: 202-225-2185 Henderson: 702-387-4941 Henderson Fax: 702-434-1378 Senator John Ensign 119 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510-2805 Phone: 202-224-6244 Fax: 202-228-2193 Las Vegas: 702-388-6605 LV Fax: 702-388-6501 Representative Dean Heller 1023 Longworth House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515-2802 Phone: 202-225-6155 Fax: 202-225-5679 Reno: 775-686-5760 Reno Fax: 775-686-5711

It’s High Time, America!

AHIMA has launched a new campaign regarding the personal health record. It’s High Time, America! encourages each of us to create and maintain a personal health record in an effort to have timely, important health information available when making important healthcare decisions. Visit the myPHR.com website for more information.



DISTINGUISHED MEMBER It’s that time to nominate a member for Distinguished Member. Do you know someone who has worked

hard behind the scenes for NvHIMA? Someone who deserves recognition for outstanding committee work or went above and beyond in completing a task for the association. Now would be a great time to

show your appreciation by making a nomination. Please complete the attached form and return to Tamra Wood at [email protected]

CANDIDATE FOR 2008 DISTINQUISHED MEMBER

STATE ASSOCIATION: NEVADA CANDIDATE NAME: TITLE: COMPANY/FACILITY NAME: CITY: STATE: SUMMARIZE WHY THIS CANDIDATE IS A DISTINGUISHED MEMBER: Include the candidate’s contributions/achievements in association activities. Service to American Health Information Management Association and/or Nevada Health Information Management Association as an officer, committee chair or member or project volunteer. Has the candidate participated in national or state speaking engagements. Include a paragraph of the candidate’s professional experience in health information. Special awards and/or achievements should be noted. Indicate where the candidate's Health Information Management education and any postgraduate education were received. Return Nomination Form to Tamra Wood, Chair, Nominating Committee at: [email protected] PERSON NOMINATING THE CANDIDATE: Phone Number: Date of Nomination:



Attention: Northern Nevada HIMA Members: The Board of Directors has approved the student mentorship program. This proposal appeared in our December, 2007 Newsletter. It is time to move forward in developing this program between students/newly-credentialed members and the NvHIMA members. Rhonda Faul and Shelly Toddy are in need of a member from the Northern Nevada region to volunteer to assist them on this committee. Ultimately, we want NvHIMA members to volunteer to be a mentor to our HIM, HIT and coding students in Nevada. By volunteering to help, this does not mean you must be a mentor, however, it would be an added benefit for you. There is an accompanying article in this issue of the Newsletter on how to Become a Mentor. Please consider this opportunity to volunteer. Please contact Rhonda Faul at [email protected] or call her at (702) 651-5701.

BECOME A MENTOR

Please think back to your days as a student or as a newcomer to Nevada. Wouldn’t it have been nice if you had someone to turn to when you had a professional question, needed to network, or wanted to get involved with the local and state HIM associations? Your investment in the future resources of our profession will certainly net a positive and rewarding return. As HIM professionals and especially as members of our professional organization, we are called to be advocates for our profession. By definition, advocacy entails supporting, defending, and pleading the cause for a common goal or good. As a professional association whose mission is to direct the evolution of HIM, we must do everything we possibly can to prepare the workforce to meet head-on the challenges we see coming in the future health record environment. Indeed, our students represent the future of HIM, and we must nurture and mold them as our most precious resource. NvHIMA has accepted the challenge and has established the NvHIMA Mentoring Program. All HIM, HIT, and coding students in Nevada are invited to participate along with all HIM professionals who move into Nevada and are facing the awkwardness of being the new person in our midst. It’s up to each and every one of us to extend a warm, inviting welcome to our students and newcomers and to lend a helpful hand to them whenever we can. In other words, please consider signing up to become a volunteer mentor. What will you have to do? It’s really simple and painless! As a mentor you will be asked to: 1. Post a brief personal biographical summary on the NvHIMA website, expressing a desire to serve as a mentor. 2. Initially meet your student/newcomer mentee at a social gathering prearranged by NvHIMA. 3. Guide students/newcomers by word and by example, exhibiting professional conduct and appropriate

demeanor at all times. 4. Initiate and/or maintain communication with your student/newcomer mentee on a routine basis, minimally

twice per month. 5. Encourage student/newcomer participation in local, state, and national HIM organizations and activities. 6. Respect your mentee’s time by answering their inquiries, e-mails, etc., promptly, minimally within three days. 7. Make a commitment to mentor a student for the duration of the student’s educational program, or to assist in

finding a suitable replacement if necessary. 8. Encourage student graduates to become credentialed HIM professionals.



For more information or to sign up to become a mentor, please e-mail Rhonda Faul at [email protected] or call her at (702) 651-5701.

College Corner Cassie Gentry, M.Ed., RHIA, CHP – HIT Program Director, CSN

We have a new name! It is now the College of Southern Nevada, CSN. There have been changes to the Health Information Technology (HIT) Program too. We have several new course offerings available on line. They include HIT 101B CPT lecture (lab meets once a week), HIT 105B Healthcare Dynamics, HIT 118B Language of Medicine, HIT 119B Advanced Language of Medicine, HIT 165B Pathophysiology, HIT 180B Intro to HIM, and HIT 245B Quality Management and Research. Two more of the 200 level courses are offered in a hybrid format, meaning they are on line and meet once a month on a Friday and Saturday. These new on line HIT courses in addition to the general education courses available on line make it easier for working students and distance students to complete the HIT degree and the Medical Coding Certificate of Achievement. NEW: The Medical Transcription Certificate of Achievement is available completely on line as of spring 2008. Tell your colleagues and friends who may be interested in transcription. For more information, contact Rhonda Faul at [email protected] or 702-651-5701. The HIT Program is looking for students. You can go to www.csn.edu/health and look for the links to the Health Information Technology degree and the Certificates of Achievement in Medical Coding and Medical Transcription to find the program course sheet that lists all the required courses. If you know of anyone thinking about a career in HIT, please tell them to contact me at CSN. I’ll be happy to talk with them about the profession and our degree and certificates at CSN. Also, if you have any job openings, please let me know and I will pass the information along to graduates and students. You can reach me at 702-651-5896 or by email at [email protected]

CONVENTION “It’s Time To…” Plans are right on schedule with vendors and sponsorships coming in. The fliers will be mailed by 2/22. We are planning a special event to be held at the Riva Grill on Lake Tahoe on April 17. It will begin at 7:00, with dinner being served from 8:00 to 9:30. Bus transportation from Harvey’s will be provided. This is included in the registration fee. Please plan to attend. All of our speakers are on board, with the governor having been invited. I still have not heard from them, but expect to very soon. LOOK FOR INFORMATION ON THE WEB SITE IN THE NEXT WEEK!!!! Kimberly Billmeyer



NVHIMA

JO ANN JONES, RHIA, CCS PRESIDENT, 2007- 2008

MARY LAWRENCE, CCS, CCS-P

PRESIDENT-ELECT

KIM BILLMEYER, RHIT, CCS PAST PRESIDENT

SAMETTE MORELLI, RHIT, CCS-P

SECRETARY

CATHY ULIBARRI, CCS TREASURER

KATHY CARR, RHIT

DIRECTOR

STEPHANIE CARLISTO, RHIT, CCS PRESIDENT SNVHIMA

SOLOMON EBOIGBODIN, RHIA

PRESIDENT, NNVHIMA

NORTH

President: Solomon Eboigbodin, RHIA

President-Elect: Merri Faretto, CCS, CCS-P

Past President: Mary Lawrence, CCS, CCS-P

Secretary: Kathy Carr, RHIT

Treasurer: Bonnie Ohlin, CCS

SOUTH

President: Stephanie Carlisto, RHIT, CCS

President-Elect: Gloria Gonzales, RHIT

Past President: Rolande Werner, RHIA

Secretary: Martha Tokos, CCS-P, CPC



Treasurer: Tamra Wood, RHIT, CCS, CCS-P

CODING EXCELLENCE MEETING

In January, NvHIMA was contacted regarding hosting a Coding Excellence Meeting in Las Vegas in November, 2008. In March of 2007, a very successful Coding Excellence Meeting was held in Las Vegas and 15 members from NvHIMA attended. The concerns in sponsoring a Coding Excellence Meeting include the limited budget for speakers, the CSA would need to arrange for most of the speakers, difficulty we have in getting over 50 NvHIMA members to attend (a rebate of 10% of the registration fee is given back to the sponsoring CSA after 50 NvHIMA members register and a 5% rebate for NvHIMA members attending up to 50 members). Putting all of this aside, the biggest challenge would be getting NvHIMA volunteers to find these speakers and do the necessary coordinating with AHIMA to make this successful. The NvHIMA board looked at our successful Coding Roundtables held within the state and felt that our strengths in reaching more of our membership at a lesser registration fee are better met through this avenue of education. For these reasons, NvHIMA has graciously declined being a sponsor of the Coding Excellence Meeting for November, 2008. AHIMA will still hold the meeting in the Las Vegas area, but another CSA will help with the sponsorship. NvHIMA members are encouraged to attend.

Proposed Bylaws Amendment from the CAHIIM The House of Delegates will be voting on this proposed bylaws amendment that has been discussed in your local association meetings. Let me try to explain it so far…. CAHIIM – Council on the Accreditation of Health Informatics and Information Management Education – was created in 2005 from the AHIMA Council on Accreditation through a bylaws change in the HOD. Eight of the sixteen commissioners of this council are from the AHIMA membership. Graduation from a CAHIIM-accredited HIM program is an eligibility requirement for anyone seeking one of the two HIM entry-level professional credentials: RHIT or RHIA. CHEA – The Council for Higher Education and Accreditation – is the organization that oversees all University/College accrediting bodies, which includes HIM programs. Recognition of CAHIIM by CHEA is a quality review process of the accreditation standards. Having CHEA recognition assures the public that CAHIIM’s accreditation standards are fair, equitable and ensure academic quality. It is the same as your hospital achieving JCAHO accreditation. CHEA recognition gives CAHIIM the “stamp of approval” that their accrediting organization meets the standards of approval. CHEA must function independently from AHIMA in order to be free from influence from special interests or professional associations. Therefore, the reason for the bylaws change- we need to move the authority for HIM program standards to CAHIIM from the HOD. The voting process begins March 3rd. The NvHIMA delegates appreciate your input and/or questions and will be casting a vote for NvHIMA. This issue was discussed at the local NNvHIMA meeting in January and after gathering the details for the reason behind this bylaws change, it was agreed that we need to proceed with CHEA recognition. I know Stephanie has raised this discussion at the Southern NvHIMA association meeting also.



Jo Ann Jones – [email protected] Mary Lawrence – [email protected] Stephanie Carlisto – [email protected]

NNvHIMA We had our first meeting of the year on January 24th. After going over the last meeting's minutes and the Treasurer's report, we moved on to new business. The next Coding Round table scheduled for March and the upcoming NvHIMA convention in April were among the "big" topics of the meeting. Other topics included a Mentoring proposal, Career Fair participation, electronic voting for state elections and the possibility of video conferencing of future meetings to allow access to rural members. For our educational part of the meeting, our presenters highlighted on the new CPT 2008 changes and educated on the correct way to Query a physician. Thanks, Merri Faretto

~A MESSAGE FROM SOLOMON~

Is time again to prepared for the State convention in Lake Tahoe, as members we should ensure that our invitees, vendors and students sees the best of us as professionals. At the national level AHIMA reminds all members and their volunteers to ensure to advance the following.

o Improved quality of health data and coding o The HIM work force o Health information exchange o Confidentiality, privacy, and security of health information o Greater understanding of HIM and its issues.

The above list is why we volunteer to participate in local activities and encourage members to do their share of advancing these goals. Most of the activities we participate in at our board meetings and members meetings are designed to provided additional information to advance the awareness of the different reforms or initiative conducted at the national level. As a quick reminder that elections of officials are coming and that this election will be conducted electronically and we ask all members to participate in this process to elect members to different positions. The changes in the future includes the vision of HIM education and the success of this starts, I believe getting information to high school students to help steer their decision making for the HIM as a profession. The goal of this is to ensure the future have competent work force that would be ready to support and sustain the demand for qualified HIM professionals What’s is at are competition for jobs increasingly coming from other healthcare specialties. As a result both local and national association must work in a collaborative effort to maintain and increase our leadership and volunteering participation to ensure the future success of this profession we love.



Solomon Eboigbodin, RHIA President NNvHIMA

Local Association Meeting

SNvHIMA had it’s meeting on January 26th. We had a nice turnout for the HCPro Audio seminar on Physician Queries featuring Dr. James Kennedy. It was very informative, and offered some good ideas for implementing a query process. We also thanked our members who participated in getting the word out about a career in HIM to our local high schools. Your help by volunteering is greatly appreciated. The Mentoring Program proposal that was created by Shelly Toddy and Rhonda Faul was brought up to our membership at the meeting also, and there was some interest in being able to mentor a student. Unfortunately, we are having a difficult time trying to get people to run for office within the association. The nominating committee was looking for volunteers, and we can’t seem to spark any interest in anyone. I’m afraid if we don’t get more people to be involved in our association, it is going to end. That would be a very sad thing. Everyone has busy lives, but it doesn’t require too much of your time, and it’s a great way to meet people in your profession. Stephanie Carlisto, RHIT, CCS

NvHIMA needs your INVOLVEMENT!!! There are positions open for President-Elect and Nominating Committee for the 2008 NvHIMA Board. Please submit your nomination for any of the positions to Tamra Wood, Chair, Nominating Committee. AHIMA presents a Leadership Conference each summer in Chicago in addition to Team Talks three times/year. These meetings provide lots of information on the governance of the state associations and NvHIMA officers attend these meetings. It really is a rewarding experience to work at the state level with fellow board and committee members. There are various levels of expertise on the board and we learn from each other. As with any activity, there always is a commitment of time and your enthusiasm. The NvHIMA board meets at least every



quarter either by phone or getting together so your location is not a problem in this widespread state. Please take the leap and notify Tamra Wood at [email protected] of your desire to run for office!

STRATEGIC PLAN 2007-2008 1. Promoting HIM Profession

a. Create a flyer to use as a marketing tool for NvHIMA b. Identify middle and high schools statewide – contact counselors to further promote HIM

as a possible future profession to students. c. Volunteer to promote HIM at a Career Fair.

2. Scholarship/Student Mentorship/Membership

a. Review current scholarship requirements for applicants. b. Award three scholarships. c. Volunteer to be an HIM mentor to a student d. Communicate to membership through website with timely information.

3. Advocacy a. Introduce ourselves and begin to network with policymakers at the local and state levels. b. Be an information resource on HIM topics.

4. Technology

a. Pursue electronic voting opportunities as provided through AHIMA with goal of voting electronically in 2008.

CODING ROUNDTABLE UPDATE The next coding roundtable is tentatively scheduled for March 29th. Two speakers have confirmed and we are attempting to solicit two more. Emphasis will be on CPT coding with topics that relate to outpatient and physician office coding. We will again do this in the video-conferencing format. The cost will remain at $20.00. Saturday has proven to be the best day of the week for most people interested in attending. If you have any subject you would want to see covered or if you would prefer a different day, please email me at [email protected] with your suggestions. I am again asking for volunteers to work with the coding roundtable committee and me to provide our membership with these roundtables. If you have an interest in coding and networking with other coders, this could be the ideal way to express yourself. Please contact me at the above email address or 775-560-1853. Mary Lawrence, CCS, CCS-P Coding Roundtable Coordinator



NEVADA HEALTH INFORMATION MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION

COMMITTEES 2007/2008

EDUCATION/SCHOLARSHIP COMMITTEE Jo Ann Jones - [email protected] Gloria Gonzales - [email protected] Stephanie Carlisto - [email protected]

LEGISLATION COMMITTEE Kimberly Billmeyer – Chair [email protected] Gloria Gonzales [email protected]

My PHR.com/CONSUMER EDUCATION COORDINATOR Rolande Werner – [email protected]

VOLUNTEER COMMITTEE Jo Ann Jones - [email protected] Bonnie Ohlin - [email protected] Christine Balascoe - [email protected] Linda Hall - [email protected]

CODING ROUNDTABLE Mary Lawrence – Coding Roundtable Coordinator [email protected] Sunny Aigboboh – Fallon - [email protected] Kimberly Billmeyer – Lovelock – [email protected] Geralyn Jackson – Reno – [email protected] Dale Fleener – Las Vegas – [email protected] Maria DeMarco – Las Vegas [email protected] Tracy Shepherd – Las Vegas – [email protected]

NEWSLETTER Traci Jo Stotts - [email protected]

MENTORSHIP TASK FORCE Rhonda Faul - [email protected] Shelly Toddy - [email protected]

NOMINATING COMMITTEE Tamra Wood – Chair – [email protected] Susan Bailey – [email protected] Gloria Gonzales - [email protected] Martha Tokos – [email protected] ANNUAL CONVENTION COMMITTEE –Kimberly Billmeyer –Chair [email protected] Mary Lawrence – Co-Chair [email protected] Amanda Vincent Katie Von Nolde Tamra Wood Barbara Martinez

HANDBOOK COMMITTEE Linda Garrison - [email protected] Deanna Neff - [email protected] Mary Lawrence

WEB MASTER FOR NvHIMA Mary Lawrence – [email protected]

WEBSITE/GEOGRAPHIC NV CoP Deanna Neff – [email protected]

Documents

Calendar of Events · 2016. 12. 2. · Calendar of Events March 1, 2008 – NvHIMA Board of Director’s Meeting – Channel Publishing – 10 a.m. March 6, 2008 – Team Talks –