TxHIMA Roundup Inside This Issue - February 2010 TxHIMA 2010 Annual Meeting AHIMA 2009 National Convention Update AHIMA Foundation Gift from TxHIMA TxHIMA Scholarships and Nominations Vendor Update TxHIMA 2010 Annual Meeting Convention time is coming soon. Save the date, get registered and be prepared to have fun learning.  To learn more, click here. 2010 TxHIMA Annual Meeting & Convention June 27-29, 2010 Embassy Suites and Spa Conference Center San Marcos, TX AHIMA 2009 National Convention Update AHIMA 2009 National Convention House of Delegates Credentials Committee The purpose of the House of Delegates Credentials Committee is to assure the AHIMA membership that the voting process in the AHIMA House of Delegates is conducted in accordance with the AHIMA Bylaws and/or Roberts Rules of Order, whichever applies and to check in the Delegates at the meeting. As the hosting state, the three members of the House of Delegates Credentials Committee were appointed by the TxHIMA president, These members were appointed to carry out the registration duties of the House of Delegates   TxHIMA thanks the three member committee for volunteering! Sue Biedermann, Chair Maria Martinez-Johnson, Member Kim Kramer, Member AHIMA Texas Members win AWARDS at AHIMA in Grapevine, TX Reported by Terri Frnka, RHIT/ TxHIMA Education Director Foundation TRIUMPH Awards - Educator Award Congratulations to Sue Biedermann, MSHP, RHIA, of Texas State University who is the 2009 recipient of the AHIMA Educator Award. The Educator Award honors those who demonstrate commitment to educating current and future HIIM professionals through high standards and high expectations of students.  Ms. Biedermann has proven her innovation, mentorship, and volunteerism over her illustrious career and is a perfect representation of what the 2009 recipient of the Educator Award should be. Ms. Biedermann has been involved with formal education for almost 35 years.  She began her career in education at Texas State University (then known as Southwest Texas State University) in San Marcos in 1980.  She has been program director for over 25 years.  She was instrumental in developing the only online HIM administrative program in Texas.  Recently she initiated the development of an HIM Research Institute intended to assist in workforce preparation initiative outlined under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Ms. Biedermann is actively involved in AHIMA and the Texas Health Information Management Association (TxHIMA).  She has served two terms as President of TxHIMA.  She is a recognized authority and invited speaker on a variety of topics, such as HIPAA, ethical issues in HIM, and the personal health record. Ms. Biedermann has dedicated herself to the success of others in the HIM profession and has made an impact on hundreds of students and HIM professionals.  Her dedications, leadership, support, and mentoring is unmatchable, and this is why we congratulate her on being selected as the winner of the 2009 Educator Award. AHIMA “RACE Awards Honor Best and Brightest” The Coding Roundtables are a forum for grassroots coders to come together to learn, share, and network on issues related to coding and data quality.  The roundtables serve as a forum for coders to address problematic, and/or unresolved coding issues within their state.  Roundtable Coordinators are responsible for organizing meetings in their regional or state.  At the 2009 National Convention in Dallas, Texas, AHIMA recognized the best and brightest coding roundtable coordinators and component state association (CSAs) for excellence in programming with the 2009 Roundtable Achievement in Coding Excellence (RACE) Awards. Congratulations to Sarah Glass, MS, RHIA, CCS who is the Coding Roundtable Coordinator for Texas Sarah won second place as the AHIMA Coding Roundtable Coordinator Recognition for Excellence.  Reflecting excellence in organizing meetings and providing networking opportunities through innovative and creative approaches that serve the needs of the “grass roots” coder.  Sarah has traveled throughout Texas and volunteered on her own time setting up coding roundtables in an effort to generate enthusiasm for this initiative and to encourage regional coding roundtable coordinators to follow her lead.  TxHIMA and its members are very proud to have such a devoted and creative volunteer as Sarah Glass.   House of Delegates Team – Operations Reported by Rae Freeman, RHIA, CCS-P / TxHIMA President-Elect There are 6 House of Delegates Teams and each member of the HOD is expected to participate in one of the teams; among them, Operations.   The Operations Team meets every two months via conference call with one face-to-face meeting at the National Convention. Proposed bylaws amendment on HOD apportionment was discussed.  Options included the ‘senate’ model where each state would have two delegates, and the percentage model where the number of delegates for each state is dependent upon the state’s number of members.  This option would cause some states to have only two delegates while others would increase to six.  The proposal was brought to the HOD meeting, but sent back to committee for further discussion. One of the charges for the Operations Team is to consider ways to increase delegate participation.  Members are busy with job responsibilities and finding time to commit to team participation is not always easily done.  Utilizing the Communities of Practice is one way for members to communicate and stay up-to-date. AHIMA Foundation Gift from TxHIMA An excerpt from a letter from Mary Madison, MPA, Executive Director of AHIMA Foundation to Carol Smith, MBA, RHIA, President, TxHIMA: “On behalf of the AHIMA Foundation Board of Directors, I am pleased to acknowledge with gratitude the generous gift of $2,500.00 from the TxHIMA to the Linda Kloss Honorary Endowed Scholarship Fund. Thanks to a wonderful lead gift, we have already surpassed the $25,000 minimum goal to establish an endowed scholarship. The TxHIMA gift helps to build the endowment in Linda’s name. We are grateful for this support as we now move toward (and hopefully beyond) the $50,000 level.” Cudos to TxHIMA! TxHIMA Scholarships and Nominations Peggy P. Starks Scholarship The Peggy P. Starks Scholarship for Graduate Studies was established in June of 1991 in the name of TxHIMA Past President and dedicated, long time educator, Peggy P. Starks. The scholarship is awarded to TxHIMA members for study in specific areas related to health information management.  It is funded through contributions, TxHIMA allocations. and primarily royalties from advertisements placed in For the Record by Texas facilities. Past recipients of the Peggy P. Starks Scholarship include Past TxHIMA President, Beverly Rhodes , MSHP, RHIA & Susan Baze, RHIA in 2003; Angela Fares, RHIA, CRM, CISA in 1995; Past TxHIMA President, Diann Brown, MS, RHIA, CHP in 1997; Past TxHIMA Education Director,  Kimberly Hrehor, MHA, RHIA, FACHE, CHC in 1998; Jacqueline LaFleur, MBA, RHIA in 2007.  Carol F. Smith, MBA, RHIA, your current TxHIMA President was awarded the Peggy P. Starks Scholarship in 2001.  Click here to access the Peggy P Starks Scholarship application or visit txhima.org. Nominate your TxHIMA Volunteer of the Year You can nominate your TxHIMA Volunteer of the Year. The nominee must be an active member of AHIMA, must be a Texas resident for at least one year and must be a citizen of the United States. Click here to access the TxHIMA Volunteer of the Year nomination form or visit txhima.org. Vendor Update Health Information Associates (HIA) TxHIMA acknowledges HIA for their generous gift of $300 during HI&T week in honor of their clients.