President's Message - AHIMA Convention
Beverly Rhodes, MSHP, RHIA

In September the TxHIMA delegates joined 3600+ Health Information Management professionals at the second most attended convention in AHIMA history. The delegates who represented Texas at the 74th National House of Delegates on the day prior to the convention were Wade Harless, Gwen Duffie, Kim Suggs, Dana Choate, and me. There were 52 states represented at the House with 206 voting members present. There were four issues on the agenda, and two action items. The issues were topics on which AHIMA solicited grassroots feedback from the delegates, and the two action items required House vote. The TxHIMA delegates all attended the breakout forums on the action items to ensure that we understood the issues well enough to vote on behalf of Texas. Each Texas delegate, as well as each district president, had the opportunity to review a summary of these issues and action items prior to the convention. The Texas delegates distributed ourselves randomly among the issue forums to provide greater feedback opportunities and have more networking opportunities with other state delegates. In addition to the issues scheduled by AHIMA for discussion, the Florida component state association (CSA) brought forward a resolution to the House. We have devoted a special section of this Journal to briefly discuss each of the issues and action items, as well as the special resolution brought forward by Florida. In addition, Dana Choate attended a convention breakout session, CoP Networking-Coding Roundtable, and she summarized the discussion for us.

Participating in the AHIMA House is a very rewarding experience. In addition to the issues and action items described above, the AHIMA board updates the delegates on the activities of the association. As a delegate, I left the House at the end of the day feeling proud to be a part of such an involved and innovative association. This year AHIMA initiated on-line voting and is now advocating a "Year Round House" to ensure that the membership stays up-to-date on association business and enable timely decisions. AHIMA continues to search for ways to improve the website and the Communities of Practice (CoP). TxHIMA implements many of AHIMA's good ideas in our CSA activities. To receive a copy of the complete AHIMA Executive Director's Report, contact the TxHIMA Executive Office.

Another issue that I would like to discuss with the Texas membership is AHIMA's plea for our participation in the FORE Silent Auction. As most of you know, FORE stands for The Foundation for Research and Education. FORE's goal is to raise $1 million dollars over the next two years to fund initiatives that will help to anticipate and to plan for the future of HIM, educate current and future practitioners, and support innovations that advance health information management. At the TxHIMA's budget planning meeting this spring, we will discuss an appropriate donation to this worthy organization and budget accordingly. As we do every year, Texas participated in the FORE Silent Auction at the convention, which raised a total of $37,000 this year. Our donation this year was a collection of James Avery silver jewelry, which was a popular item in the auction. This donation is a good start, but I urge you, as a member of TxHIMA, to not only support your board's decision to increase the annual donation, but also to evaluate your personal ability to advance our profession by sharing a financial gift with FORE. Two significant corporate gifts from 3M and MedQuist, Inc. helped to launch FORE's initiative. Other companies have chosen to donate to this cause, and if you are an HIM vendor, I hope that you, too, will consider a donation.

The Convention had an exceptional slate of speakers for both general sessions and breakout sessions. I am proud of the Texans who were on the agenda as speakers: HIM professionals Donna Bowers, Kim Hrehor, Larry Dunham, and Mary Brandt, as well as Dr. Tray Dunaway, who many of you have heard speak on his experiences as a delinquent physician. Amanda Gore, the inspirational speaker on Wednesday, remarked, "You have had four inspirational speakers for your convention. What is wrong with your profession?" The delegates chose key topics and summarized the highlights in another section of this Journal.
Another highlight of the convention for Texas was seeing Marilyn Green receive the AHIMA Triumph Mentor Award. Marilyn was the Director of HIM at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas for many years and is now retired. Marilyn's peers from Baylor nominated her for this prestigious award, and it was gratifying to see her humbly accept this award in San Francisco. Congratulations, Marilyn!

The Exhibit Show was one of the best I have seen with product demonstrations in the Exhibit Hall itself. Several vendors sponsored user lunches and dinners, as well as small group dinners, the President's Reception, and tote bags. The generosity of our vendors is always gratifying and very appreciated.

Finally, although she continues in her role as President for a few more months, Barbara Odom-Wesley welcomed incoming president, Barbara Siegel. In her incoming President's speech Barbara Siegel stated that the AHIMA board will continue to focus on these key issues: Workforce, Membership, Formal Education, and the eHIM initiative. One objective is to develop standards for the electronic health record (EHR). We can feel comfortable knowing that Barbara Odom-Wesley leaves the role of president in capable hands. Barbara has been and will continue to be a source of pride to us Texans, and it is exciting that our own Larry Dunham was elected to the AHIMA board as a three year director. Thanks to both of these Texans for sharing their time and talents with our national organization!