AHIMA announces 2017 board president/chair, new board members

American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) members elected Ann F. Chenoweth, MBA, RHIA, FAHIMA, as president/chair of the 2017 Board of Directors. Her one-year term began Jan.1.

In her role, Chenoweth will work with the board and CEO Lynne Thomas Gordon, MBA, RHIA, CAE, FACHE, FAHIMA, to provide strategic direction to AHIMA, the preeminent nonprofit association for health information management (HIM) professionals who are responsible for protecting the accuracy of patient health information as well as safeguarding and preserving its privacy. The association represents more than 103,000 professionals.

Ann Chenoweth is an accomplished leader with a strong background in health information management, business management, and association leadership. Chenoweth joined 3M Health Information Systems in 2001 and has held numerous positions including Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, product line marketing manager for coding and reimbursement solutions, and business manager for the medical necessity and compliance business. Currently, Chenoweth is senior director of industry relations. In this role, she creates and builds relationships with leading healthcare associations and industry executives. She focuses on developing high-value partnerships that will benefit the healthcare industry and 3M customers.

She also served as a director on AHIMA’s board from 2012 to 2014 where she was chair of both the audit committee and finance committee and held the position of AHIMA treasurer. Chenoweth has been active at the national and state level, recently completing her term as chair of AHIMA’s Grace Award Committee.

Chenoweth is an RHIA and AHIMA Fellow. She is also a certified Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt. Chenoweth is a health information management graduate of Indiana University and received an MBA from DePaul University in Chicago, IL. She is a published author and frequent speaker at industry conferences on such topics as information governance, payment reform, and leadership.

“AHIMA’s strategy is designed to embrace the opportunities presented by change and transformation,” said AHIMA CEO Lynne Thomas Gordon, MBA, RHIA, CAE, FACHE, FAHIMA. “In this process, AHIMA members have great partners in inspired and dedicated volunteers such as Ann Chenoweth and this year’s Board of Directors.”

“In an era of change, professional associations like AHIMA play a crucial role in helping their members and organizations adapt,” Chenoweth said. “I am committed to serving our members and supporting and strengthening AHIMA’s strategic plan so we can continue to evolve and build on our successes.”

In addition to Chenoweth’s appointment, members selected a President/Chair-elect, Speaker of the House, and three members of the board of directors (who each will serve a three-year term):

President/Chair-elect: Diann H. Smith, MS, RHIA, CHP, FAHIMA, is vice president of HIM at Texas Health Resources, an integrated healthcare system in Arlington, TX. In her role, she has responsibility for advancing the use of health information and technology throughout the organization. She has served as an AHIMA Board Director, Texas Health Information Management Association (TxHIMA) president, and Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM) commissioner. She chaired the AHIMA Professional Ethics Committee in 2015 and 2016. Smith has received the 2016 Inspiring Women Award, AHIMA’s 2014 Leadership Triumph Award, the TxHIMA Distinguished Member Award, and the Tarrant County College Distinguished Alumni Award. Most recently Smith was honored with the 2016 Women of Visionary Influence Mentor of the Year Award. A published author and speaker on leadership and healthcare related topics, Smith also has served on community non-profit boards, including the American Cancer Society Advisory Board of Tarrant County.

Speaker of the House: Chrisann Lemery, MSE, RHIA, CHPS, FAHIMA, is director of compliance and audit of Mercyhealth/MercyCare Insurance Company in Janesville, WI. She has served as delegate, director, and secretary on the AHIMA board (2010-2012), as Wisconsin Health Information Management Association president, and chair of AHIMA practice councils. She has expertise in privacy and security, management, and healthcare compliance in insurance, as well as acute care, behavioral health, and long term care. She serves on the HIPAA Collaborative of Wisconsin (HIPAA COW) board as director and on the University of Wisconsin’s HIMT program advisory committee. Lemery was a member of the Wisconsin Governor’s e-Health Board workgroup and other state advisory committees.

Director: Jill S. Clark, MBA, RHIA, CHDA, FAHIMA, is senior consultant and director of Coding Services at e4, where she supports large healthcare initiatives, contributing to HIM projects and organizational strategy. Prior to joining e4, Clark was a director of HIM Solutions at AHIMA, where she provided professional expertise to members. Her career includes management in a variety of healthcare settings, as well as an engagement manager position for a large software vendor. Clark has served in various volunteer leadership roles and on committees as a member of AHIMA, the Pennsylvania Health Information Management Association, and the Central Pennsylvania Health Information Management Association. She has contributed to numerous professional articles and serves as a part-time instructor for DeVry University, Health Information Technology Program.

Director: Susan G. Perkins, RHIT, CCS, CHTS-IM, CHC, has devoted more than 30 years of her career to the role of chief administrative officer and senior clinic operations manager for a large multi-specialty clinic in Jackson, MS. She has served in several Mississippi Health Information Management Association board positions and as delegate to the AHIMA House of Delegates on several occasions. As a leader in the early adoption of an ambulatory electronic health record, she has overseen several successful implementation efforts since 1995. Her work duties include oversight of all departments of a vibrant and successful medical clinic, including nursing, imaging, laboratory, and billing/coding functions, among other specialized services.

Director: Karen S. Scott, MEd, RHIA, CCS-P, FAHIMA, is senior training specialist at TruCode and owner of Karen Scott Seminars and Consulting. She has been an educator for many years, teaching in the HIM programs at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and Arkansas Tech University. She has worked as an HIM director in an acute care hospital setting, training director for a national transcription company, and reimbursement specialist for a regional physicians group. She is past president of the Tennessee and Arkansas Health Information Management Associations, past chair of the AHIMA Council on Certification, and recently completed a six-year term as commissioner for CAHIIM.

Advisor to the Board: Anupam Goel, MD, is vice president of clinical information at Advocate Health Care. A general internist who is board certified in clinical informatics, Goel serves as the physician liaison for Advocate’s largest inpatient electronic medical record. As a quality officer for the UC San Diego Health System, Goel was the co-principal investigator for a multi-million dollar federal cooperative agreement to help connect electronic health records across the San Diego metropolitan area. He joins the Board in a volunteer, non-voting role as advisor.

The AHIMA Board is responsible for setting long-term strategy and direction, governing the association’s activities, and fulfilling the organization’s fiduciary responsibility.

To further AHIMA’s position as an industry leader, the 2017 Board will provide strategic guidance on information governance, informatics/analytics, information governance, preparation for emerging HIM roles, and consumer engagement.

The AHIMA Board is composed of 13 elected members—including the president/chair, president/chair-elect, past president/chair, speaker of the house and nine directors at large; the CEO serves ex officio. A Board advisor also will continue to serve in 2017.

The newly elected members join the following current AHIMA Board Directors:

Danika E. Brinda, PhD, RHIA, CHPS, HCISPP, associate professor at the College of St. Scholastica

Ellen Shakespeare Karl, MBA, RHIA, CHDA, FAHIMA, academic director for health information programs and distinguished lecturer at the City University of New York’s School of Professional Studies

Tim J. Keough, MPA, RHIA, FAHIMA, vice president at the New Jersey Hospital Association, Healthcare Business Solutions

Barbara J. Manor, MA, RHIA, CHDA, vice president of HIM, SCL Health

Dwan Thomas-Flowers, MBA, RHIA, CCS, an independent contractor offering expertise in clinical documentation improvement and coding, management, HIM operations, quality management and revenue cycle

Susan E. White, PhD, RHIA, CHDA, administrator for analytics at the James Cancer Center at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and associate professor of health information management at OSU

Melissa Martin, RHIA, CCS, CHTS-IM, assistant vice president, West Virginia University Medicine Heart and Vascular Institute. Martin will serve as 2017 past president/chair.

David S. Muntz, CHCIO, FCHIME, LCHIME, FHIMSS, principal at StarBridge Advisors, serves without vote as Advisor to the Board. Muntz will serve on the board through June 2017.