Note from the Associate Editorial Director: Happy Halloween from the ACDIS team

by Melissa Varnavas

Long-time ACDIS members may remember that our parent company HCPro started as a small business based in Marblehead, Massachusetts. Back about 30-plus years ago now, Jennifer Cofer Flanagan, who had served as president of AHIMA (formerly the American Medical Record Association) and as their communications person, felt there wasn’t quick-read newsletter with practical advice for those working in the health information field. So, she started the newsletter Medical Records Briefings (now called HIM Briefings). She wanted to offer her colleagues something that would make their work lives easier immediately.

The work she did out of her home quickly grew and sparked the mission of HCPro, which was always to be practical and helpful.

Flanagan was a down-to-earth, happy-go-lucky, kind person. As her business grew from two to 20 to 100, she was as helpful to her staff and colleagues as she was to her readers. Eventually, she retired even as the company continued to expand and merge.

We continue to follow in her footsteps aiming to provide easy to understand, relatable, valuable information that those in the field can use in their daily practice and workflow.

There’s another tradition that those early days of the company gave us, too. Back in Marblehead every department—from customer service to production to events to editorial—looked forward to October. Some would start planning for it on November 1.

Yesterday, we honored that fun-loving tradition and took some time to play with construction paper, balloons, crayons, and a little bit of face paint to doll ourselves up for a Halloween unbirthday party with the Mad Hatter and his friends. We hope that you all have an opportunity to spend some spooky time entrancing your physicians with your query magic, too.

To celebrate, we’re doing a little giveaway now through Monday (we know some areas of the country hold celebrations to Friday or even Saturday). Head on over to our Facebook page, check out the photos from our Halloween decorating contest and post a photo of yours. We’ll give away a free ACDIS book and a tote bag to one lucky entrant!

Happy Halloween!

Editor’s note: Varnavas is the associate editorial director for ACDIS. Contact her at mvarnavas@acdis.org.