Local chapter update: Choosing leaders, submitting your 2019 Chapter Agreement form

ACDIS National requires local chapters be led by at least three individuals from three different organizations. It’s a section of the agreement that brings up a lot of questions from new folks, so ACDIS wanted to provide a bit of the reasoning behind the requirement.

First, having at least three leaders (rather than two) ensures that no one person bears the brunt of the leadership duties. A two-person leadership team may have an excellent working relationship but if one person gets busy, the other is left in charge of all activities pertaining to chapter organization and events. Three-person teams allows the workload to be more evenly distributed even in times when folks get busy. Remember, however, if a leader gets busy or runs into personal or family hardship its best to let the co-leaders know and step back from volunteer duties if necessary. If an individual needs to step down the remaining leaders should contact national and work to identify a new team member as soon as possible.

Similarly, the requirement that leaders hail from three different organizations is twofold. First, it serves to protect the chapter should one leader’s organization go through any departmental changes that require them to step down from their leadership role. If more than one leader works at the same organization and work becomes hectic, the chapter leadership would be left to one leader.

Having three organizations represented on the leadership team also protects the chapter from any perceived or actual bias by any single organization. The intent of local chapters is the sharing of ideas, best practices, and experiences—no single CDI program holds a monopoly on good ideas.

Once a chapter has settled on a leadership team, they need to submit the Chapter Agreement Form annually. The 2019 Form was due on January 31, so if you haven’t sent yours in yet, please do so as soon as possible. The completed form should be emailed to Associate Editorial Director Melissa Varnavas (mvarnvas@acdis.org) and Editor Linnea Archibald (larchibald@acdis.org).

ACDIS national encourages leaders to take a look at the agreement form prior to submitting it to ensure the new leaders understand both what’s expected of them as leaders and what benefits they’re entitled to for their service.

The following is a list of upcoming events for ACDIS local chapters. If you have an upcoming event you would like to include, please email Melissa Varnavas (mvarnavas@acdis.org) and Linnea Archibald (larchibald@acdis.org). 

February:

• The New Orleans ACDIS chapter meets Thursday, February 7, 4-5 p.m., at Semolina’s Restaurant in Clearview. For information, contact Judith Dowling (Judith.dowling@ochsner.org).
• The North Carolina and South Carolina ACDIS chapters hold a joint meeting Friday, February 8, at Palmetto Baptist Health in Columbia, South Carolina. For information, contact the chapter leadership team (ncacdis@gmail.com).
• The Kansas City ACDIS chapter meets Wednesday, February 13, via webinar. For information, contact Angelica Naylor (angelica.naylor@outlook.com).
• The Maryland ACDIS chapter meets Friday, February 15, 12-2 p.m., at the Maryland Hospital Association in Elkridge. For information, contact Deborah McClain (dmcclain2@fmh.org).
• The Arizona ACDIS chapter and the CDI Educator networking group meet Friday, February 15, 12-1 p.m. mountain time, via webinar. For information, contact M.E. VanGelder (ME.VanGelder@honorhealth.com).
• The Michigan ACDIS chapter meets Friday, February 22, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., via webinar. For information, contact Susan Fantin (susan.fantin@comcast.net).
• The Minnesota ACDIS chapter meets Saturday, February 27, 1-2 p.m., via webinar. For information, contact Tim Lindquist (timothy.c.lindquist@healthpartners.com).

March:

• The Pediatric ACDIS networking group (APDIS) meets Thursday, March 7, 3 p.m., eastern. For information, contact Val Bica (valerie.bica@nemours.org) and Leah Savage (leah.savage@BHSI.com).
• The Virginia ACDIS chapter meets Saturday, March 23, for their spring meeting. More details to follow. For information, contact Fran DeLisser (Franchesca_Delisser@bshsi.org).
• The Tennessee ACDIS chapter meets Friday, March 29, for an all-day event at the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville. For information, contact Sherri Clark (sclark@utmck.edu).
• The Georgia ACDIS chapter meets Friday, March 29, 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., at Piedmont Athens Hospital in Athens. For information, contact Jamie Doster (doster.j@icloud.com).

Save-the-date:

• The Maryland ACDIS chapter meets Friday, April 12, 12-2 p.m., at the Maryland Hospital Association in Elkridge. Visit the Maryland page on the ACDIS website for the rest of the year’s lineup. For information, contact Deborah McClain (dmcclain2@fmh.org).
• The Central Pennsylvania ACDIS chapter meets Friday, April 19, at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Hershey. For information, contact Deanne Wilk (dwilk@pennstatehealth.psu.edu).
• The Washington Evergreen ACDIS chapter meets Thursday, April 25, at Swedish Hospital in Seattle. For information, contact Susan Browne (susan.browne@triohealth.org).
• The Georgia ACDIS chapter meets Saturday, June 8, in Savannah. More information to follow. Please note that this meeting will include a volunteer opportunity with the Help End Hunger Food Bank. For information, contact Jamie Doster (doster.j@icloud.com).
• The Georgia ACDIS chapter meets Thursday, September 19, at Northeast Georgia Medical Center. More information to follow. For information, contact Jamie Doster (doster.j@icloud.com).
• Missouri's three ACDIS chapters meet Saturday, October 19, 2019, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., for the fourth annual Show Me State Conference at Boone Hospital in Columbia. Click here to download the save-the-date. More information to follow. For information, contact Karen Elmore (kelmore@bjc.org).