Local chapter update: Reach out if you need to take a step back

April 8, 2021
CDI Strategies - Volume 15, Issue 14

We understand that the past year has been difficult for many CDI folks in both their professional and personal life, and we know that these struggles may make it difficult for local chapter leaders to keep up with their duties.

Since the start of 2021, a few local chapters have had to take a temporary hiatus because of the strain on leaders. If you are a current local chapter leader having issues with maintaining your duties due to the pandemic, there are a few things you can do…

  1. Reach out to your current chapter members and see if any of them would be willing to take on a leadership role. This can be a great way to maintain the local chapter while also bringing in some fresh faces.
  2. If you cannot find new leaders in your own membership, try reaching out to your neighboring local chapter leaders. See if they would be willing to work with your chapter to allow members to go to meetings and educational sessions so that they can keep actively participating in a local chapter.
  3. If you are really in a pinch, reach out to ACDIS national. We might have some contacts to connect you with who may be willing to take a leadership role or know of other local chapters who have opened up their meetings to all chapters. There may be ways we can help.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help from other local chapters and the ACDIS national team if you find yourself struggling to keep up with leadership duties. There’s always something we can do to help.

The following is a list of upcoming events for ACDIS local chapters. To join a chapter if you haven’t already or to update your chapter contact information/affiliation, click here.

April:

  • The Kansas City, Missouri, ACDIS chapter meets Wednesday, April 14, 2-3:30 p.m., via webinar. The topic is documentation to reduce denials. All Missouri ACDIS chapter members are welcome to attend this event. For information, contact Debra Canova (Debra.Canova@tmcmed.org).
  • The North Carolina ACDIS chapter meets Thursday, April 15, 12 p.m., via webinar. For information, contact Pamela Hughes (gatrchic35@gmail.com).
  • The Oregon ACDIS chapter meets Friday, April 16, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., via webinar. Details to follow. Click here to download the event “save the date” flyer. For information, contact Cindy Fessler (cfessler@lhs.org).
  • The Maryland ACDIS chapter meets Friday, April 16, 12 p.m., via webinar. For information, contact Deb McClain (dlmcclain@frederick.health).
  • The Illinois ACDIS chapter meets Thursday, April 22, 12 p.m., via webinar. The presentation is titled “Relationships Between the Coders and CDIs and How We Work with the Hospitals as a Central Department.” Click here to download the event “save the date” flyer. For information, contact Dottie Fanning (dorothy.fanning@aah.org).
  • The Minnesota ACDIS chapter meets Wednesday, April 28, 1 p.m. CST. For information, contact Jera Van Damme (jera.vandamme@essentiahealth.org).
  • The Indiana ACDIS chapter meets Wednesday, April 28, 12 p.m., via webinar. The Knowledge and Networking Education session has the topic of “Congestive Heart Failure”. For information, contact Angela Green (agreen915@gmail.com).
  • The Massachusetts ACDIS chapter meets Thursday, April 29, 11:30 a.m., via webinar. The topic is “Surviving Sepsis.” For information, contact Stacey Jackson (stacey.jackson@steward.org).
  • The Central Pennsylvania ACDIS chapter meets Friday, April 30, 9:30 a.m., via webinar for the 2nd Quarter meeting. For information, contact Deanne Wilk (dwilk@pennstatehealth.psu.edu), Courtney Spangler (cspangler@gbmc.org), or Branda McCowan (bmccowan@susquehannahealth.org).
  • The Tennessee ACDIS chapter meets Friday, April 30, 1 p.m. EST, via webinar. The presentation is titled “Gotcha! A CDI PA’s Guide to an Effective CDI Chart Review.” For information, contact Sherri Clark (sclark@utmck.edu).
  • The Oklahoma ACDIS chapter meets Friday, April 30, 1 p.m., via webinar. The presentation is titled “2020 Coding Clinic Review for CDI.” Click here to download the event “save the date” flyer. For information, contact Darcy Genisio (darcy.genisio@hillcrest.com).

May:

  • The Wisconsin ACDIS chapter meets Wednesday, May 5, 3 p.m., via webinar. The presentation is titled “Complications of Care.” For information, contact Laura Stuber (lastuber@gundersenhealth.org).
  • The CDI Educators networking group and Arizona ACDIS chapter meet Friday, May 7, 12-1:15 p.m. MST, via webinar for a lunch-and-learn event. information, contact Sydni Johnson (Sydni.Johnson@bannerhealth.com) or Coral Fernandez (Coral.Fernandez@BHSI.COM).
  • The Michigan ACDIS chapter meets Thursday, May 13, 12 p.m., via webinar on the topic of OIG malnutrition audits and COVID-19 CDI and coding updates. For information, contact Susan Fantin (Susan.Fantin@mclaren.org).

June:

  • The Georgia ACDIS chapter meets Friday, June 4. More details to follow. For information, contact Pauline O’Dowd (podowd@hcg.com).