Local chapter update: Virtual event platform guide for leaders

April 30, 2020
CDI Strategies - Volume 14, Issue 18

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused travel restrictions, shelter-in-place and self-quarantine orders, reduced hospital censuses, and job losses. The surge of the disease hit the east coast of the United States in March and April 2020, just as many ACDIS local chapters were gearing up for their spring events.

ACDIS began encouraging its local chapters to cancel or postpone their events. We partnered with those who had events previously scheduled web-based sessions to open their meetings to any and all chapter members across the country and will continue to do so on a rolling basis as the pandemic continues.

Those local chapters seeking to move their meetings to a remote platform were previously encouraged to work within their communities to identify a meeting host; a facility with a corporate platform to lend to the chapter for its event. As the pandemic progressed, however, many major online meeting platforms adjusted their offerings and, as the population itself adjusted to working from home, people became much more comfortable with a wide variety of these tools.

For those local chapters who collect dues, purchasing a subscription to an online meeting platform tool may be a good way to ensure event plans seamlessly shift from in-person to online. For those chapters that do not collect dues, there are low-cost and free options, too, just not with all the bells and whistles that corporate users may need.

As furloughs, layoffs, salary cuts, and other unfortunate outcomes of COVID-19 continue, our local chapter efforts will be as vital as ever to keep our CDI community strong and connected. CDI professionals are looking for camaraderie, education, and collaboration to identify new areas of CDI expansion and preserve the value of CDI efforts. They are looking for low-cost, innovative ways to maintain their continuing education and certifications. Local chapter activities can provide all of this and more.

To help chapter leaders sort through the myriad of virtual platform options, ACDIS national has created a guide to some of the most popular options. It’s available in the Leadership Toolkit under the “Getting Started” section header.

Click here to download the guide now.

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 Carolyn Riel (criel@acdis.org).  

April:

  • The New Orleans ACDIS chapter event slated for Thursday, April 30, has been canceled. For information, contact Judi Dowling (judith.dowling@ochsner.org).

May:

  • The New Orleans ACDIS chapter meets Thursday, May 7, 4 p.m., via webinar. For information, contact Judi Dowling (judith.dowling@ochsner.org).
  • The Florida ACDIS chapter event slated for Saturday, May 16, has been canceled. For information, contact Edna Betances-Harold (betane@shands.ufl.edu).
  • The Ohio ACDIS chapter meets Thursday, May 21, 12-1 p.m., via webinar for the Quarterly Conference call. Click here to register. For additional information, contact Brittani Winkler (brittani.winkler@trusthcs.com)

July:

  • The St. Louis Missouri ACDIS chapter event slated for Wednesday, April 29, has been postponed until July. For information, contact Pam Bulfer (pamela.bulfer@ssmhealth.com).
  • The Ohio ACDIS chapter meets Friday, July 10, 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., at Atrium Medical Center Friday. For additional information, contact Brittani Winkler (brittani.winkler@trusthcs.com).