Note from the Associate Editorial Director: Dedicated to providing the best information

by Melissa Varnavas

As some of you know, I’m recently back in my at-home office after a week-long staycation. I have a hard time taking a vacation. Last summer was the first time in almost four years that I took a full week off, rented a house in Ogunquit, Maine, and enjoyed jumping the waves, playing cards, and eating too much pizza with my extended family. The problem with picking a week and diving into a vacation like that though is that you always take a gamble with the weather, right? We really lucked out last year and only had one rainy day.

With the pandemic, and travel restrictions, even travel just an hour away to Maine is out of the question. We had to take each day as it came. Which was great because when it rained, I read a book, journaled, and did some scrapbooking. When it was nice, we took a bike ride, renovated the garden, kayaked. It was great to truly unplug.

Even though the world has been on pause for months, I guess what I’m trying to say is that it’s okay to stop and take a break and really appreciate the blessings in our lives.

As Massachusetts is slowly reopening, other states are closing down. As David Leonhardt wrote in an op-ed in last Sunday’s New York Times, “The future is unknowable. But the pandemic increasingly looks like one of the defining events of our time. The best-case scenarios are now out of reach, and the United States is suffering through a new virus surge that’s worse than in any other country.”

And we all continue to try and endure. We all need to stay vigilant and stay as safe as possible, leveraging the information we have at hand.

And ACDIS continues to be dedicated to providing our CDI community with the best information we can so you and your peers are prepared to meet the challenges you face—not only in these COVID times, but always.

To that end, I wanted to share with you a look at what ACDIS is working on.

First, regarding the Staying Engaged: ACDIS presents virtual education and networking event which took place in June: of the more than 500 participants, 98% said the information offered was very important or important to their daily CDI activities and 95% said the program was excellent or very good. Attendees found the experience, well, engaging, and as I said a couple weeks ago a lot of that is due to the excellent speakers and to the attendees for real-time participation. But if you didn’t get to attend live, you can still access the sessions on-demand.

Second, with the recent cancelation of in-person events (including our 2020 ACDIS Symposium), ACDIS’ principal concern is how to reinforce and reinvigorate its mission “to serve as the premier healthcare community for clinical documentation specialists, providing a medium for education, professional growth, program recognition, and networking.”

We know that the excellent materials we provide on the ACDIS website are a way to provide that education and networking. But networking from in-person events also includes moments of serendipity, casual connections made over coffee or by sitting with someone at lunch that you might not have previously met, elements of education that shine a light on previous challenge point you’ve struggled with.

So last Friday we convened a new events committee pulling together members of the 2020 main conference committee, members of the 2020 outpatient symposium planning committee, and a handful of volunteers from ACDIS other boards. Their varying backgrounds both from HIM, nursing, coding, and elsewhere as well as their focus areas from pediatric, outpatient, quality, and traditional CDI programs will help us plan a series of events taking place throughout the remainder of the year. Our first task will be planning a three-day, sponsor-supported, free online event on the heels of CDI Week, September 23-25. So, stay tuned for more information about that.

Finally, this new group will also be charged with helping us begin planning our 2021 annual conference slated for Dallas, Texas next May. We will be putting out a call for speakers in the next couple of weeks. The ACDIS administration will be working with the committee and our extended events team to not only plan for the in-person event but also establish contingency plans should COVID continue to prevent travel into next spring. So, if you’ve been interested in speaking, start putting your ideas down on paper and get ready for the next call for speakers. If you have an idea already percolating feel free to send it to me and I’ll run it by the committee for their input.

These are just a few of the ways that ACDIS aims to continue its mission. As you know, you all are core to that mission. You all are among the blessings that we’re thankful for. Take care, stay safe. I’m looking forward to being with you all again soon, even if it’s virtually.

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