ACDIS is led by the following volunteer boards and committees:
ACDIS Advisory Board
Task: Providing leadership, expertise, and an industry voice for the ACDIS membership.
View the qualifications, responsibilities, and nomination/election process for the ACDIS Advisory Board.
View ACDIS Advisory Board Frequently Asked Questions .
Sam Antonios, MD, FACP, SFHM, CPE, CCDSChief Medical Officer, Medical Director Information Systems
Via Christi Health
Samer.Antonios@via-christi.org
Antonios is a board certified internist. He is a chief medical officer, medical director of information systems, utilization management medical director, physician advisor, and HIM committee chair for Via Christi in Wichita, Kansas.
In his role, he serves in planning, implementing, and managing the hospital EHR system and all required updates. In an ever-changing regulatory world, he works closely with the quality leaders to stay ahead of the operational needs to manage and tackle challenging documentation and quality requirements.
He engages with physicians in clinical documentation improvement initiatives and quality initiatives. He works closely with the CDI team across the health system in documentation efforts. He has a large focus on data stewardship and use of analytics to identify opportunities and implement changes needed to improve outcomes. Dr. Antonios is also a practicing hospitalist and sees patients in the hospital.
Elected to the board in 2016; serving through April 2019
Angie Curry, RN, BSN, CCDS
Corporate CDMP Manager
CoxHealth in Springfield, Missouri
angie.curry@coxhealth.com
Curry’s experience covers 19 years of experience in both nursing and CDI. Her nursing expertise includes cardiovascular, education, and now CDI. As a manager, she seeks to develop program metrics for reporting, monitoring, and distribution. Also, she’s responsible for DRG-based denial management, including case reviews and working with the HIM physician advisor during the appeals process. Over the years, Curry has spoken at both local and national CDI events, allowing her to share her passion and enthusiasm for accurate documentation.
Elected to the board in 2017; serving through April 2020
Paul Evans, RHIA, CCDS, CCS, CCS-P
Clinical Documentation Integrity Leader
Sutter West Bay Area
evanspx@sutterhealth.org
Based in San Francisco, Evans holds degrees in business administration and healthcare information management. He has previously worked as a data quality coordinator, senior internal auditor, a project manager for a national consulting firm, and as the director of various HIM departments.
A member of both the American Health Information Association and ACDIS, he has published or contributed to multiple articles regarding quality and data management and has been a featured speaker for various educational seminars.
Elected to the board in 2016; serving through April 2019
James P. Fee, MD, CCS, CCDS
Vice President
Enjoin
james.fee@enjoincdi.com
Board certified in internal medicine and pediatrics, Fee maintains a clinical practice in hospital medicine and has been actively involved in operations and process development of CDI programs across the country, including ground level training of physician advisors, coders, and CDI specialists. He has provided clients with specialized risk-adjusted quality and Accountable Care Organization audits. His participation in CPT (E/M) audits and physician education bridges inpatient and outpatient care delivery mirroring the future of CDI.
Fee is also a Hospitalist at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He has authored articles for ACDIS, ICD-10 Monitor, Journal of AHIMA, and Advance Executive Insight targeting physician integration and collaboration in CDI and has worked to incorporate advancing technology with data analytics and ongoing physician education through a point-of-care mobile application.
He is a graduate of Tulane Health Sciences Center and is an active member in Alpha Omega Alpha, Society of Hospital Medicine, and American Association of Physician Leadership. Fee is an AHIMA-approved ICD-10-CM/PCS Trainer and provides local, state, and national presentations for a variety of state and national associations including ACDIS, AHIMA, and American Association of Physician Leadership.
Elected to the board in 2015; serving through April 2018
Katy Good, RN, BSN, CCS, CCDS
CDI Program Coordinator
Northern Arizona Healthcare
kathryn.good@nahealth.com
Good’s clinical experience is in ICU and ER nursing and she has been in her current role since 2011. She has experience in navigating the day-to-day tasks of concurrent review as well as emerging areas in the industry regarding clinical validation, quality metrics, denials, and alternate payment structures – about which she presented at the 2014 ACDIS conference. Her CDI program has been housed under numerous departments, giving her a unique perspective on the role of CDI. Additionally, she seeks to watch the market and stay abreast of changing CDI trends.
Elected to the board in 2017; serving through April 2020
Tamara A. Hicks, RN, BSN, MHA, CCS, CCDS, ACM
Director, Clinical Documentation Excellence
Wake Forest Baptist Health
thicks@wakehealth.edu
Tamara is a registered nurse with more than 30 years of experience, 15 years in critical care and more than 17 years in CDI and management. She is responsible for all CDI activity at Wake Forest Baptist Health system, an 885 bed academic medical center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
She previously had management responsibility for case managers, social workers, and utilization managers. She was a founding member of the CDI team at Wake Forest in 1999, and continues to lead the team expanding its efforts into all-payer reviews, reviews related to HACs/PSIs and SOI/ROM, and the implementation of ICD-10. The team is now expanding into the outpatient arena.
She previously served as a founding member of the Advisory Board and continues to serve on the CCDS Certification Board. She has spoken at several local and national association meetings. She is also a member of AHIMA and ACMA. She is also an AHIMA Approved ICD-10-CM/PCS Trainer.
Hicks earned a diploma in nursing from the Watts School of Nursing, a bachelor degree in nursing from Gardner-Webb University, and a master degree in health administration with a concentration in leadership and organizational change from Pfeiffer University.
Elected to board in 2016; serving through April 2019
Robin Jones, RN, BSN, CCDS, MHA/Ed
Assistant Vice President, Revenue Integrity and Clinical Documentation Excellence
Mercy Health, Cincinnati Ohio
RAJones@mercy.com
A registered nurse, Robin has clinical experience in Med/Surg and NICU, and began her CDI career in 2004 at Mercy Fairfield, then expanded her role in 2008 to become a team lead. In 2011, she was promoted to manager over eight acute care facilities in Cincinnati, Springfield, and Paducah, Kentucky.
In 2014, her role expanded as the System Director of clinical documentation excellence (CDE) in which she has oversight of 17 acute care facilities. Robin has developed working relationships with physicians and provided education to ancillary staff regarding the value of CDE across the continuum of care. Her goal is to grow CDE into the outpatient setting including ER, and developing strategies to take CDE into the future of healthcare.
In early 2017 Robin expanded her role and is now AVP of Revenue Integrity and CE.
She received her RN Diploma from Christ Hospital School of Nursing in 2000, BSN from University of Phoenix in 2008, and MHA/ED from University of Phoenix in 2013. In addition she has received Mercy Health Compass Awards as a Catalyst (2014) and Operator (2015) in Leadership.
Elected to board in 2016; serving through April 2019
Karen Newhouser, RN, BSN, CCDS, CCS, CCM, CDIP
Director of Education
MedPartners
karenmpu@medpartnershim.com
An RN with 36 years’ experience, and a specialization in critical care, Newhouser transitioned to a role in case management in 2001 and CDI in 2004. In 2011, she earned a certificate in medical coding and billing as well as the CCDS credential. That same year, Newhouser co-presented a poster for the 4th Annual ACDIS Conference and joined MedPartners as the CDI supervisor at Barnes-Jewish Hospital (BJH) in St. Louis, Missouri.
Having been a mentor and preceptor throughout her career, she transitioned to the position of director of CDI education for MedPartners in 2014.
Newhouser has extensive experience in quality initiatives involving patient safety indicators, hospital acquired conditions, core measures, sepsis, and malnutrition, as well as education in ICD-9 and ICD-10, query template and tip card development, auditing, data analysis, and reporting.
Elected to the board in 2015; serving through April 2018
Laurie Prescott, MSN, RN, CCDS, CDIP, CRC
CDI Education Director
HCPro/ACDIS
lprescott@acdis.org
Prescott is the Clinical Documentation Improvement (CDI) Education Director with HCPro, a division of BLR. Prescott serves as a full-time instructor for the CDI Boot Camps as well as a subject matter expert for the Association of Clinical Documentation Improvement (ACDIS). Prescott is a frequent speaker on HCPro/ACDIS webinars and is the author of the CDI Complete Training Guide.
Prescott started her nursing career in 1985 as a graduate of the University of Vermont School Of Nursing. Since that time she has worked at a variety of organizations including academic, large and small community hospitals. She has worked in a number of nursing roles including as manager in the areas of medical/surgical, ICU, PACU and endoscopy. Her experience also includes specialization as a compliance officer.
She completed her MSN with a focus in nursing education at the University of Phoenix and taught nursing as an adjunct instructor to ADN students. She continued her focus of nursing education in various roles. In 2007, Prescott left this role to develop and implement a CDI program and remained in this role until joining HCPro in August of 2013.
Serving on the board since January 2017
Judy Schade, RN, MSN, CCM, CCDS
Clinical Documentation Specialist
Mayo Clinic Hospital
Schade.judy@mayo.edu
A nurse with more than 30 years’ Schade has experience in a variety of clinical areas, including acute and home health nursing, discharge planning, case management, utilization and denial management, medical auditing, and bill review specialist. Over the years, she has gained insight into healthcare reimbursement practices, and how complete and accurate documentation affects quality care. Her CDI experience spans more than 14 years and includes establishing the CDI program for Mayo Clinic Hospital-Arizona, where she helped lead the development of educational materials, presentations, and a CDI resource booklet.
Schade received her nursing diploma from St. Joseph’s Hospital School of Nursing, a Bachelor of Science Degree in nursing from the University of Wisconsin, and Master of Science Degree in nursing from the University of Phoenix. A member of the Mayo Clinic Arizona-Care Management Subcommittee and Mayo Clinic Health Systems-CDI Subcommittee, she served as a former board member and editor for Wisconsin Nursing Association district 5, obtained certification in case management in 2005, and her CCDS certification in 2011.
An ACDIS member since 2008, she served as co-leader of the Arizona ACDIS Chapter in 2015. In 2013, received the CDI Professional Achievement award from ACDIS.
Elected to the board in 2015; serving through April 2018
Susan Schmitz, JD, RN, CCS, CCDS, CDIP
Regional Director of Clinical Documentation Improvement
SCAL Kaiser Permanente in Pasadena, California
susanschmitz59@yahoo.com
Schmitz’s experience includes 36 years as a Registered Nurse and 19 years in the CDI field – from consulting, to managing hospital-based CDI programs, to serving as regional CDI director over 14 SCAL Kaiser Permanente medical centers. She is one of the authors of the CDI Reference app published by Elsevier and is considered one of their subject matter experts for their online CDI course. Additionally, she has been an ACDIS member since 2009, taking the second CCDS exam ever offered.
Elected to the board in 2017; serving through April 2020
Deanne Wilk, BSN, RN, CCDS, CCS
Manager of CDI
Penn State Health in Hershey, Pennsylvania
dwilk@hmc.psu.edu
Wilk’s experience spans 35 years in the healthcare field. Her primary nursing background includes Telemetry and Home Health nursing, transitioning into an education role and then CDI. From her original CDI role, she transitioned into consulting and management. Over the years, she has worked on numerous educational projects, articles, contributed as a subject matter expert to CDI and coding coursework, and spoken at numerous national and local conferences. Since 2015, she has been the co-host and founder of the Central Pennsylvania ACDIS chapter.
Elected to the board in 2017; serving through April 2020
Anny P. Yuen, RHIA, CCS, CCDS, CDIP
VP of Revenue Cycle
Intellis
ayuen@intellisinc.com
Yuen is a health information management (HIM) and clinical documentation improvement (CDI) professional who has extensive experience in healthcare and revenue cycle consulting. She has implemented and re-invigorated many CDI programs nationwide and has also provided on-site CDI support to major health systems. Yuen currently serves as the VP of Revenue Cycle for Intellis. Along with her past consulting experience, she was previously the corporate director of CDI at Penn Medicine. In this role, she was responsible for the oversight of four hospitals and was successful in developing a unified and multidisciplinary corporate CDI process focused on improving provider documentation through specialty specific education.
Yuen is an active member of the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), Association of Clinical Documentation Improvement Specialists (ACDIS) and the Philadelphia/Southern New Jersey Local ACDIS Chapter. Yuen holds a Bachelor of Science degree in HIM from Temple University where she minored in business, and is an AHIMA Approved ICD-10-CM/PCS Trainer.
Elected to the board in 2015; serving through April 2018
CCDS Certification Board
Task: Maintaining and updating the CCDS Certification Program, including the exam and its prerequisites.
Board Members: Deborah Bisker, Karen Bridgeman, Margi Brown, Sharme Brodie, Cheryl Ericson, Tamara Hicks, Fran Jurcak, Kathy Kerfoot, Melinda Matthews, Mary McGrady, Laurie Prescott, Irina Zusman
2017 Conference Committee
Task: Selecting all speakers and sessions for the 2017 conference; selecting the 2017 ACDIS Achievement Awards Winners.
Committee Members: Karen DiMeglio, Teri Ryan, Susanne Warford, Jeanne O'Connor, Brandy White, Deidre Barnett, Valerie Bica, Jessica Fetterley, Faisal Hussain, Lynn Sisler, Kara Masucci, Shelia Bullock (nurse planner).
Forms & Tools Review Committee
Task: Reviewing materials donated to the ACDIS community for publication in the Forms & Tools Library for accuracy, compliance, relevance, and effectiveness.
Committee Members: Sharme Brodie, Mark Dominesey, Paul Evans, Robert Hodges, Jane Hoyt, Judy Rochelle, Annie Wells.
Chapter Advisory Board
Task: Serving as liaisons between local chapter leaders and ACDIS national administration by participating on chapter leadership conference calls, promoting best practice, and providing guidance to leaders across the country.
Board Members: Judi Bates from eastern Pennsylvania, Julie Bell from Georgia, Katherina Burleson from North Carolina, Sherri Clark from Tennessee, Emily Emmons from California, Bonnie Epps past Georgia leader, Rita Fields past Kentucky leader, Susan Haley from Michigan, Michael McKelvey from Missouri, and Aimee Van Balen from Massachusetts.
CDI Practice Guidelines Committee
View the purpose, composition, and scope of work of the CDI Practice Guidelines Committee.
Task: To define and publish best practice for the CDI profession and provide commentary to the appropriate coding authorities and/or medical specialties.
Committee Members: Amy Gerhart, Angelisa Romanello, Julie Geiger, Emmanuel Damalie, Allen Frady, Cathy Farraher, Patricia Hartman, Karen Carr, Cynthia Stefl, Cheryl Ericson, Mark LeBlanc (Committee Chair), Karen Newhouser (ACDIS Advisory Board Liaison).
Previous Advisory Board Members
- Dee Banet, RN, BSN, CCDS (2011-2013)
- Cindy Basham, MHA, MSCCS, BSN, CPC, CCS (2007-2010)
- Susan Belley, M.Ed., RHIA, CPHQ (2011-2013)
- Timothy N. Brundage, MD (2011-2013)
- Gloryanne Bryant, BS, RHIA, RHIT, CCS, CCDS (2007-2010)
- Shelia Bullock, RN, BSN, MBA, CCM, CCDS (2009-2011)
- Donald Butler, RN, BSN (2013-2015)
- Jean S. Clark, RHIA (2007-2010)
- Wendy Clesi, RN, CCDS (2014-2017)
- Wendy De Vreugd, RN, BSN, PHN, FNP, CCDS (2007-2010, 2014-2017)
- Cheryl Ericson, MS, RN, CCDS, CDIP (2014-2017)
- Garri L. Garrison, RN, CPC, CMC, CPUR (2009-2011)
- Colleen Garry, RN, BS (2007-2010)
- Robert Gold, MD (2007-2010) (2011-2013)
- William E. Haik, MD (2007-2010)
- Tamara Hicks, RN, BSN, CCS, CCDS (2007-2010)
- Sylvia Hoffman, RN, CCDS, CCDI, CDIP (2013-2015)
- Robin R. Holmes, RN, MSN (2009-2011)
- Walter Houlihan, MBA, RHIA, CCS, FAHIMA (2013-2015)
- Thomas W. Huth, MD, MBA, FACP (2015)
- Fran Jurcak, RN, MSN, CCDS (2011-2014)
- James S. Kennedy, MD, CCS (2010-2012)
- Glenn Krauss, RHIA, CCS, CCS-P, CPUR, FCS, PCS, CCDS, C-CDI (2010-2012)
- Mark LeBlanc, RN, MBA, CCDS (2014-2017)
- Trey La Charité, MD (2011-2013)
- Pam Lovell, MBA, RN (2007-2010)
- Gail B. Marini, RN, MM, CCS, LNC (2010-2012)
- Shannon McCall, RHIA, CCS, CPC, CPC-I, CCDS (2007-2010)
- Michelle McCormack, RN, BSN, CCDS, CRCR (2014-2017)
- Lynne Spryszak, RN, CCDS, CPC (2007-2012)
- Colleen Stukenberg, MSN, RN, CMSRN, CCDS (2009-2011)
- Heather Taillon, RHIA (2007-2010)
- James E. Vance, MD, MBA (2014)
- Donna D. Wilson, RHIA, CCS, CCDS (2011-2013)
- Lena N Wilson, MHI, RHIA, CCS, CCDS (2010-2012)