Local Chapter Update: Washington Evergreen chapter celebrates successful event

The Washington Evergreen ACDIS Chapter had more than two dozen CDI specialists converge on Swedish Medical Center in Seattle last Thursday, October 6.

“The accommodations were great, the cafeteria was great, and the presentation was fabulous,” says past-chapter leader Susan Browne, who recounted how Swedish CDI staff discussed reviews focused on patient safety indicators, hospital acquired conditions, and hospital readmission reduction.

The entire team did a great job pulling everything together, Browne says, adding that the next in-person event will take place in Spokane next April.

Michigan’s chapter event last Saturday included more than 50 participants and six speakers at the lovely Amway Grand Hotel in Grand Rapids.

“The venue was beautiful, the food and service fantastic,” says local chapter leader Susan Haley. “Our speakers delivered some great information on current industry trends. We had some great sponsors and vendor support, and we have received a lot of great feedback from the audience.”

The first Maryland ACDIS Conference held in September welcomed more than 80 attendees and was filled to capacity for the inaugural event, according to the chapter’s newsletter recap from Olga Firstbrook.

An email from Karen Walleck at Anne Arundel Medical Center sums the day up.

“What a wonderful conference! You all did an awesome job! The conference packets were super and appreciated (I like taking notes). Excellent choice of speakers! I found each presenter to be extremely knowledgeable and their content very pertinent. If there were any ‘hitches’ during the day they were not apparent to me,” Walleck wrote.

Coming up this week we’re excited about events in Illinois, Long Island and New York City, Wisconsin, Missouri, Virginia, and Alabama.

October

• Illinois ACDIS meeting takes place Thursday, October 13, 12:30-4 p.m., at Morris Hospital. Reservations required to Betty Bogda at bbogda@morrishospital.org.
• The Suffolk County Long Island New York ACDIS Chapter meets Friday, October 14, at Stony Brook University Hospital in Stony Brook, New York.  Elections will be held for new chapter officers during the meeting. For information, contact scacdis@gmail.com.
• The Wisconsin ACDIS Chapter meets Saturday, October 15, at Wheaton Franciscan in Wauwatosa. For information, contact Teri Ryan at teri.ryan@aurora.org.
• Three Missouri ACDIS chapters join together for their first state-wide full-day event on Saturday, October 15, at Boone Hospital Center in Columbia. For information, contact Karen Elmore at kelmore@bjc.org.
• The Virginia ACDIS Chapter meets Saturday, October 15, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Chesapeake (VA) Regional Medical Center Lifestyle Center. For information, contact Shelly McBrayer at Shelly.mcbrayer@chesapeakeregional.com.
• The Alabama ACDIS Chapter meets via teleconference on Wednesday, October 19, noon (central) to discuss chapter endeavors. For information, contact
• The New York City Five Boroughs (NYC5B) ACDIS Chapter meets at NYU Langone Medical Center on Wednesday, October 19, at 5 p.m. For information, email NYC5B.ACDIS@gmail.com.
• The Arizona ACDIS Chapter meets Wednesday, October 26, 5:30 p.m., at HonorHealth Scottsdale Osborn Medical Center, with guest speaker Kaitlyn Crowther, RHIA, on “Utilizing Innovative Speech Recognition and Natural Language Understanding.” RSVP by noon October 24, by email to debra22@cox.net.
• The Philadelphia Pennsylvania/New Jersey ACDIS Chapter meets Thursday, October 27, at 8 a.m., at Cooper University Hospital, in Camden, New Jersey. For information, contact Gina Stewart atgstewart@e4-services.com.  
• The Puerto Rico ACDIS Chapter meets Thursday, October 27, to discuss frequently asked questions about CDI. For information, contact Carmen Ibarrondo at cibarrondo@picconsultantspr.com.

November

• The North Carolina ACDIS Chapter meets Friday, November 4, at UNC Lenoir Healthcare in Kinston. For information, email ncacdis@gmail.com. 
• The Georgia ACDIS Chapter meets at Emory Healthcare in Atlanta, November 11, 8:30 a.m. For information, contact Julie Bell at julieltbell@gmail.com.
• The Westchester County New York networking group meets Tuesday, November 15, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., at Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco. Bring a snack or pot-luck item for the group. For information, email Kerry Seekircher, westchesteracdis@yahoo.com. 
• The CNY Central New York CDI networking group meets Friday, November 18, 2-4 p.m., at Marley Education Center, Pomeroy School of Nursing, in Syracuse, New York. Reservations required by November 14. For information, contact Dawn Burr at dawnburr@crouse.org.