Note from the Product Coordinator: Discover the 2024 ACDIS Achievement Award recipients!
by Karla Kozak
Today concludes four days of learning and networking at the 2024 ACDIS conference in Indianapolis. On behalf of the ACDIS team, I’d like to thank everyone that participated in the sessions and stopped by the booth to say hello—it’s been so wonderful getting to spend time with this community! We are also thrilled to have celebrated the recipients of the 2024 ACDIS Achievement Awards during a special ceremony yesterday. You can discover more about them below.
ACDIS presented Lourdes Albino Cacanindin, MD, CCDS, with the second annual Melissa Varnavas Spirit of Service award. This award honors the legacy of ACDIS’ Melissa Varnavas, who passed away in 2022. ACDIS was thrilled to present this award to Cacanindin, a clinical documentation specialist at Sutter Delta Medical Center in Antioch, California, who has more than 13 years of experience in CDI and is a Philippine board-certified medical doctor. She is a longtime member of ACDIS national and the ACDIS California local chapter and is known for her passion, enthusiasm, and positivity. She is a true embodiment of the ACDIS spirit.
Ariana Peters, DO, FACOI, FHM, CMPC, received the Excellence in Provider Engagement award. Peters is a hospital internal medicine physician, care management medical director, and lead physician advisor for inpatient CDI at Mayo Clinic in Arizona. She joined the CDI program in 2015 and was promoted to lead physician advisor in 2020, assisting in the expansion of the site’s physician advisor program. She is the president-elect of the Association of Physician Leadership in Care Management and is currently pursuing her MBA and studying for the CCDS exam.
Angelica M. Cage, MBA, BSB, RN, CCDS, CCS, CDIP, was presented with the first Accomplishment in CDI award, intended to honor a CDI professional with at least two years of experience in the field who has made a significant contribution to their team, their organization, or the profession. Cage is the CDI director at Tufts Medicine in Massachusetts and has eight years of experience in CDI. She has presented at multiple ACDIS conferences, including this one, has been a guest on the ACDIS Podcast, and has contributed to the ACDIS CDI Journal. She serves on the ACDIS CDI Regulatory Committee and is the chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee. She is also a member of the ACDIS Leadership Council, a member of the 2023/2024 ACDIS Leadership Council Mastermind group, and a co-leader of ACDIS’ Texas local chapter.
ACDIS honored Kathy Dorich, MSN, RN, CCDS, CPHQ, with the 2024 CDI Professional of the Year award. Dorich is the director of Illinois CDI operations for Advocate Health and has oversight for 11 inpatient CDI programs. She has 13 years of experience in CDI as well as a background in quality leadership. She outlined a process between CDI and physician leaders to create a consensus definition for post-operative respiratory failure, which ultimately improved PSI 11 scores dramatically. She is a member of the ACDIS Leadership Council and has been described as “an advocate for CDI across the industry” and “a transformational leader with an exceptional focus on quality outcomes.”
The Diversity in CDI award was presented to Cedars-Sinai Health System in Los Angeles, California, for its efforts to create a diverse CDI team, including members of varying ethnicities, races, religions, ages, gender identities, sexual orientations, experience levels, and educational and professional backgrounds. The organization has a Department of Diversity and Inclusion that offers supportive programs for patients and employees related to spiritual care, health equity, and gender affirmation surgery. Additionally, it is committed to serving its community through community health programs offered in local schools, senior centers, and community centers as well as grants supporting nonprofits that foster housing stability, mental health training, services for veterans’ and LGBTQ+ groups, and community clinics. Olusegun John Ajisefinni, DHA, MBA, MSHI, FMG-MD, RHIA, BS, CCS, CCDS, CDIP, CRCR, director of CDI, accepted the award on behalf of Cedars-Sinai.
Finally, in a surprise months in the making, the ACDIS team presented our very own Interim Director Laurie L. Prescott, MSN, RN, CCDS, CCDS-O, CDIP, CRC, with a very special Lifetime Achievement in CDI award, designed to recognize all that she has contributed to the profession over the course of her career. Prescott has more than 30 years of experience in nursing and 17+ years in CDI. She joined the ACDIS team in 2013, where she authored the ACDIS Pocket Guide series and contributed to industry thought leadership, including co-leading the committee to update the ACDIS/AHIMA Guidelines for Achieving a Complaint Query Practice brief.
If you know or work with any of our award recipients, please take a moment to congratulate them on their achievements.
The ACDIS team would also like to thank everyone who joined us in Indianapolis this week. We hope you took this opportunity to discover what’s on the horizon for you and your CDI community. We look forward to seeing you next year in Orlando!
Editor’s note: Kozak is an editor and product coordinator at ACDIS. Contact her at karla.kozak@hcpro.com.