Nurses Week 2026: Read about the ACDIS CDI educators' nursing stories!
The Association of Clinical Documentation Integrity Specialists (ACDIS) would like to recognize all the nurses out there making a profound difference in their facilities, organizations, and in the lives of all the patients they interact with!
With so much of our membership base coming out of the nursing profession and now making a huge impact in the CDI space, it is hard for ACDIS to not have a soft spot for nurses. For any nurse who’s “on the floor” journey is coming to an end, looking for a new challenge, or interested in applying your skills, knowledge, and expertise to another avenue within healthcare, we invite you to learn more about ACDIS.
Join us for a unique opportunity to learn more about the CDI profession and how ACDIS can help you continue your professional journey in making a difference in patient’s lives. Learn more here!
Below, get to know our CDI education team and hear all about their own personal nursing journeys!
Deanne Wilk, MPS, BSN, RN, CCDS, CCDS-O, CDIP, CCS, CDI education director for ACDIS/HCPro
What is your background in nursing? My nursing background spans several areas of practice including telemetry, pediatrics, home care, and family medicine, giving me a well-rounded clinical foundation that I draw on every day.
What are you doing now? I currently serve as a CDI education director, where I bring together many facets of my background, my clinical knowledge and experience and my deep roots in coding and education to strengthen and advance the CDI profession.
Why and how did you make the transition to CDI? My healthcare journey started in coding, back when we were working with stacks of paper charts and attaching bright colored paper queries. I went on to nursing school, and when I graduated, the job market for new nurses was few and far between, nothing like the demand you see today. That opened the door to education and some home care nursing, which helped round out my clinical experience. I then moved into facility nursing and other areas of nursing. Around that same time, I started noticing roles for these CDI specialists asking for either a nursing or coding background. I had both, so I figured, let’s check this out, and I never looked back.
The amazing role of CDI is about documentation integrity but it also about patient care. CDI specialists advocate for their patients, just as we did as a nurse, yet in a different way. I am proud to say I am a nurse. Happy Nurse’s Week!
Jessica Vaughn, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, CCDS, CCDS-O, CRC, CDI education specialist for ACDIS/HCPro
What is your background in nursing?
An RN of nearly three decades, I have spent my patient-side career predominantly in hematology and oncology, both acute and outpatient care, for a large matrixed health system. I also have experience in L&D, NICU, and GYN surgery for a smaller community hospital, as well as outpatient renal/dialysis. I remain a volunteer for community outreach programs as a certified Faith Community Nurse.
What are you doing now? As a CDI education specialist, I lead by educating! I joined HCPro/ACDIS last year when I decided that I missed educating and wanted to get back into a clinical-facing role. Clinical practice and medical coding are constantly evolving, making it unrealistic for anyone to understand every detail. That’s where we excel. We stay ahead of changing rules and regulations, translate the complexity, and deliver clear guidance our clients can trust. The education we provide empowers teams to be more efficient and continue to support and grow their organizations.
Why and how did you make the transition to CDI? Working for a Magnet institution, a lot of focus was placed on academics, and I became interested in CDI in 2011 after receiving my BSN and when an opportunity occurred for a Hematology and Oncology CDI Specialist. My love for CDI and leadership grew from there! In 2012 I advanced to a coordinator position where I focused on quality measures such as HACs, PSIs, LOS, and Mortality reviews. This allowed me to start the first organizational mandated CDI education program for physicians, leading to an official supervisory role in 2014 where I was given the opportunity to start an outpatient CDI program. Scaling in 2015, we grew the team and I became the nurse manager of that program. My leadership journey continued to evolve as I pursued my Masters and then my Doctorate in Executive Leadership from Duke University, where I was able to advocate for our profession. Documentation integrity is a large focus in nursing school, and I felt a natural progression for me. Nurses have a special skillset to contribute to CDI, and I have been blessed to be a part of it and see it grow exponentially in a relatively short time.
Kelly Rice, RN, BSN, MSHI, CCDS, CDIP, CCS, CRC, CDI education specialist for ACDIS/HCPro
What is your background in nursing? I was inspired to go to nursing school and follow in my mom's footsteps who had been an ICU nurse since she was 19 years old. While in nursing school, I worked as a nursing assistant and then a nurse tech in surgical trauma ICU in Royal Oak Michigan. Upon graduation, I hired on to the same unit. After 3 years, I decided it was to spread my wings and moved out west to be a travel nurse. I worked in surgical trauma ICUs in San Diego, Santa Barabara, and San Francisco. I moved to Seattle and worked as a staff nurse in their trauma surgical ICU until I had my son. After returning from maternity leave, I wanted a better work life balance so worked in both an outpatient surgery center and employee health until 2016 when I was introduced to CDI
What are you doing now? I am an instructor/education specialist for HcPro. I get to combine my love for teaching and nursing, which is perfect for me!
Why and how did you make the transition to CDI? I, like many who spent their career at the bedside, experienced a few back injuries that made heavy lifting and being on my feet for 8-12+ hrs a day too challenging . Knowing that my body couldn't withstand the physical demands of bedside nursing and my strong interest in EMRs and data analytics, I decided to peruse a master's degree in health informatics in 2015.
In 2016, I was relocating to Bellingham, Washington, and saw a job opening for CDI and decided to apply. I knew as soon as I started that I found my niche. It was a perfect fit for me. I loved being able to apply my clinical knowledge, identify documentation deficiencies, and work to improve the integrity of the record, making it a more accurate depiction of the patient's hospital stay. I felt like a detective finding all the missing pieces to craft the perfect query. I love the challenge that CDI brings and the ability to continuously learn.
Lynette Byerly, BSN, RN, CCDS, CCS, CDI education specialist for ACDIS/HCPro
What is your background in nursing? Nursing has long been a family tradition for me. My grandmother, mother, and two of my sisters are nurses (third sister does insurance claims for PCP office). I, however, had no interest in nursing until both my boys were in school and decided the day-to-day office/payroll/administration duty was no longer for me.
I started my career as a graduate nurse on an orthopedic/neurology unit, where I built a strong clinical foundation and obtained my nursing license. After gaining this experience, I applied for a position in the Emergency Department at a hospital closer to my home.
While working in the emergency department, I volunteered to assist with the trauma program. This opportunity quickly evolved into a formal role as the trauma nurse coordinator. In that capacity, I led efforts to restructure the trauma program with the facility achieving designation as a Level IV trauma center.
What are you doing now? I am now a CDI educator specialist with ACDIS where I get to apply my experience and expertise to those looking to learn, grow, and excel in the CDI space. It is a great opportunity to share my knowledge with those looking to get into the CDI field, just as I once did.
Why and how did you make the transition to CDI? After several years and multiple leadership transitions, I felt it was the right time to pursue a new professional direction. A colleague who had moved from the emergency department into CDI encouraged me to explore the field, describing it as a legitimate profession that aligned well with my abilities and interests. At the same time, my manager warned that I would miss the pace and excitement of emergency and trauma care and ultimately regret the transition. I started as a part-time CDI specialist for a while and finally a full-time position opened up. It wasn’t long before I moved into an educator role. I was subsequently asked to take on the CDI auditor role, which had not previously existed, allowing me the opportunity to develop and formalize the position. I then set my sights on a consulting organization and was able to expand my knowledge base into the outpatient CDI realm.
Later, an organization reached out to me to see if I would be interested in developing their CDI auditor role as part of an effort to expand their program. I spent several years there, and when I later noticed an opening for a CDI educator specialist, I thought how exciting it would be to become part of the ACDIS team.
Sarah Matacale, BSN, RN, CCS, CCDS, query education and compliance specialist for ACDIS and AHIMA
What is your background in nursing? I have been a registered nurse since 1993, when I earned my bachelor’s degree in nursing and obtained my professional license. The first five years of my career were spent as a home hospice nurse with the Karen Ann Quinlan Center for Hope Hospice, founded by Joe and Julia Quinlan—the parents of Karen Ann Quinlan, whose case became a landmark moment in the right‑to‑die conversation in the United States. I believe this experience laid the foundation for my entire nursing career. Hospice and home care require a nurse to think critically, anticipate needs, plan ahead, educate, and communicate effectively with both patients and caregivers. With limited technology and resources in the home setting, the focus naturally returns to comfort, dignity, and truly patient‑centered care.
Over the years, I explored several other nursing specialties while always keeping “one foot in the door” with hospice. Most of my bedside career was spent in cardiac critical care at academic medical centers, as well as general critical care in smaller rural health systems.
Along the way, I took many “side quests” in my nursing journey—expanding into technology and software development, patient and provider education, and writing. I’ve been a published author in multiple nursing journals, and each of these experiences has shaped the professional path that ultimately led me to where I am today.
What are you doing now? My role at HCPro is query education and compliance specialist, as well as manager of the ACDIS and AHIMA Query Template Library. I oversee updates, compliance, education, development, and strategic direction for the Query Template Library. I work closely with clients, health system and software leaders, and our internal sales and product development teams to ensure the library remains robust, compliant, and relevant.
I also serve as an ANCC Nurse Planner for educational services and products that award nursing continuing education hours and credits.
Why and how did you make the transition to CDI? My husband, who is a practicing physician, was recruited to work part‑time as a physician advisor for a major health system in our area. Over a short period of time, he built a large physician advisor program that worked closely with CDI, coding, billing, quality, and other key departments. He had been encouraging me to explore CDI as my next professional step.
When our youngest son entered kindergarten, I enrolled in an 18‑month online certification program through Drexel University, where I studied coding, billing, auditing, and related areas. After completing the coursework, I sat for the CCS exam and passed, which opened the door for me to begin working in CDI.
Throughout my career, I’ve gained experience in mortality reviews, PSI work, provider education, query writing, and even software development. All of these skills have evolved and ultimately led me to my current role with HCPro.
For any nurses who are looking for a new challenge, or interested in applying your skills, knowledge, and expertise to another avenue within healthcare, we invite you to learn more about ACDIS.
Join us for a unique opportunity to learn more about the CDI profession and how ACDIS can help you continue your professional journey in making a difference in patient’s lives.