Nominations Open for AHIMA’s Grace Award

For the third consecutive year, AHIMA will recognize a health care delivery organization that has outstanding and innovative approaches to HIM through the bestowment of its prestigious Grace Award.

“The health care industry is evolving rapidly and at the center of much of the change is how health information is collected, stored, used, shared, and—ultimately—disposed,” says AHIMA CEO Lynne Thomas Gordon, MBA, RHIA, CAE, FACHE, FAHIMA. “HIM professionals throughout the country are working to ensure health information is secure and accessible when and where it’s needed. AHIMA is pleased to continue to recognize organizations with the most innovative approaches and successful uses of health information.”

Nomination applications are now available by visiting the AHIMA website, www.ahima.org/grace. Named after AHIMA’s founder Grace Whiting Myers, the AHIMA Grace Award: In Recognition of Excellence in Health Information Management will be presented at the 86th AHIMA annual convention & exhibit in San Diego, California, September 27 – October 2.

Evaluation criteria include how the organization contributes to a patient-centered model of care, advances EHRs, and integrates HIM throughout the workplace.

A committee of judges, representing health care delivery organizations, health information professionals, and HIM associations, selects the Grace Award winner. This year’s judging committee includes Mark Dietz, RHIA, president of Dietz Healthcare Management Consultants; Jane D. Duckert, MA, RHIA, director of HIM for University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics; Marcia Johnson, MPA, RHIA, associate administrator strategy, planning and performance analytics for Truman Medical Centers; Kelly McLendon, RHIA, CHPS, managing director for CompliancePro Solutions; Barbara Odom-Wesley, PhD, RHIA, FAHIMA, HIT program chair at DeVry University; Diane Premeau, MBA, RHIA, CHP, CHC, director of HIM services and privacy officer at Daughters of Charity Health System O’Connor Hospital; Helga Rippen, MD, PhD, MPH, FACPM, chief health information officer for Westat; and Stacy Sochacki, executive director at Association Management Center.

In 2012, the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Health System was recognized as the winner of the inaugural Grace Award. Last year, Truman Medical Centers (TMC) was recognized for its innovative approaches to HIM, particularly its use of a technology solution to not only track, but prevent, patient falls and pressure ulcers to improve patient care and decrease hospital stays. One impressive result was reducing the hospital-acquired pressure ulcer rate from 6% to less than 2%. TMC’s HIM department is involved in strategic planning, business intelligence, and data analytics, and leads Truman’s annual business plan, the Community Health Needs Assessment and the annual Missouri Hospital Association survey.

The call for nominations is being announced this week to mark the 25th annual Health Information Professionals Week March 16–22, 2014. This year’s event is themed “Transforming Healthcare with Information.” The application deadline is June 16, and award recipients will be notified this summer.

Source: AHIMA