Convention News and Announcements

May 1, 2007 - Registration is now open!

AHIMA Convention and Exhibit registration opens today, May 1, 2007. Attendees can register using one of four methods: Internet, Mail, Fax, or Phone.

May 1, 2007 - John Walsh, host of America's Most Wanted, Announced as Closing Keynote. His talk "Living Life with a Mission" will conclude Wednesday's General Session.

John Walsh Biography:

"A tireless advocate for victims’ rights and missing children, John Walsh has turned his passion for justice into the nation's number-one crime-fighting show, FOX’s America's Most Wanted. From 2002 to February 2004, NBC aired The John Walsh Show; a new platform on daytime TV for Walsh to comment on current events and issues that were of concern to him. He is no stranger to violent crime; in fact, his incredibly successful career as a host of a nationally televised program, and as an advocate for victims’ rights, was a career he never anticipated.

In the summer of 1981, Walsh was a partner in a hotel management company in Hollywood, Florida. He was living the American dream. He and his wife, Revé, had a beautiful six-year-old son, Adam, the joy of their lives. They never thought crime could touch them. But that joy was shattered on July 27, 1981, when Adam was abducted, and later found murdered. The Walshes have never received the closure that America's Most Wanted has brought the lives of so many crime victims. The prime suspect in Adam's murder, Ottis Toole, was never charged in the Adam Walsh case; he died in prison while serving life for other crimes, taking the truth to the grave with him.

The story of the Walsh family's tragedy has been dramatized in the 1983 NBC television movie, Adam, and a 1986 sequel, Adam: His Song Continues. Following the airing of the broadcasts, a roll of missing children was featured, leading to the recovery of 65 youngsters.

It wasn't long after Adam's death that the Walshes turned their grief into positive energy to help missing and exploited children. Battling bureaucratic resistance and legislative nightmares, Walsh and Revé's work led to the passage of the Missing Children Act of 1982 and the Missing Children's Assistance Act of 1984. The latter bill founded the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which maintains a toll-free hotline number (1-800-THE-LOST) to report a missing child or the sighting of one.

In their son's memory, they also founded the Adam Walsh Child Resource Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to legislative reform. Recently, the centers, originally located in West Palm Beach, Florida; Columbia, South Carolina; Orange County, California; and Rochester, New York, merged with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Walsh serves on the board of directors of the National Center.

Back in 1984, Esquire magazine voted John Walsh "one of the best of the new generation." Since then, Walsh's endless quest for justice has been trumpeted across the pages of newspapers and magazines around the nation, including the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and People magazine, where Walsh was named one of the “50 Most Beautiful People” for 1996. And CBS Portraits named him one of the “100 Americans Who Changed History.” Walsh’s life has also been chronicled on A & E’s Biography program as well as on MSNBC’s Headliners and Legends with Matt Lauer.

Law Enforcement officials around the nation have also honored Walsh for his efforts. In 1988, he was named the U.S. Marshals’ Man of The Year, and two years later, he received the same honor from the FBI--the Bureau's highest civilian award. The U.S. Marshals also made Walsh an Honorary US Marshal in 2003--an honor only bestowed upon seven other people in the agency’s history. Walsh has received hundreds of other honors, including the 1984 Father of the Year Award from the National Father's Day Committee. Walsh is the only private citizen to receive a special recognition award by a U.S. Attorney General, and he's been honored in the Rose Garden four times by three presidents: Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Reagan (twice).

Today, Walsh continues his lobbying efforts, testifying before Congress and state legislatures on crime, missing children, and victims’ issues. His latest efforts include lobbying for a Constitutional Amendment for victims’ rights.

He has also started a production company, Straight Shooter Productions, in partnership with America's Most Wanted Executive Producer Lance Heflin. In its first year, the company syndicated the wildly popular Manhunter in 45 countries, and created the syndicated America's Most Wanted: Final Justice here in the United States. In 1995, Walsh executive produced the highly rated made-for-TV movie If Looks Could Kill (in which he made his acting debut portraying himself); and received his first prime-time Emmy nomination for Street Smart Kids, a labor of love he created and produced for the FOX network.

 

John Walsh is also the author of three books: Tears of Rage (1997), No Mercy (1998), and Public Enemies (2001)."

Living Life with a Mission:

After his six-year-old son Adam was abducted and murdered in 1981, John Walsh was so distraught that he lost his home and his business. Adam had been the center of his world, and Walsh could not contemplate life without him. He had been counseled and comforted by family, clergy, and friends, but it wasn’t until he spoke to the county coroner involved in Adam’s case, who was waging his own personal war against injustice, that he found the courage to go on. He discovered his life’s mission when he realized that he could take action to prevent other children from being murdered, and other parents from suffering his own fate.

Thus began John Walsh’s odyssey as a crime-fighter, manhunter, and legal visionary, roles that he is known the world over for today. Thanks to his efforts, the United States has laws protecting and providing for the search and return of missing children; the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children exists; and dozens of criminals have been brought to justice as a result of his television series, America’s Most Wanted. No other individual has been more instrumental in protecting the lives of children.

In his moving and inspiring presentations, John Walsh tells the gripping story of how he channeled the most painful event of his life into a mission that would change law enforcement, legislation, and television as we know it.

He has faced many obstacles along the way—from the FBI’s resistance to changing their policies, to the Justice Department’s initial refusal to acknowledge his cause, to the FOX television network’s decision to cancel America’s Most Wanted. But he found a number of valuable allies who helped to see him through—from devoted law enforcement officials, to congresspeople who believed in his cause, to the television executives, governmental officials, and ordinary citizens who successfully fought to bring America’s Most Wanted back onto the air.

Above all else, John Walsh is living proof that one person can make a difference. As he tells his audiences—if you believe in something and put your passion in service of it, you will find plenty of good people to support you, and to help you achieve your dreams--no matter how great or small your mission.

May 1, 2007 - National Constiution Center to host 2007 President's Premier Celebration

2007 President’s Premier Celebration

7:30 p.m., National Constitution Center

A Celebration of Historic Proportions

History comes to life in the birthplace of our nation’s Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and yes…American Bandstand!

The annual President’s Premier Celebration—A Celebration of Historic Proportions, takes place in the heart of Philadelphia’s Independence Mall at the National Constitution Center.  As the world’s first museum dedicated to the United States Constitution, the story of the Constitution is dramatically conveyed through interactive and multimedia exhibits.

Make history celebrating with an evening that reflects on times past, shared with notable historic characters. Mingle with our founding fathers and you may find yourself eating with Ben Franklin, drinking with George Washington, and definitely dancing to music ranging from the 1950s to the present with the unmistakable sounds of American Bandstand!

Lead sponsor:      Additional sponsors:

 

May 21, 2007 - Computer Assisted Coding Standards Workshop, October 5-6, 2007

Call for Papers to Close on June 15.

July 16, 2007 - Exhibit Hall- Don’t miss out on exciting HIM/HIT products and services from a wide array of more than 215 exhibitors!

Exhibit Hall

Location: Exhibit Hall A

 

Don’t miss out on exciting HIM/HIT products and services from a wide array of more than 215 exhibitors!  This is your opportunity to meet with vendors in one convenient location and earn up to three CEUs just by visiting the hall!  The exhibit hall is open Monday through Wednesday with dedicated hours to meet your schedule.  Dedicated Exhibit Hall Hours means there are no other sessions going on during this time so you can plan accordingly to maximize your exhibit hall experience!

 

Dedicated Exhibit Hall Hours:

 

Monday, October 8                                2pm – 3:30 pm and 5:15pm – 6pm

Tuesday, October 9                                2pm – 3:30 pm

Wednesday, October 11                         10:15 am – 11:45 am

 

Exhibitor Scavenger Hunt

You have to play to win!  Your registration bag includes an Exhibitor Scavenger Hunt board game.  To win, you need to visit participating booths and receive a sticker from each participating exhibitor.  Once you’ve visited all of the participating booths and filled in your game card, turn it in to the AHIMA booth #137 to be entered into a drawing for a $500 American Express Gift Card!

July 19, 2007 - Did you know? Philadelphia Movie Trivia

Six of the movies made in Philadelphia broke the $200 million box office ceiling. They were “The Village,” ($255 million); “Philadelphia” ($201 million); “Unbreakable” ($249 million); “Signs” ($408 million); “National Treasure ($338 million),” and the 20th highest grossing film in history, “The Sixth Sense” ($662 million), for a grand total of 2 billion, 113 million dollars in worldwide box office.

It is widely accepted that Rocky (1976) marked the beginning of the renaissance of Philadelphia in film. Rocky star Sylvester Stallone was 30 when Rocky premiered on November 21, 1976.  When Rocky decides to return to the ring one last time in Rocky Balboa, released in December 2006, Stallone was 60 years old. 

Invincible (2006) tells the true life story of Philadelphia Eagles' player Vince Papale.  While working at a local bar, he decides to show up for an open tryout with the Eagles and, at the age of 30, Papale becomes the oldest rookie in the history of the NFL. Papale and the Eagles actually played at Veterans Stadium, which had been torn down prior to filming so local stadium Franklin Field was used to play the part of Veterans Stadium in Invincible.

August 14, 2007 -Did you know? Philadelphia Music Trivia

Lots of great music has come from recording acts that come from Philadelphia, including:

 

Frankie Avalon

Boyz II Men

Chubby Checker

Bill Haley

Daryl Hall from Hall & Oates

Patti LaBelle

Pink

Bobby Rydell

Will Smith 

Philadelphia's first major contribution to mainstream American pop music was the television show American Bandstand, hosted by Dick Clark. The show started locally as a live show on Philadelphia’s WFIL-TV and featured music and dancing teenagers, and became an enduring feature of American music and television, groundbreaking in its broadcasting of rock and roll in the early 1950s and continued until 1989.

August 27, 2007 - Workflow Analysis: Foundation for Transitioning to e-HIM® Workshop

Workflow Analysis: Foundation for Transitioning to e-HIM® Workshop
October 5-6, 2007 │ Philadelphia, PA 

Workflow is cited as a critical need for implementing EHRs and other information systems in healthcare for which adequate resources are often not available. This workshop has been enhanced and expanded to a day and a half to provide more in-depth analysis and practice of the techniques and tools that will equip attendees from any healthcare setting to improve workflow in their organizations as they transition toward an electronic health record. Process framing, present and future state analysis, data modeling, and developing use cases will be explored as useful techniques to respond to the changes occurring in healthcare organizations today.

How You Will Benefit

• Understand common traps and mistakes in analyzing workflow and how to avoid them
• Know what to do when workflow analysis has not been performed prior to the selection of a new system
• Gain a refresher or introduction to classic workflow techniques
• Discover why data modeling is important in process analysis
• Experience working through real-world case studies demonstrating how workflow analysis can lead to improved processes.
• Get up to speed with the latest resources, tools, and tips for analyzing current and future workflows.
• Gain valuable networking experiences

What You Will Cover

• Introduction to workflow (or business process) analysis and process improvement as a precursor to IT system development
• Process framing
• Current and future state modeling
• Case development and analysis

Utilizing case studies, the seminar is taught using small group process and practice of the techniques related to each topic.

September 9, 2007 -General Session Speakers – An all-star line-up!

General Session speakers, including industry leaders, influencers, and individuals at the top of their profession, will round out your AHIMA Convention experience.  Be sure to build this valuable learning opportunity into your Convention schedule!

See the speaker slate below, and visit here for additional general session details, session offerings, and registration.

Monday, October 8

Tuesday, October 9

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