Triumph Awards Categories: Descriptions, Qualifications and Guidelines for Nomination

Distinguished Member I Champion I e-HIM I Educator I Legacy I Mentor I Research I Rising Star

Distinguished Member Award

Award Description: The Distinguished Member Award is AHIMA’s highest award of honor. This award celebrates an individual with a long, exceptional history of HIM contributions. It is awarded to an outstanding individual whose record of contributions to the field over many years is truly exceptional.

Qualifications: Qualified individuals are HIM professionals who have made significant contributions to the HIM field through dedicated volunteer service, innovative professional practice, education, research, or publishing. These are just a few of the ways an individual qualifies.

Guidelines: Nomination criteria for this award include the following:

• Volunteer service as an officer, director, committee or council chair or member, task force chair or member, special project director, CoP Facilitator, or representative of the HIM field at government hearings for AHIMA or other national healthcare associations
• Significant original research or authorship, editing, or service on editorial board for journals, books, monographs, and other publications that advance the HIM profession
• Advancing professional practice through development of new theory; active dissemination of knowledge about cutting-edge practice innovations, or leadership in a specialty area
• Regular presenter at HIM conferences and other educational events; respected instructor in academic HIM programs; or developer of groundbreaking teaching strategies

Champion Award

Award Description: The Champion Award honors those whose long-term and enthusiastic support of AHIMA and the HIM profession has advanced AHIMA’s capacity to achieve its mission and/or advanced HIM practice.

Qualifications: Qualified nominees are individuals, groups, or corporations who have worked tirelessly to support the HIM profession by advancing AHIMA’s leadership position and/or who have developed or refined practice theory, demonstrated leadership, or introduced innovation and creativity to current practice. These are best characterized as individuals or organizations that go above and beyond in their quest to make the HIM profession thrive.

Guidelines: Nomination criteria for this award include the following:

• Advancing legislative initiatives that promote the interests of the HIM profession
• Serving the needs of AHIMA members through advocacy of patient rights and confidentiality; educating the public regarding health information, or support and promotion of professional practice standards
• Positioning the HIM profession as a leadership force in the healthcare industry
• Introduction of creative practice innovations through advances in technology, development of more effective quality management measures, or new methods of promoting employee motivation and job satisfaction
• Demonstrated leadership in HIM education
• Employing HIM practice in alternate careers not limited to the healthcare industry
• Providing inspiration, guidance, and opportunities for emerging leaders to participate in AHIMA's volunteer structure and to build meaningful leadership experiences
• Significant support of key AHIMA initiatives

e-HIM® Award

Award Description: The e-HIM Award honors those individuals, groups, or organizations who have made important advances in areas related to e-HIM® - supporting the vision of health information as electronic, patient-centered, comprehensive, longitudinal, accessible and credible.

Qualifications: Qualified individuals are HIM professionals or organizations who have helped “push the envelope” in the transition to electronic health information management and have advanced the state-of-the-art through their work.

Guidelines: Nomination criteria for this award include the following:

• Participating in setting facility-wide standards
• Implementing e-HIM® systems that impact the quality and safety of the delivery of healthcare within an organization
• Performing systems analysis to develop or design e-HIM® systems

Educator Award

Award Description: The Educator Award honors those who demonstrate excellence in preparing the next generation of professionals for their HIM careers.

Qualifications: Qualified individuals or departments of educators/instructors who teach in a formal health information administration or health information technology program that grants associate, baccalaureate or masters degrees, and who are involved in AHIMA activities at the state or national level.

Guidelines: Nomination criteria for this award include the following:

• Development and implementation of creative teaching tools and methods
• High standards of excellence and high expectations of students
• Awareness of the instructor’s impact as a role model
• Commitment to student mentoring in the classroom and beyond
• Outstanding contributions to the research base of the field

Legacy Award

Award Description: The Legacy Award honors a significant contribution to the knowledge base of the HIM field through an insightful recent publication, building on the enduring tradition of the Edna K. Huffman Literary Award.

Qualifications: Qualified individuals or "teams" are those who have authored a landmark book, book chapter, article, monograph, or instructional guide that was published in some form (including electronic media) by a recognized professional association or publisher within the last two years.

Guidelines: Nomination criteria for this award include the following:

• Presenting new theoretical concepts or further development of concepts previously advanced by others
• Detailing hands-on practice techniques that are ready for implementation
• Providing tools to educate health information professionals or the general public

Mentor Award

Award Description: The Mentor Award honors individuals with long records of encouraging students or colleagues to realize their full potential who have helped others find ways to achieve their best.

Qualifications: Qualified individuals or "teams" are those rare professional colleagues and friends who touch our lives and launch us toward new horizons. Posthumous awards may be given.

Guidelines: Nomination criteria for this award include the following:

• A record of motivating talented young people to enter the HIM profession
• Providing ongoing, long-term career guidance to one or more HIM professionals.
• Encouraging young professionals to become involved in AHIMA activities at the state and local level and supporting their efforts.
• Fostering enthusiasm for the profession
• Willingness to provide clinical sites and supervision for multiple students designed to help them achieve exemplary HIM competencies
• Support of the training process for new professionals through teaching, serving on panels or advisory committees, and advising individual students
• Serve as a mentor who guides students to new opportunities and fosters their enthusiasm for the profession

Research Award

Award Description: The Research Award honors those who have made an outstanding contribution to HIM research.

Qualifications: HIM professionals or groups who exemplify unusual vision and leadership in understanding HIM philosophy and conduct, or support research demonstrating the application of these concepts to healthcare

Guidelines: Nomination criteria for this award include the following:

• Conducting research of high merit, which significantly contributes to HIM theory or practice
• Developing institutional research capabilities
• Developing programs to train researchers for the profession
• Serving as mentor to new researchers

Rising Star Award

Award Description: The Rising Star Award recognizes and encourages the best of the fresh new talent being trained in health information administration or health information technology degree granting-program nationwide. It honors a gifted student or promising new professional who embodies great hope as we look to the future of the HIM profession.

Qualifications: Qualified individuals are a) students enrolled at the time of nomination in an approved HIA or HIT degree program, or who have graduated in the last three months; or b) HIM professionals who have been credentialed within the last seven years.  Nominees must demonstrate significant potential for future leadership, innovation, creativity, and administrative capacity.

Guidelines: Nomination criteria for this award include the following:

• Willingness to change tradition, take risks, think critically and to lead others in these processes
• Exceptional problem-solving ability with the capacity to envision the “big picture” in health information management and to make decisions accordingly
• Demonstrates excellence in the management of personnel, finances, or information systems
• Demonstrates commitment to the HIM profession through active participation in local, state, and national AHIMA activities-especially those that promote HIM education

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