AHIMA Announces 2009 Triumph Award Winners

National awards honor professionals for leadership in HIM

GRAPEVINE, Texas, October 5, 2009—The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) today announced its annual AHIMA Foundation Triumph Awards recipients, recognizing those professionals who made outstanding accomplishments in the health information management (HIM) field. The presentations were made during AHIMA’s 81st Convention and Exhibit, taking place in Grapevine, TX, through Thursday.

AHIMA has a long tradition of honoring the excellence, dedication, and service of the HIM professionals whose efforts and contributions continue to heighten the HIM field.

Distinguished Member Award

An educator, leader, mentor, and AHIMA volunteer, Dr. Mervat Abdelhak’s, career spans more than 30 years in the HIM field. She served as AHIMA president in 2005 and continues to serve in leadership roles in AHIMA and her state association. Dr. Abdelhak has contributed to the profession as an editor, author, and researcher, sharing her expertise and opinions regarding the value of HIM in the areas of information technology, strategy, leadership, and critical success factors.

 Champion Award

A professor who has devoted 35 years to educating future HIM professionals, Mary McCain, MPA, RHIA, is the 2009 Champion Award recipient. She established a clinical advisor/mentor program that allows students the opportunity to interact with HIM professionals, and she co-chaired the Model Curriculum Project currently in use in HIM programs throughout the United States.

Community Outreach Award

This first-time award honors 100 dedicated personal health record Community Education Coordinators who volunteer to collaborate and promote consumer health awareness and advocacy.

E-HIM® Award

Marion Swaim, RHIA, led the staff at Sentara Hospitals, Norfolk, VA, into a paperless environment, which achieved world-class results in physician adoption, reducing costs and improving patient care delivery.

Educator Award (2)

Quality education for HIM professionals has been a top priority for Sue Biedermann, MSHP, RHIA, to advance her students’ skills in the classroom and workplace. She helped develop the first online HIM administrative programs in Texas and initiated the development of an HIM Research Institute to assist in workforce preparation.

Rachelle Stewart, DrPH, RHIA, FAHIMA, has worked to enhance the curriculum at Chicago State University where she uses a combination of practical application assignments and online teaching techniques. Dr. Stewart has been published in HIM professional journals and she has presented at educational meetings and workshops throughout her 30-plus year career.

Legacy Award

April Robertson, MPA, RHIA, CHPS, FAHIMA, helped develop the Ambulatory Information Management Association, which remained viable for over a decade. She is a notable author and tirelessly promotes HIM throughout the US through presentations, advocating for privacy and confidentiality, and medical identity theft.

Mentor Award (3)

Understanding the impact she can have on a student’s life, Barbara Manor, MA, RHIA, is an educator and mentor whose career includes a wide spectrum of HIM roles. She designs projects to benefit her students to enter the HIM field and teaches them how to reach the position they desire.

Karen J. Lawler, MPS, RHIA, has a multifaceted career in HIM that includes instructor, director, practice council participant, and state board member. She mentors her employees and students by assisting with their career and educational paths. Lawler also advocates for the profession as a spokesperson at different forums outside of HIM, discussing PHRs, e-health, and the revenue cycle.

Dwan Thomas-Flowers, MBA, RHIA, CCS, has a passion for the HIM profession that she demonstrates through her full-time job at Mayo Clinic Jacksonville and through her work as an adjunct professor where she mentors and provides guidance to students and HIM professionals new to the field. Thomas-Flowers helped establish a partnership with Florida Community College of Jacksonville and Mayo Clinic that recognizes the numerous nontraditional roles HIM professionals can fill.

Pioneer Award

Melissa Myrick, MSA, RHIA, is the first recipient of this award. She defined a strategy and vision for a regionalized HIM department within BayCare Health System and then helped lead her team through the electronic HIM transformation to convert 10 hospitals from paper to an EHR system.

Rising Star Award

Megan O’Neill, RHIA, embraced the broad role of the HIM professional from a technological standpoint and is committed to helping others understand the opportunities and big picture related to expertise and proficiency in technology’s use and innovation.

 About AHIMA

Representing more than 53,000 specially educated health information management professionals in the United States and around the world, the American Health Information Management Association is committed to promoting and advocating for high quality research, best practices, and effective standards in health information, and to actively contributing to the development and advancement of health information professionals worldwide. AHIMA’s enduring goal is quality healthcare through quality information. www.ahima.org