Sandra Brightwell, EdD, RHIA, FAHIMA
Biography
Dr. Brightwell, RHIA, FAHIMA brings 30 years of HIM experience. Her undergraduate course work was completed at Illinois State University, and her post-graduate work and research on motivation was completed with Northern Arizona University. She is the Director for the CAHIIM accredited HIM program at Central Arizona College. She is the recent president of AZHIMA, and a long-standing volunteer for AZHIMA, ILHIMA, and AHIMA. Dr. Brightwell is the humble recipient of the AZHIMA Lifetime Achievement, Distinguished Member and Outstanding Service Awards, a CAHIIM Peer Reviewer, a mentor, and a member of the Equity Council at her college. Dr. Brightwell also volunteers for her children's elementary school PTA and is a Den Leader for Cub Scouts.
Hear from Sandra Brightwell
Position Statement Question
What makes you uniquely qualified to serve on the AHIMA Board of Directors?
First, I pride myself on having a moral compass that aids my ability to be a relevant, fair and upstanding leader. Demonstrating integrity with my consistent and sincere commitment in all of the areas I have served in my HI career, and in my life in general, with each and every task. Cohesion and unity are necessary for the core value of integrity to be achieved. I am not afraid to speak up, to accept responsibility, nor to move the pendulum for the greater good. The AHIMA member should be at the nucleus of every decision the Board of Directors contemplates and ultimately conceives. Providers and consumers of health information must also be centric to the work of AHIMA. The integrity value comes down to communication, respect, trust, accountability, and honesty, and would be my number one priority. Second, being bold is essential in today’s global healthcare ecosystem where disrupters and technology compel expeditious yet intelligent action particularly with outcome-focused work. This value resonates with my innate desire for intentionality, focusing on timely and accurate deliverables, especially when leading the industry of health information. With the dominance of AHIMA in the healthcare ecosystem, work that we do absolutely has to be bold, stay outcome-focused and at the highest quality; lives depend on it. Speaking up on a topic, being a good headache, is a trait I will bring to the table. Lastly, the core value of inclusivity is a necessity in the world that we live in and the evolving healthcare ecosystem. All humans deserve equitable healthcare no matter their distinct or subtle differences. All AHIMA members also deserve to be represented, considered, and valued. As a leader in the HI profession, one must embrace differences, view situations via many discrete lenses, and learn from mistakes. The AHIMA Board of Directors needs to create opportunities for conversations, to listen, be respectful, give credit where credit is due and model inclusivity.