AHIMA Announces 2013 Board President/Chair, New Board Members

Kathleen Frawley elected to serve as President/Chair

Members of the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) elected Kathleen A. Frawley,  JD, MS, RHIA, FAHIMA as President/Chair of the 2013 Board of Directors. Her term began Jan. 1, 2013.

In her role, Frawley will work with the 12 board members and the association’s CEO to provide strategic direction to AHIMA, the preeminent nonprofit association for health information management (HIM) professionals who are responsible for protecting the accuracy of patient health information as well as safeguarding and preserving its privacy. The organization has more than 67,000 members. Frawley succeeds Patty Thierry Sheridan, MBS, RHIA, FAHIMA, who now serves on the board as past president/chair.

Frawley is professor and chair of the Health Information Technology program at DeVry University in North Brunswick, N.J. She has served in several volunteer roles at AHIMA and was AHIMA’s vice president of legislative and public policy services from 1992 to 2000. A 2001 recipient of the AHIMA Distinguished Member Award, Frawley is also the 2011 recipient of the New Jersey Health Information Management Association Distinguished Member Award.

“Kathleen’s professional experience, dedication and passion for the HIM industry and its professionals will be an asset as she leads the Board,” said AHIMA CEO Lynne Thomas Gordon, MBA, RHIA, CAE, FACHE, FAHIMA. “At this transformative time in healthcare, AHIMA must assure that physicians and patients have accurate and accessible information to make important health decisions while at the same time making sure that information is private and secure.”

“I look forward to leading this Board as we work with Lynne and the AHIMA staff to build on the essential work AHIMA does for its members, the HIM profession and patients,” Frawley said.

In addition to Frawley’s appointment, last fall members elected a President/Chair-Elect, Speaker of the House and three board members, each who will serve a three year term:.

• President/Chair Elect: Angela Kennedy, EdD, MEd, MBA, RHIA, CPHQ , Ruston, La., chairman of the Department of Health Informatics and Information Management at Louisiana Tech University. 
• Speaker of the House: Kimberly Baldwin-Stried Reich, RHIA, MBA, MJ, PBCI, CPHQ, FAHIMA, Waukegan, Ill., Compliance Manager and Care Management Coordinator at the Lake County Physicians’ Association.
• Board of Director: Susan W. Carey, PMP, RHIT, Louisville, Ky., System Director, HIM, for Norton Healthcare.
• Board of Director: Dana C. McWay, JD, RHIA, St. Louis, Mo., Court Executive/Clerk of Court, US Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.
• Board of Director: Cindy Zak, MS, RHIA, PMP, FAHIMA, Woodbridge, Conn., Corporate Director of HIM at Yale New Haven Health.

The Board is responsible for setting long-term strategy and direction, governing the association’s activities, and fulfilling the organization’s fiduciary responsibility.

To further AHIMA’s position as an industry leader, the 2013 Board will provide strategic guidance on data and information governance, informatics, leadership, advocating for the public good and innovation.

The AHIMA Board is composed of 13 elected members—including the president/chair, president/chair-elect, past president/chair, speaker of the house and nine directors at large—as well as the association’s CEO, who serves in an ex-officio capacity.

About AHIMA
Representing more than 67,000 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. For more information, visit www.ahima.org