Note from the director: NAHRI ushers in new board members
“They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.” I often think of this quote from Andy Warhol when reflecting on how professional and personal life has changed over the years and envisioning what is to come.
This is the time of year when NAHRI begins to see some changes of its own, starting with our Advisory Board transitions. Our departing board members took action to drive change within the association and the profession at large during their tenure at NAHRI—from providing education and guidance to offering insight into the direction the association should go in.
All of us at NAHRI would like to take a moment to thank our 2021 departing board members for their willingness to drive change:
- Kathryn J. Noorbakhsh, RN, BSN, CPC, CPC-H, director, corporate compliance and revenue analysis, at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
- Angela Lynne Simmons, CPA, vice president of revenue and reimbursement at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. A Texas Certified Public Accountant, she brings more than 30 years of experience in healthcare operations and finance, and public accounting for healthcare entities. Simmons has expertise in healthcare policy, reimbursement principles from government programs (Medicare and Medicaid) as well as healthcare financial analysis and cost accounting.
With the departure of two board members, we welcome two enthusiastic professionals who we are certain will bring positive changes to our association and industry:
- Ashley Allers, director of revenue cycle, integrity compliance, and privacy officer at Van Diest Medical Center in Webster City, Iowa. Allers has nearly 10 years of healthcare experience in management, revenue cycle, chargemaster, and Cerner EHR implementation. She has presented at several Cerner conferences on implementation successes and best practices within a clinically driven revenue cycle.
- Fran Jurcak, MSN, RN, CCDS, CCDS-O, chief clinical strategist at Iodine Software in Austin, Texas. In her current role, Jurcak is focused on employing innovative AI/ML technology to minimize mid-revenue cycle leakage. These process improvements have allowed her many clients to successfully maximize financial and quality outcomes.
Our incoming board members will work side-by-side with the current Advisory Board keep NAHRI up to date on the latest revenue integrity news and information. We are all committed to ensuring NAHRI members and the revenue integrity profession at large remain visible, connected, and learned. We welcome your feedback as the association continues its work. Please reach out to me directly at jfitzgerald@hcpro.com or to our board members whose information can be found on the Boards and Committees website.