2024 Peer Recognition Program nominees announced

NAHRI supports the professional accomplishment of all its members. As part of 2024 Revenue Integrity Week (June 3-7), NAHRI opened nominations to its Peer Recognition Program to recognize revenue integrity professionals for their contributions to the field and for the ways in which they have helped their peers. The following revenue integrity professionals were nominated by their peers to receive Certificates of Recognition from NAHRI’s Peer Recognition Program:

• Kimberly Hart, RHIA, CCS-P, CRCR, CSPR, director of patient accounting and revenue integrity, at University Medical Center of Southern Nevada in Las Vegas, Nevada, was nominated by Camille Krivell, RHIT, revenue integrity analyst at University Medical Center of Southern Nevada and Suzanne Ewing, manager at University Medical Center of Southern Nevada, Nathan Constant, billing manager at University Medical Center of Southern Nevada, Jonathan Dixon, patient accounting manager at University Medical Center of Southern Nevada, and Jill Geesey, MBA, RHIT, CCS, CIRCC, COC, CPC, revenue integrity analyst at University Medical Center of Southern Nevada. “Kim has exceptional leadership qualities which resulted in positive transformation and have significantly impacted our team and organization. She deserves recognition for all the hard work she's done for our team and organization,” Krivel said. “I would like to thank her for all the support she's provided and knowledge shared with us.”
  “Kim has cultivated a management environment where she shares her knowledge and is an example of hard work and dedication to the goals,” Ewing said. “Her example makes me want to continue exceed in the vision of making our facility number one.”
  “Kim is an outstanding leader with the perfect mix of the necessary skills to run a business office. She is firm but fair, incredibly knowledgeable about all aspects of hospital revenue cycle, supportive of her managers and staff, has high standards and expectations, is willing to listen to others' opinions and considers them when making decisions, and she even has a good sense of humor. I've learned a lot by working for her and she makes coming to work every day more enjoyable by being my director,” Constant said.
  “She is amazing at her job and deserves recognition for it!” Dixon said.
  “Kim is an outstanding leader of revenue integrity. She works with all areas of the hospital to ensure compliance with charging practices as well as to identify potential revenue opportunities. She encourages personal growth for her team and provides opportunities to learn new skills. Kim also expresses her appreciation to her staff and lets us know that we are valued members of the team. I have learned a lot under her leadership and look forward to what the future brings,” Geesey said.
• Diane Weiss, CPC, CPB, CHRI, vice president of revenue integrity and education at Restorix Health in Metairie, Louisiana, was nominated by Sandy Giangreco Brown, MHA, BS, CHRI, RHIT, CCS, CCS-P, CHC, CPC, COC, CPC-I, COBGC, PCS, director of coding and revenue integrity at CliftonLarsonAllen, LLP. “Diane is an incredible asset with the incredible amount of knowledge and expertise that she has in revenue integrity,” she said. “I have been able to call her on several occasions and gain her assistance quickly and always with a smile! She is such a joy to know and to be able to work collaboratively with in this industry! I am thankful that NAHRI was instrumental in introducing us several years ago, and for the opportunity to meet Diane and to have the chance to present with her and now to reach out with industry questions. We need more people like Diane in this field! Thank you, Diane, for the ‘awemazing’ person that you are! The world, especially the revenue integrity world, is a better place with you in it!”
• Nicole Wallace West, management analyst at University Medical Center of Southern Nevada in Las Vegas, Nevada, was nominated by Jill Geesey, MBA, RHIT, CCS, CIRCC, COC, CPC, revenue integrity analyst at University Medical Center of Southern Nevada. “Nicole is a great resource and supply expert. She is always willing to go the extra mile to ensure we have the correct information to properly charge supplies. She is eager to learn and a great addition to our revenue integrity team,” Geesey said.
• Kay Larsen, BA, CHRI, revenue integrity specialist at Adventist Health Glendale in Glendale, California, was nominated by Brett Sharp, multi site manager of revenue integrity at Adventist Health White Memorial in Los Angeles, California. “If there was ever a person more deserving of recognition from her peers, it would be Kay Larsen. I have known Kay for over 13 years, all of which in the revenue integrity (RI) space,” Sharp said. “Over these years, she has continually demonstrated her passion for RI and her mastery of the intricacies and concepts inherent to. Kay has always been willing to share her wealth of knowledge with passion, patience and gratitude. Her passion for our industry is contagious and her willingness to teach and inspire others is commendable. Thank you, Kay!”
• Ruchi Vaidya, RI charge specialist at St. Joseph’s Health Hospital in Syracuse, New York, was nominated by Timothy Tryon, RI charge specialist at St. Peter’s Health Partners in Albany, New York. Worked with her on many projects and she is always positive and great to work with.  “She is very knowledgeable,” Tryon said. “Since we are working on many different hospitals in Albany area, Thone area, and Syracuse our paths cross each day.”
• Taniecha Charles, RI Charge specialist at St. Peter’s Health Partners in Albany, New York, was nominated by Timothy Tryon, RI charge specialist at St. Peter’s Health Partners. “Work very closely with her and she is very helpful,” Tryon said.
• Timothy Tryon, RI charge specialist at St. Peter’s Health Partners in Albany, New York, was nominated by Dillion McWhite, account specialist at St. Peter's Health Partners. “Dedicated to his work,” McWhite said. “Strongly follows RI principals. Willing to jump in and help when needed. Takes initiative on numerous projects.”
• Camille Krivell, RHIT, revenue integrity analyst at University Medical Center of Southern Nevada in Las Vegas, Nevada, was nominated by Stacy M. Parker, RN, BSN, BBA, MBA, revenue integrity analyst at University Medical Center of Southern Nevada and Jill Geesey, MBA, RHIT, CCS CIRCC, COC, CPC, revenue integrity analyst at University Medical Center of Southern Nevada. “Camille excels in her area of expertise. She works diligently bring resolution to problems and is always willing to share her knowledge with the team and the organization. She is a pleasure to work with,” Parker said.
  “Camille has great analytical skills and always pays attention to detail. She has implemented processes for the hospital to accurately capture chargeable supplies. When she is not busy with price transparency, Camille assists the departments in creating different reports for charge reconciliation purposes. She is a valued member of the revenue integrity team and is always willing to help,” Geesey said.
• Denise Della Gala, RN, BSN, nurse auditor at St. Joseph’s Health Hospital in Syracuse, New York, was nominated by Katherine Case, revenue integrity recovery coordinator, at St. Joseph’s Health Hospital. “I would like to nominate Denise as she is always willing to help me and other colleagues when we have questions,” Case said. “Denise is always willing to help someone learn something and will take the time to explain until you are comfortable, she is very knowledgeable and extremely kind to everyone she comes across. Denise has been a wealth of information and guidance since I started with the revenue integrity department two years ago and continues to be. She will include anyone who expresses a desire to know more on meetings involving that topic and will share information she has found and compiled together. Denise will work hands on with others to better understand and help others understand certain issues that may arise.”
• Kim Eccles, revenue integrity coordinator at St. Peter’s Health Partners in Albany, New York, was nominated by Katherine Case, revenue integrity recovery coordinator, at St. Joseph’s Health Hospital in Syracuse, New York. “I would like to nominate Kim for her amazing Excel abilities as well as always jumping to assist with any report issues or questions. Kim has a wealth of information that she is always willing to share and has always been available to assist with other locations when colleagues have PTO. She can always be relied upon for assistance or education. Her psych knowledge is extremely valuable, and she shares what she learns with everyone,” Case said.
• Cheryl Endruschat, revenue integrity coordinator at Trinity Health of New England in Hartford, Connecticut, was nominated by Katherine Case, revenue integrity recovery coordinator, at St. Joseph’s Health Hospital in Syracuse, New York. “I would like to nominate Cheryl for being the BEST meeting owner for all the denial prevention meetings.  Cheryl has been running these meetings for all locations since they began and has been doing a wonderful job at keeping the meeting on track and organized. She is very approachable and knowledgeable and is always willing to help where she can and helps others work through questions they may have. Cheryl will ask all the right questions and works well with everyone around her,” Case said.
• Jill Geesey, MBA, RHIT, CCS, CIRCC, COC, CPC, revenue integrity analyst at University Medical Center of Southern Nevada, in Las Vegas, Nevada, was nominated by Stacy M. Parker, RN, BSN, BBA, MBA, revenue integrity analyst at University Medical Center of Southern Nevada, Nannette Barton, CCS, CCS-P, CPC, senior coder at University Medical Center of Southern Nevada, and Nathaniel Garcia, CCS, CIRCC, CPC, senior coder at University Medical Center of Southern Nevada. “Jill is truly a phenomenal individual,” Parker said. “She is a true asset to our team and our organization. She is always willing to help and share her knowledge. It is great to see the joy she gets from finding and solving problems and making business ideas work.”
  “I have worked for 16 years with Jill both in coding before she moved to revenue integrity and in that department. Her depth of knowledge and willingness to assist with understanding of the revenue cycle is expansive. She continues to research and learn and share that knowledge with everyone willing to learn. One of the most impressive and professional people I have known in my career,” Barton said.
  “Jill will never hesitate to go above and beyond to help fellow peers. She is so knowledgeable at her craft, and yet remains humble in her manner to share and educate others. I am proud and fortunate to call Jill a colleague. Shout out to Jill!” Garcia said.
• Chris Fisher, CRIP, CCT, CRCE, CHAM, revenue cycle analyst at Augusta Health in Fishersville, Virginia, was nominated by Lindsey Grimm, CRIP, revenue integrity manager at Augusta Health. “Chris has supported revenue integrity at Augusta Health throughout her career. From her early days in charge capture and registration in the ED, to her time as chargemaster coordinator, to her time with patient access, to her current role as revenue cycle analyst, Chris has always supported the financial health of our hospital. Chris played an integral role in the development of our centralized patient access department, which she then supported in her years as quality and training coordinator. More recently she has rejoined the back end revenue cycle team as an analyst, supporting chargemaster maintenance, charge capture, payer credentialing, and more. With her primary responsibility in reimbursement monitoring, Chris has organized our team efforts to hold payers accountable to appropriate reimbursement. Our revenue integrity team is stronger thanks to Chris’ efforts,” Grimm said.
• Logan Rexrode, CRIP, CRCS, chargemaster specialist at Augusta Health in Fishersville, Virginia, was nominated by Lindsey Grimm, CRIP, revenue integrity manager at Augusta Health. “Logan’s support of chargemaster maintenance, charge capture, and compliant billing are integral to the success of our revenue integrity team,” Grimm said. “Logan manages the chargemasters for our hospital and multispecialty physician group, supports charge capture optimization efforts, participates in all projects for new service lines/practices/charge related projects, and more. With her background in billing, keen eye, and ability to research, she is a sought after resource for our revenue cycle team and others throughout the organization. Logan has been recognized by our revenue cycle team with an Emerging Leader Award in 2022 and a Revenue Cycle Way Award in 2023. With just five years of revenue cycle experience under her belt, Logan is one of our strongest supporters of revenue integrity; I can’t wait to see where she is in another five years!”
• Elva Nava, division director of corporate revenue cycle—revenue integrity at CommonSpirit Health in Santa Maria, California, was nominated by Ryan McClanahan, MHA, director of revenue integrity at CommonSpirit Health. “Elva is a tireless and compassionate leader. I am always amazed at her widespread knowledge of the revenue cycle, as well as system operations. Every time I come across something that no one could possible know off-hand, she has the answer immediately. I am often left in awe by her. Thank you, Elva, for all you do!” McClanahan said.
• Alexis Aguilar-Garcia, MBA, CRCR, revenue integrity analyst at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (ARMC) in Colton, California, was nominated by Danae Foster, revenue integrity analyst at ARMC and Alma Soto-Herrera, fiscal specialist at ARMC. “Alexis' knowledge is extensive, and she is always more than willing to share that knowledge with others. She goes above and beyond to help those around her that have questions or concerns. She is an essential member to ARMC's revenue integrity team!” Foster said.
  “Always going above and beyond when assisting other staff, providing excellent trainings and detailed answers to questions,” Soto-Herrera said. “Alexis always shows a positive attitude, no matter how busy she is.”
• Danae Foster, revenue integrity analyst at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (ARMC) in Colton, California, was nominated by Ashley Leichliter, CHRI, CRCR, revenue integrity manager at ARMC. “Danae has been instrumental in leading charge reconciliation trainings, P4P charging items and associated cost center errors. Her teamwork and research skills are much appreciated!” Leichliter said.
• Toni Barker, revenue integrity analyst at Confluence Health in Wenatchee, Washington, was nominated by Brittany Schaeffer-Wellborn, prebiller at Confluence Health. “Toni always goes above and beyond, very helpful with everything no matter how busy her work load is. She’s always so sweet and very dedicated in helping us prebillers and doing what it takes for us to understand what we are doing. She’s pretty amazing and deserves this more than anyone I know,” Schaeffer-Wellborn said.
• Stacy M. Parker, RN, BSN, BBA, MBA, revenue integrity analyst at University Medical Center of Southern Nevada in Las Vegas, Nevada, was nominated by Jill Geesey, MBA, RHIT, CCS CIRCC, COC, CPC, revenue integrity analyst at University Medical Center of Southern Nevada. “Stacy adds value to our revenue integrity team through her experience and clinical knowledge. She is able to provide insight into clinical workflows and assists in identifying charging issues. Stacy is always willing to help and uses her analytical skills to determine areas for improvement,” Geesey said.
• Carolyn Stedman, CPC, CPMA, revenue integrity specialist at NCH Healthcare System in Naples, Florida, was nominated by Johanna Aguilar CPC, RHIT, manager at NCH Healthcare System. “Carolyn always goes above and beyond ensuring workflows and processes are in place to provide the highest quality of services to our patients and secure proper revenue for our organization. She works closely with our IT and clinics to facilitate communication and has a great relationship with her manager and providers,” Aguilar said.
• Jessica Payne, MBA, CPC, revenue integrity specialist at NCH Healthcare System in Naples, Florida, was nominated by Johanna Aguilar CPC, RHIT, manager at NCH Healthcare System. “Jessica has been a great addition to our revenue integrity team. Her skill set and broad understanding of front office workflows and training skills have proven to be important in her liaison role between multiple departments; resulting in higher revenue recovery for our organization and identifying workflows to increase patient satisfaction and quality of care.”
• Nicole Rodrigues, RHIA, CPMA, system director of revenue integrity at St. Charles Health System in Bend, Oregon, was nominated by Michella Borden, RHIT, revenue integrity supervisor at St. Charles Health System. “Nicole is more than just a ‘system director, revenue integrity,’ she is a true leader,” Borden said. “She does not just direct her teams, she leads them to success with courage and vulnerability. She takes accountability for not only her mistakes, but that of her team, but helps to use them as learning opportunities. She does not allow other directors to ‘rule the roost’ within her department and takes kindly to constructive criticism and feedback. She does not just manage teams, but works with them. She does not just sit back and let the work happen, but she digs into the work alongside her team. Nicole follows her gut, educates herself before answering questions about things she doesn't know, but also takes accountability for the things she doesn't know. She is a true example of a phenomenal leader within the revenue integrity world and I am truly blessed to work with someone so exceptional as Nicole.”
• Alicia Ramos, hospital revenue analyst at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (ARMC) in Colton, California, was nominated by Ashley Leichliter, CHRI, CRCR, revenue integrity manager at ARMC. “Alicia has been critical in leading the CDM pricing transparency effort which has required significant analysis and collaboration with the CI teams and our outside vendor. The revenue integrity unit is very grateful for Alicia’s engagement, accountability and teamwork in driving the critical resolution of this CMS requirement,” Leichliter said.
• Leah Gonzalez-Guzman, senior managed care analyst at White Plains Hospital in White Plains, New York, was nominated by Matthew Kamien, CPC, CHFP, CRCR, CPFSS, revenue cycle analyst at White Plains Hospital. “Leah has been with White Plains Hospital for seven years and is an integral part in the recent success that White Plains Hospital has seen within the revenue cycle department. She was invaluable in the 2021 transition to Epic, and plays a pivotal role in keeping managed care contracts up to date and loaded in Epic correctly. While being the department's point person on all revenue cycle related questions, she takes the time to train new team members and keep the team up to speed.  Every hospital's revenue cycle department would be lucky to have Leah on their team,” Kamien said.
• Richard Merritt, senior financial reporting analyst, at Axxess in Dallas, Texas, was nominated by Rosena Clarke-Turner, senior implementation counselor at Axxess. “Rick continues to be a force for fiscal integrity and financial viability for the reports that drive business intelligence and ensure the integrity of reporting that our partners utilize. He works fastidiously with implementation consultants to educate as to the way to instruct in utilization and is consistently client facing for data interpretation and elevation,” Clarke-Turner said.
• Sarah L. Goodman, MBA, CHCAF, COC, CHRI, CCP, FCS, president/CEO and principal consultant for SLG, Inc., in Raleigh, North Carolina, was nominated by Diane Weiss, CPC, CPB, CHRI, vice president of revenue integrity and education at Restorix Health in Metairie, Louisiana. “Sarah is a phenomenal resource when it comes to all things revenue integrity related! She is a regular speaker at the Revenue Integrity Symposium (RIS) and always has great, useful presentations. She is always willing and very able, to address questions from others, like me as well as participants at RIS. She always follows up to ensure that there is understanding and no other outstanding questions,” Weiss said.