CHICAGO, Jan. 18, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Members of the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) elected Mona Calhoun, PhD, MS, Med, RHIA, FAHIMA, as president/chair of the 2024 AHIMA Board of Directors. Her one-year term began on January 1.
Calhoun has 35 years of experience working in the health information (HI) profession. She is chair of the health information management (HIM) Program at Coppin State University in Baltimore, MD. Previously, she led HI departments in behavioral health, rehabilitation, and acute care settings and worked in the outsourcing industry. She is an active member of the Maryland Health Information Management Association, where she has served on its Board in various capacities since 2004, and AHIMA, where she has served as a member and chair of several committees since 2010.
"Leading AHIMA during this time of breathtaking evolution in healthcare is an honor, and I am excited about our incredible potential as HI professionals," said Calhoun. "Our unique position allows us to balance the tremendous power and potential of technology and data with our responsibility to every patient as stewards of their health information, ultimately improving outcomes. I am eager to collaborate with my esteemed Board colleagues and our newly appointed AHIMA Chief Executive Officer Kevin Klauer, DO, EJD, FACEP, FACOEP, to shape the future of the HI industry and advance the AHIMA mission of empowering people to impact health®."
Calhoun serves on the Editorial Advisory Council for the Journal of AHIMA and is an accreditation peer reviewer for the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education.
"I look forward to working closely with our dynamic, visionary, and committed Board members in 2024," expressed Dr. Klauer. "Collectively, we will leverage our expertise and enthusiasm to inspire innovation, attain strategic growth goals and objectives, and navigate the dynamic HI landscape. Our shared commitment to advancing the AHIMA mission will undoubtedly shape the future of the HI industry."
In addition to Calhoun's appointment, AHIMA members selected a president/chair-elect and three new members of the Board of Directors (each of whom will serve a three-year term).
Maria Caban Alizondo, PhD, RHIT, FAHIMA, is president/chair-elect of the AHIMA Board. She is the director of health information management (HIM) for UCLA Health System in Los Angeles, CA. Previously, Alizondo has served as president of the California Health Information Association (CHIA), CA Delegate to AHIMA, Chair of the CHIA Governance Committee and Technology Taskforce, and AHIMA Board Director. Additionally, she helped author the AHIMA CDI Toolkit, participated in the AHIMA Future of the House Taskforce and the AHIMA Envisioning Collaborative, and is an AHIMA Mentor. She frequently writes and presents on topics influencing the HI profession, including strategic change management, relational leadership, applied informatics and governance, and operational technology integrations.
Newly Elected Board Directors:
- Tonya Bates, MSML, RHIA, is a senior HI professional in Cleveland, OH. She works as a compliance/privacy manager at Enjoin. Bates has served as president, director, delegate, and nominating committee chairperson for the Ohio Health Information Management Association (OHIMA). For over 12 years, she has also served as president of the Northeast Ohio Health Information Management Association. She sits on the Advisory Board for the HIM technology programs at Cuyahoga Community College and Lakeland Community College.
- Grissel Pabón, MS, RHIA, CDIP, CCS, CCS-P, is the risk adjustment data validation manager at Medical Card System (MCS), Inc. in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where she also served as pre-audit manager and coding and benefits specialist. Pabón has a master's degree in HIM from the University of Puerto Rico and has worked as a HIM director in various healthcare settings. She is an active member of AHIMA and the Puerto Rico Health Information Management Association (PRHIMA), where she has served in leadership roles on various committees. She has twice served as PRHIMA president.
- Daniel Utech, MBA, RHIA, CHPS, FAHIMA, leads a team of business analysts and application specialists, driving innovation and efficiency in healthcare technology at Parkland Health in Dallas, TX. Previously, he held roles at Texas Health Resources, where he helped to consolidate numerous HIM services while ensuring compliance with bylaws and regulations, and at the University of New Mexico Hospital, where he led HIM Operations. Utech has served as president of the Texas Health Information Management Association, Dallas Fort Worth Health Information Management Association, and New Mexico Health Information Management Association.
The AHIMA Board of Directors is responsible for setting long-term strategy and direction, governing the association's activities, and fulfilling the organization's fiduciary responsibility. There are 13 elected members, including the president/chair, president/chair-elect, past president/chair, speaker of the house of delegates, and nine at-large directors, and the AHIMA CEO serves ex officio.
The newly elected members join the following current AHIMA Board Directors:
- Jennifer Mueller, MBA, RHIA, FACHE, FAHIMA, past president/chair
- Debra Boppre, MSM, RHIA, CCS, CCS-P, FAHIMA, speaker of the House of Delegates
- Ryan Heath Sandefer, PhD, treasurer
- Thea Campbell, MBA, RHIA, secretary
- Dasantila (Tila) Sherifi, PhD, MBA, RHIA, secretary
- Nancy Andersen, MS, RHIA, CCS, CHC, Board member
- Aurae Beidler, MHA, RHIA, CHPS, CHC, Board member
- Rachel Podczervinski, MS, RHIA, Board member
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About AHIMA
AHIMA is a global nonprofit association of health information (HI) professionals with more than 67,000 members and more than 100,000 credentials in the field. The AHIMA mission of empowering people to impact health® drives our members and credentialed HI professionals to ensure that health information is accurate, complete, and available to patients and providers. Our leaders work at the intersection of healthcare, technology, and business and are found in data integrity and information privacy job functions worldwide. To learn more about AHIMA and the health information profession, visit ahima.org.
