HIMSS Advocacy 2006
Taking Action on Capitol Hill
By Sean McPhillips, CPHIMS, FHIMSS
This past June 5th and 6th marked the HIMSS 5th Annual Advocacy Day held in conjunction with National Health IT Week in Washington, D.C. Many local chapter members, including Board members, participated in the event and were fortunate enough to gain audience with representation of members of both houses in Congress, particularly those with who represent constituents who are also members of the Central and Southern Ohio HIMSS Chapter. Below is the majority of the “Thank you” letter sent to HIMSS Advocacy Day participants jointly by H. Stephen Lieber, HIMSS President/CEO and David W. Roberts, FHIMSS, Vice President, Government Relations.
“More than 400 individuals from 48 states representing a cross section of our industry and society attended HIMSS 5th Annual Advocacy Day! This is a 1000% increase in attendance from our very first Advocacy Day just five short years ago. However, we cannot rest on our accomplishments. We must continue in our quest. As U.S. Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) stated in his keynote address we must use healthcare information technology to improve our nation's healthcare system. "Today I'm going to introduce the Independent Health Record Bank Act of 2006
so that individuals like the previous speaker (Robin Raiford) and her family won't have to suffer at the expense of a failing healthcare system," said Senator Brownback. "This bill is a market-driven approach. We need to set up a system for individual medical records. It would be your medical record."
“The next several months in Washington are of great interest as HIMSS and our twenty-one Advocacy Day co-sponsors remain actively involved in each of the areas discussed during Advocacy Day. We must make sure that the President's Fiscal Year 2007 Budget request is funded at a minimum level of $169 million. We must ensure that key HIT legislation such as S. 1418 and H.R. 4157 are reconciled, passed by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by the President. We must encourage a majority of members of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate to join their respective HIT caucuses and continue to work in a bipartisan fashion to transform healthcare for all.”
“Now that you are at home, we encourage you to continue to advocate for an improved healthcare system. HIMSS provides a number of tools for you to stay involved. We encourage you to:
• Register for HIMSS Pulse on Public Policy,
• Track federal legislation on the Federal Legislation Crosswalk,
• Find state legislation on the State Legislation Tracker II,
• Follow the latest RHIO efforts around the nation on the HIMSS/CHIDS HIT Dashboard,
• Track the latest in public policy on the HIMSS Legislative Action Center,
• Get all your public policy questions answered at advocacy@himss.org, and
• Review the Advocacy Day presentations www.himss.org/advocacy/advocacyday2006”
“HIMSS provides national support to ensure you will have local impact. By working together, we can transform the United States healthcare system for all. On Advocacy Day, we made an enormous difference.
• 21 co-sponsoring associations (+7 over 2005)
• 383 registered (+111 over 2005) – around 300 attended
• 48 states represented (+16 over 2005)
• U.S. Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) served as keynote speaker – only second time a U.S. Senator has addressed HIMSS audience
• Scheduled 264 Capitol Hill visits – 96 Senate offices and 168 House offices
• Handouts to be delivered to all 540 congressional offices
• Awards presented to Delegate Pendergrass and Dr. Clancy
• Met with 4 U.S. Senators and 13 Representatives
• 65 officials said they would support President's Budget request of $169M as a floor
• 24 House officials said they would support H.R. 4157
• 9 officials said they would join an HIT caucus”
“Imagine what we can do if we continue this momentum throughout the year. If you have any suggestions on how we can improve our advocacy and public policy activities in Washington, D.C. or around the country, I encourage you to email your ideas. Our HIMSS Office of Advocacy & Public Policy team is here to meet your needs.”
“Again, we thank you for your participation in HIMSS 5th Annual Advocacy Day. You made an invaluable contribution to HIMSS, the healthcare IT industry, as well as your fellow neighbors. Please stay in touch and if you are in the Washington, D.C. area, we encourage you to visit us at 901 King Street, Suite 200, Alexandria, VA, 22314, 703-837-9800.”
From the President's Desk
Debbie Murphy, CPHIMS, CSOHIMSS Chapter President
Dear Members,
My name is Debbie Murphy and I am the recently elected president of the Central and Southern Ohio chapter of HIMSS. I wanted to first of all say thank you to all the members who participated in our events this past year. Based on your feedback, our chapter is moving in the right direction to make your membership more meaningful than ever.
Your Chapter has had an outstanding year this past year. The Past President, Bill Mitchin, set the stage for an even stronger Chapter with his vision and diligence, and I am fortunate to have such a great mentor. I enjoyed working with a talented and dedicated group of folks on the Board this past year, and many of them are continuing on the Board this year. Please take a moment to visit our web site at www.csohimss.org to learn more about our Board. There is still room for other Chapter members to get involved, and we encourage you to contact us for volunteer opportunities.
I would like to take a moment and summarize some of the accomplishments from the past year. We are pleased to report that we increased the CSO Chapter by approximately 40 members. This increase in growth affirms the value that the Chapter brings to Ohio professionals interested in learning and keeping abreast of current healthcare issues. We have also remained fiscally responsible to the Chapter by adhering to the budget this past year, and maintain a cash reserve that allows for continued growth and impressive local educational sessions. Our fiscal integrity allows us to continue our Scholarship program which awards $1000 to students working towards their educational goals.
We had a record number of attendees at the HIMSS National Conference Tri-State Luncheon this year. We collaborated, again, with our neighbors in the Kentucky Bluegrass Chapter, and the Indiana Chapter to provide a free luncheon to our members and foster networking and collaboration. We have created a new tradition, and are pleased to be able to organize the Tri-State luncheon again next year in New Orleans. We did check with HIMSS about the feasibility of going to New Orleans next year, and they assure us that they have researched it extensively, and New Orleans is well equipped to handle our annual conference.
Our Spring Conference brought national and local speakers to the Ohio region to discuss national challenges and local solutions. Did you miss the conference? Visit our Resource Center Library on the CSOHIMSS website for presentations from the Spring Conference. We will be providing you two conferences this next year which include topics that our Chapter Members have told us are important to them. Please take a minute and send a note to any of the Board members (or contactus@csohimss.org) letting us know what you would like to see offered in the local community.
Next year, we will be providing you with the same quality opportunities to network and obtain information on the local level as we have over the past years, and we encourage you to take full advantage of the programs. Whether you meet us in New Orleans or attend a local conference, we look forward to meeting you and hearing your ideas on how to enhance your local experience with HIMSS!
Sincerely,
Debbie Murphy
CSOHIMSS Announcement: ELECTION!!!
Chapter Board for Fiscal Year 2006-2007
Do you want to be on the CSOHIMSS Chapter Board?
Annual Elections will begin for the CSOHIMSS Chapter very soon. We are calling on all CSOHIMSS Chapter members who may be interested in serving on the Board in any of the following positions for the 2006-2007 Fiscal Year.
• Chapter Secretary
• Communications Chair
• Membership Chair
• Sponsorship Chair
Details about these positions can be found in the CSOHIMSS Chapter Bylaws at: CSOHIMSS Chapter By-Laws
Please submit your name for consideration to contactus@csohimss.org by Monday, July 10th, 5pm. The election will immediately follow.
Upon completion of the Election, results will been communicated to all Board members via e-mail. Current Board members are always listed on the Left Panel of the most recent Newsletter as well as on the Chapter Website at:
www.csohimss.org.
All Board positions come with seat on the Board of Directors for the chapter and will carry with them either a one year or two year term. FYI, if you are ever interested in becoming a chapter President, serving on the Board for a minimum of one year is a prerequisite. Also, get plugged into what is going on at the chapter level and have an influential voice in what activities and conferences our chapter sponsors.
If you are interested in becoming more involved in chapter activities or if you are interested in volunteering in any other capacity, please contact Chapter President Debbie Murphy ASAP, at contactus@csohimss.org.
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This past May 5th, the CSOHIMSS Chapter held their semi-annual regional conference in Columbus, Ohio. The theme of this conference was National Challenges, Local Solutions.
With nine speakers, four sessions, one roundtable discussion, and over 80 attendees, the CSOHIMSS Spring Conference 2006 was another great success for our chapter’s continuing education initiatives.
Copies of the presentations are available for download on the in the Resource Center of the CSOHIMSS Website. Additionally, the handouts of presentations from previous conferences can also be found in the Resource Center. In addition, the CSOHIMSS website always tries to obtain and make available presentation from any event the chapter is associated with so that those who were unable to attend can still benefit from the information presented. If you have trouble downloading a desired document, feel free to contact us at contactus@csohimss.org for assistance.
For those of you who are interested in learning more about what’s going on at our neighboring chapters, visit their websites at: http://www.bluegrasshimss.org, http://www.indianahimss.org , & http://www.nohimss.org or you can get involved more with our own chapter.
The CSOHIMSS Chapter is offering our annual Jane A. Blank Distinguished Member Scholarship Award in the amount of $1,000.00 scholarship along with a one-year HIMSS membership ($30.00 value) to an undergraduate or graduate student studying in the healthcare information or healthcare management systems field.
Scholarships are awarded for academic excellence and the potential for future leadership in the healthcare information and management systems industry. Review criteria are focused on academic achievement, service activities, technical skills, career goals, demonstration of leadership potential, and communication skills. The $1,000.00 scholarship (cash award) and one year HIMSS membership is awarded to the student deemed most deserving by the CSOHIMSS Scholarship Committee.
If you are interested in applying for this scholarship, download the Scholarship Application or visit our web site at www.csohimss.org for more information. Application submission deadline is January 6, 2007. Good luck!
Debbie Murphy is the Director of Process Improvement at Licking Memorial Hospital in Newark, Ohio. She acts as a consultant for data and process questions for the institution including researching benchmarks and best practices, in addition to directly managing all 71 departmental dashboards.
Debbie has her MBA from Ohio State University and achieved her CPHIMS Certification in 2003.
Beginning July 1, 2006, Debbie will be beginning her one-year term as the Chapter President of the Central and Southern Ohio HIMSS Chapter. Please join us all in welcoming our new president and wishing her the best of luck in her term for the 2006-2007 Fiscal Year.
President: Debbie Murphy
VP & Treasurer: Richard Manley
Past President: William Mitchin
Secretary: Vacant
Program Chairperson: Marc Beasley
Communications Chairperson: Sean McPhillips
Scholarship Chairperson: Russ Hessler
Membership Chairperson: Stephen Beck
Sponsorship Chairperson: Joanne Garcia White
Government Advocacy Chairperson: Stephen Wood
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