Director’s Note: ACDIS members elect four new ACDIS Advisory Board members

ACDIS would like to welcome four new members to the advisory board. These new board members are the first to be elected to the position through the work of a nominating committee and a vote of the ACDIS membership, in a new process begun this year. Thanks to everyone who voted! Please welcome:

1. Susan Belley, M. Ed., RHIA, CPHQ, iproject manager with 3M Health Information Systems Division, Consulting Services. Belley was the manager of coding at the University Hospitals of Cleveland (UHC) Ohio from 1993 until 1999, helping to implement its CDI program in 1996. She moved from UHC to take a position at the Cleveland Clinic, and in 2001 implemented a CDI program there; finally joining the Consulting Division of 3M HIS, in 2011. “I think we are at an important juncture in the CDI world – sort of the brewing of a perfect storm,” wrote Belley in her application statement. “I think it would be an interesting and exciting time to serve on the ACDIS board as the board helps its members navigate through the storm.”
2. Timothy Brundage, MD, physician champion and medical director of case management and continuing documentation improvement at Brundage Medical Group, LLC., in St. Petersburg, FL. Brundage served as medical director for case management at Kindred Hospital Central Tampa since 2004, and in 2008, became the champion for its north and central Florida districts. “The education I have in clinical documentation improvement has enhanced both my own practice as a clinician and also in the education of my resident physicians,” Brundage wrote. “Serving on the Advisory Board will allow me to impart my experience and expertise and serve as a voice to guide the growing community of clinical documentation improvement specialists.”
3. Fran Jurcak, RN, MSN, CCDS, director, Huron Consulting. As a healthcare consultant program manager for the past five years, Jurcak has helped implement a number of CDI programs and guided facilities in their ongoing assessment of their CDI efforts. She is the author of the CCDS Exam Study Guide and a member of CCDS Certification Board. “I believe that the main objective of the [CDI] role needs to continue to be education of physicians regarding accurate documentation,” Jurcak wrote. “And the goal of ACDIS needs to support that objective through educational opportunities, white papers, and establishing best practice standards that can be utilized and set into place by CDI specialists within their healthcare facilities.”
4. Dee Schad, RN, BSN, CCDS, director of care coordination and CDI at Clark Memorial Hospital in Jeffersonville, IN. She has 17 years of nursing experience, 12 specializing in CDI, and is the founder/current president of the Kentucky/Southern Indiana ACDIS Chapter.  “I feel fortunate to have found an area in healthcare that I can truly say I love,” wrote Schad. “This specialty area allows you to be a patient advocate, physician advocate and facility advocate all at the same time. I do not know of any [other] healthcare position that can fulfill each of these roles at the same time. I see the opportunity to serve on the ACDIS Advisory Board as yet another way for me to give back to our profession.”

• Frequently Asked Questions
• Qualifications
• Nomination process