Local chapter updates: How to find networking participants for your chapter

Whether your chapter is brand new or mature, fostering new networking participants can be a troublesome task. It can often be difficult to even know where to start. Luckily, ACDIS provides chapter leaders with a number of resources for every step of the local chapter process. The following tips and tricks (and many more) can be found under the “Getting Started” section on the Local Chapter landing page.

Tip 1: Let ACDIS know your interests: ACDIS is here to help facilitate networking opportunities for its members and expand education opportunities for CDI professionals nationwide. Letting ACDIS Associate Editorial Director Melissa Varnavas (mvarnavas@acdis.org) and ACDIS Editor Linnea Archibald (larchibald@acdis.org) know of your interest is certainly the first step. They’d love to help you out.

Tip 2: Call your friends and neighbors: Look for other facilities in your state and ask to speak to the CDI department. If you’re looking for networking connections, it’s likely others in your area are as well.

Tip 3: Reach out to case management and HIM: Even facilities without CDI departments proper will likely have case management and HIM departments. As anyone in the field can tell you, CDI is a team sport. Connecting with others in tangentially related fields will help to round out your networking, helping you learn from other perspectives.

Tip 4: Collect contact information: As you begin to reach out to others in your state, make sure to collect their contact information and file it in a convenient and memorable location. It’s easy to misplace email addresses or lose that scrap of paper with someone’s phone number. Consider making a spreadsheet and updating it every time you speak with someone new.

The following is a list of upcoming events for ACDIS local chapters. If you have an upcoming event you would like to include, please email Melissa Varnavas (mvarnavas@acdis.org) and Linnea Archibald (larchibald@acdis.org).  

June:

• The Connecticut ACDIS Chapter meets Thursday, June 8, 1:30-3:00 p.m., at the Hospital of Central Connecticut in New Britain. For information, contact Janet Richardson (janet.richardson@baystatehealth.org), Nancy Napolitano (napolitanonancy@hotmail.com), or Robin Green (rgreen@hungerford.org).
• The South Carolina ACDIS Chapter meets Friday, June 9, 8:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m., at Carolina Pines Regional Medical Center in Hartsville. For information, contact Mary Hopkins (mary.hopkins@hcahealthcare.com).
• The Indiana ACDIS Chapter holds its quarterly meeting on Wednesday, June 14, 1-3 p.m. at IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie. The meeting will be held in the Janice B. Fisher Learning Center. For information, contact Leigh Wolff (lwolff@beaconhealthsystem.org).
• The Arizona ACDIS Chapter meets Saturday, June 17, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at Honorhealth in Scottsdale. For information, contact Alma Yap (rnalmay@gmail.com).
• The Maryland ACDIS Chapter holds its bimonthly meeting on June 30, 1-3 p.m., at the Maryland Hospital Association in Elkridge. For information, contact Andrea Norris (anorris@uchs.org).

Save-the-date

• The New York-Suffolk County Long Island ACDIS Chapter holds its quarterly meeting on July 12, 9 a.m. to12 p.m., at Catholic Healthcare Services of Long Island in Melville. For information, contact Trisha Braverman (trisha.braverman@stonybrookmedicine.edu).
• The Washington Evergreen ACDIS Chapter is tentatively planning a meeting on July 21 at 11:00 a.m. For information, contact Lillian Dickey (Lillian.Dickey@providence.org).
• The North Carolina ACDIS Chapter holds its summer conference on August 25, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Wilson Memorial Hospital (Duke Lifepoint Hospital). For information, contact Linda Rhodes (Linda.Rhodes@nhrmc.org).
• The Florida ACDIS Chapter meets August 26, 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at Sarasota Memorial Hospital. Several speakers are already lined up for the event and a meet-n-greet time will be held at a local restaurant (place to be determined) on the Friday night prior to the event. For information, contact Deb Dallos (Deb-Dallos@smh.com).
• The California ACDIS Chapter holds its third-annual conference Friday, September 15, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Torrance Memorial Medical Center. For information, contact Rani V. Stoddard (stoddardrv@henrymayo.com).
• The Alabama ACDIS Chapter holds an all-day fall event on September 15, 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m., at Baptist Shelby in Alabaster. For information, contact Jeffrey Morris (jwmorris@health.southalabama.edu).
• Missouri’s three ACDIS local chapters join for a full-day conference event on October 14, at the University of Kansas Hospital. For information, contact Michael McKelvey (michael.mckelvey@bjc.org).
• The Oregon ACDIS Chapter holds its fall conference on October 20, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the McMinnville Grand Ballroom in McMinnville. For information, contact Molly Siebert (msiebert@lhs.org).
• The North Carolina ACDIS Chapter holds its fall conference with Carolinas Healthcare System Northeast on November 10. For information, contact Linda Rhodes (Linda.Rhodes@nhrmc.org).