Fine Print Summer 2010 President’s Message INSIDE THIS ISSUE: As I begin the coming master. These forums year as president, I can’t offer a great opportunity New Members 2 help but reflect on my to ask questions, ex- Healthcare Humor 2 many years in health change ideas and iden- care. Each new experi- tify best practices that Annual Awards ence has been an oppor- will be of great benefit to Banquet 3 tunity to grow and learn your organization. both personally and pro- HFMA is an outstanding Annual Fall Institute 4 fessionally. I am now organization and I look embarking on a new ad- forward to the coming Christine Blidy, President New Member venture that I am greatly year with enthusiasm. I Highlight 5 looking forward to. I am hope that every member surrounded by an out- mitted to providing will take full advantage Social Events ANI 6 standing and engaged timely and pertinent edu- of the many educational board as well as active cational sessions at a rea- offerings, committee committee leaders who sonable cost to ensure meetings and networking Mini-LTC 7 are true experts in their our membership receives opportunities we offer. respective fields. the most up to date and We face many tough Committee News 8-9 I would encourage each comprehensive informa- challenges over the com- and every one of you to tion available. I would ing year, but I am confi- become actively in- also like to encourage dent that we can success- HFMA Region volved in our chapter. you to take advantage of fully manage them to- 2 News 10 The landscape of health the many specialized gether. care is changing rapidly committees which deal Sponsors 11 and the next few years with issues relating to will be particularly chal- reimbursement, patient lenging for all of us. As access, patient financial a chapter, we are com- services and the charge “Info Bites” HFMA’s Founders Award Program is designed to encourage, monitor and recognize individual involvement in HFMA. The program features four different and sequential awards-the Follmer Bronze Award-the Reeves Silver Award-the Munce Gold Awards- the Founders Medal of Honor. Check your points on the www.hfmawny.org. Chapter Leadership PAGE 2 Officers and Board 2010-20101 We welcome the following new members to the HFMA WNY Chapter: President-Christine Blidy President Elect-Jennifer Dunn Lori Bard Secretary-Kristen Chapman Budget Manager, Catholic Health System Treasurer-Rachel Davis [email protected] Board of Directors Class of 2011 Randolph Bianchi Kristin Anderson Sue Brown SVP Business Development, Summer Street Capital Partners Todd Fragale [email protected] Loralee Voelker Class of 2012 Jeffrey Jacobs Timothy Blach Bruce Liebel Controller, Niagara Falls Memorial Med. Center Mary Mahaney [email protected] Suzanne Roccisano Committee ChairsCo- Lynn Roberts Chairs: Director of Financial Services, Catholic Health System Social Events: Mary Ann Miccichi [email protected] Bruce Liebel Steven Chizuk Newsletter: Accounting Manager, Erie County Medical Center Loralee Voelker [email protected] Davis Chpter Management: Kristin Anderson Timothy J. Finan President & CEO, Upper Allegheny Health System Founders Susan Dybas [email protected] Membership: Leah Militello Kristen Chapman Mary Mahaney Tax Specialist, Columbus McKinnon [email protected] Patient Access: David Anderson TRANSFERRED IN: Danette Szafranski Tracy Gates Patient Financial Services: VP, Finance & CFO, Jones Memorial Hospital Susan Brown [email protected] John Galley Kathy Tomasulo Educational Programs: HEALTHCARE HUMOR Jennifer Dunn Jill Schaefer EMBARRASSING MEDICAL EXAMS: Reimbursement: At the beginning of my shift I placed a stethoscope on an elderly Russ Previte and slightly deaf female patient's anterior chest wall. 'Big breaths,'. Paul Sweet . I instructed. 'Yes, they used to be,'. .replied the patient. Sponsorship: Submitted by Dr. Richard Byrnes, Seattle , WA Peggy McDonough Larry Nowak One day I had to be the bearer of bad news when I told a wife that Certification: her husband had died of a massive myocardial infarct. Not more Bruce Liebel than five minutes later, I heard her reporting to the rest of the family that he had died of a 'massive internal fart.' Chargemaster Robin Walters Submitted by Dr. Susan Steinberg Kelva Borden FINE PRINT SUMMER 2010 P A G E 3 Annual Awards Banquet On May 7th, the Annual Awards Banquets was held at the Wanakah Country Club. After drinks and dinner, the installation of the officers took place: President Christine Blidy, President – Elect Jennifer Dunn, Secretary Kristen Chapman, Treasurer Rachel Davis The Board of Directors - Class of 2011 are Kristin Anderson, Susan Brown, Todd Fragale, Loralee Voelker The Board of Directors - Class of 2012 are Jeffrey Jacobs, Bruce Liebel, Mary Mahaney, Suzanne Roccisano The following awards were also given: Reeves Silver Award—Jennifer Dunn and Clayton Osborne Follmer Bronze Award—Christine Blidy, Judy Conti, Jill Schaefer, Loralee Voelker Member of the Year was awarded to Robin Walters, Chargemaster Co– Chair The WNY Chapter received the following awards: C. Henry Hottum Awards for Educational Performance Improvement John M. Stagl Silver Awards of Excellence for Education Helen M. Yerger Special Recognition Awards: Website Improvement Collaboration - Region 2 Mini LTC Education Performance - NE NY, Rochester Regional, Central NY, Metro NY, and Western NY Improvement - Region 2 Institute Mary Mahaney greeting guests with a smile and a bottle of wine. Jill, Andy , John and Sandy enjoy a laugh. Jill Schaefer installing President Christine Blidy New officers and Board of Directors New officers Christine, for the Class of 2011 and 2012 Jenn, Kristen and Rachel FINE PRINT SUMMER PAGE 4 HFMA REGION 2 ANNUAL FALL INSTITUTE: Save The Date - October 13 – 15, 2010 DON‟T MISS THE PREMIER HFMA REGION 2 EVENT, THE ANNUAL FALL INSTITUTE. Coming To The Adam‟s Mark Hotel-Buffalo! Partake in the Preconference Reception – „Buffalo Style‟. (Includes Chicken Wings, Beef On Weck, and a “Meet & Greet” with Steve Tasker). Step Up” with Debora Kuchka-Craig, National HFMA Chairman Enjoy a Health Care Reform Panel Discussion, moderated by Richard L. Clarke, HFMA President & CEO. Select from 9 Great Breakout Sessions Features two outstanding keynote speakers that you will not want to miss! MICHAEL LEAVITT – U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (2005-2009), and Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency (2003-2005). Mr Leavitt is a powerful voice for global health diplomacy, and will share his insights into how the public and private sec- tors should join together to solve the health care crisis. STEVE TASKER – Former Buffalo Bills football player and currently NFL Color Ana- lyst and Sideline Reporter for the CBS Television Network. Steve is widely considered to be the National Football League’s greatest special teams player of all-time. He is the only true special teams player to be selected as the NFL Pro Bowl’s Most Valuable Player. Together with his family, Steve makes nu- merous appearances on behalf of charities. REFER TO CONFERENCE BROCHURE FOR MORE INFORMATION! www.hfma.org/site/emeetreg/main/MtgInfo.cfm?mtgcode=10REG2 PAGE 5 New Member Highlight Picture of Barry Swartz, CEO and Jon Campbell, CFO, Practice Management Center Jonathan Campbell, CFO Practice Management Center One of our members, Jonathan Campbell, was recently featured in Business First as part of their annual review of the top companies in the area. Currently there are 155 employees, including 12 at the newly opened Rochester office. Practice Management Center, owned by Barry Swartz, was established in 2002 to offer ser- vices for medical billing and practice management. Jon has been a member of HFMA since 2008. Barry, who is Jonathan’s stepfather, has been in healthcare in the Buffalo area for many years, as well as a former member of HFMA. In addition, Practice Management Center has been a Silver sponsor of HFMA since 2007. Jonathan is responsible for directing the financial and human resource divisions of the company, client rela- tionship management and increasing market share at Practice Management Center. When asked about the fu- ture of healthcare, Jon stated ―The execution of effective financial management combined with an efficient, compliant and accurate claims processing approach, will be even more critical to physicians and hospitals alike, as we continue to move forward with healthcare reform.‖ His previous experience includes patient data entry, charge entry and claim submission. Jon grew up in North Tonawanda and went to school at SUNY Geneseo, where he played hockey. He is an avid hockey fan. Just ask him! Favorite musical group: Classic Rock Favorite restaurant: Chef’s Little known fact about Jon: Played junior hockey with and against many current NHL players Jon plans to attend the HFMA golf tournament on August 5. If you haven’t met him yet, say hello. [email protected] Submitted by Suzanne Roccisano PAGE 6 UPDATE ON SOCIAL EVENTS Mary Ann Miccichi & Bruce K. Liebel, FHFMA, Social Events Co-Chairs The social events committee is working to better meet the needs of our member- ship by looking at different options for networking events. A survey was sent out to solicit ideas for events, as well as determining the best locations and times. Details to follow at a later date; however, a popular item seemed to be a Miss Buffalo Cruise, which is planned for Friday, August 20th. Check the flyer for more details on this T.G.I.F. Happy Hour Cruise. In the next Fine Print, we will be reporting on the annual Golf Tournament, which will be held August 5th at a new course this year, the Glen Oak Golf Course in East Amherst, NY. Always a popular activity for our membership, the format was changed to a “scramble” format, as recommended in last year’s survey of golf at- tendees. Contact Chris Eckert at 716-332-2656 for a last-minute sign up.