My Story 

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My career started with hands-on nursing at the University of Alabama at Birmingham where I obtained my BSN, Bachelor of Science in Nursing, then on to the USAF – Sheppard AFB, Wichita Falls, TX, Grady Hospital and Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta. The clinical experience gave me the background to transition to the business and technical aspects of healthcare where I learned and supported individuals in care management, information technology, medical systems, and claims reimbursement – where the full lifecycle of meaningful healthcare came to light..

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The reimbursement environment has changed from one where the provider and payer were antagonistic to each other to the environment today where both support Value-Based Care (VBC) and work toward sharing data for the benefit of the patient. Insights -- - "Accurately paid claims equal fewer appeals."

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Today I work as a Clinical Data Analyst applying my nursing knowledge and clinical experience along with healthcare business acumen, to validate and interpret the meaning of Data – medical record data, monitoring and wearable devices data, and social and demographic data. Writing functional documents, guidelines, processes, and gap analysis fill in "the spare moments."

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Communicating with and supporting professionals are the fun-parts of my workday >>>  Database Developers, Researchers, Innovators, Nurses, and Informationist and Informaticist professionals.

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​I am proud of my career journey in healthcare as a Registered Nurse and am glad to mentor other professionals starting their career. The opportunities for health and wellness – locally and globally – are abundant and I commitment to being an active participant in this environment.

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​My Certifications

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American Health Information Management Association | AHIMA

The Gold Standard for Health Information and Data Analysis Certification for Healthcare Professionals.

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• CHDA – Certified Health Data Analyst; The CHDA certification provides one with the knowledge to analyze, interpret and manage provider and claims data for accurate and timely reporting. Communicate with healthcare professionals throughout the continuum of care to deliver insights for patient care and reimbursement.

• CCS – The CCS certification is designed for individuals skilled in classifying information from hospitals and providers medical records using the International Classification of Diseases, CPT and HCPCS Level II coding systems. The data is used for reporting, research and to obtain reimbursement from payers. This certification adds much credibility to a HIM Professional’s career. 

• CCS-P – Certified Coding Specialist – Physician- based certification is valuable for professionals who perform coding in physician offices, group practices, multi-specialty clinics, or specialty centers. This certification is critical to the performance of a provider’s business operation and the certified professional often acts as a liaison to insurance companies or the government for expense reimbursement.

• ICD-10 Approved Trainer – The ICD-10 Train-the-Trainer program is a specialized training program designed to teach Health Information Professionals to “educate and train others” to effectively deliver training in medical coding. This program covers both the ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS (diagnosis and procedure coding methodology for all aspects of healthcare delivery).
  The AHIMA ICD-10-CM/PCS trainer has acquired in-depth knowledge for computer-assisted coding (CAC), artificial intelligence (AI), auditing, clinical documentation integrity (CDI), and mapping principles.   https://ahima.org/education-events/education-by-product/train-the-trainer-programs/ 

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Link to AHIMA Certification pages: https://ahima.org/certification-careers/certifications-overview/#explore-certs

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License

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• Registered Nurse in the State of Virginia | multi-state license authorized to work in 40 states

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Affiliation and Membership

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• American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) --   AHIMA http://www.ahima.org/ 

• Virginia Health Information Management Association (VHIMA) -- https://www.vhima.org/

• Health Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) --  ​ https://www.himss.org/ 

• American Nurses Association (ANA) --  https://www.nursingworld.org/ 

• Virginia Nurses Association (VNA) --  https://virginianurses.com/

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Education

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• Bachelor of Science in Nursing University of Alabama at Birmingham - BSN

• Master of Science Health Informatics University of Illinois at Chicago - MSHI

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Earned Badges