Important Notes

Chapter Support Program: Sign Up Now and Save Money

The optional Chapter Support Program adds benefits to the assistance Chapters already receive for a very small fee. For an additional charge of $5 per member, enrolled Chapters receive 17 new valuable resources to help their Chapters grow and thrive. Some of these resources include:

• Collaboration with HIMSS on a webinar for no charge, allowing you to select the topic and speaker(s). Most contracted webinar companies charge $6 to $7 per person per webinar, adding up to thousands of dollars.
• Free media distribution for one press release; this usually costs $1,000-plus to reach local and national media.
• Four individual HIMSS Memberships to raffle at Chapter events, valued at $560.
• Customized marketing materials—average fees cost $500.
• Chapter Board business cards; this can cost $13 to $25 per 250 cards for a basic, one-sided business card per board member.
• Additional administrative support, saving you priceless time and energy.

The $5 per member assessment fee is due at the time of enrollment. So, the earlier Chapters sign up the better as membership continues to increase throughout the year. The Support Program fees and schedule will be reevaluated at the end of the fiscal year on June 30, which is another reason to sign up early! Chapters that elect not to participate in the Support Program still receive all standard benefits.

If you are interested in participating or want more information, please e-mail chapters@himss.org. Have questions? Feel free to contact Stephanie, Jessie or Jordan.

Learn What Awaits You at HIMSS08

The 2008 Annual HIMSS Conference & Exhibition in Orlando on Feb. 24-28 offers more opportunities for Chapter Leaders to build their businesses and network with today’s most powerful thought leaders and product innovators. Please see the HIMSS08 Chapter benefits below:

Chapter Leadership Workshop
Sunday, Feb. 24
11 am – 3:30 pm
Orange County Convention Center, Room 414B
Open to all Chapter Leaders, the Chapter Leadership Workshop is designed to bring together Chapter Leaders and centralize their experiences. Chapter Leaders have the opportunity to meet and network over lunch, get overviews and Q&A from a panel of HIMSS industry experts, and interact via roundtable.

Discussion topics include:

• When do you go to Plan B?- Volunteers don’t seem to be doing their jobs and the Chapter isn’t achieving its initiatives for the year. What can you do? Learn how to use a gentle hand to let volunteers know they need to step up with diplomacy and grace.
• Innovation Recipients Share Their Successes- Hear from the Chapters that were recognized for their innovative, award-winning programs this year. Attendees learn about their successes and get great ideas to enhance their Chapter programs through open dialogue.
• Living on Easy Street: Tips and Tricks for Chapters- Learn how to make your Chapter run efficiently and effectively. Discussions include keeping Web sites up-to-date, Chapter financials, sending out Chapter communications, plus tips and tricks from the successes of other Chapters and HIMSS staff. 

The workshop is a great way to kick off your Annual Conference experience and meet other Chapter Leaders. Register for the Chapter Leadership Workshop and encourage your board members to register too!

The Communities Open House
Sunday, Feb. 24
4 pm – 5 pm
Orange County Convention Center, Room 230
The Communities Open House allows HIMSS members who have not yet taken advantage of the benefits of Users Groups, Chapters, SIGs and Fellows to mix and mingle with these groups and their leaders in one location. As leaders of HIMSS communities, you are invited to participate in this event and help the Society host it. The Communities Open House includes drinks, snacks and a raffle for many exciting prizes. Please be a representative of your Chapter and be present at a table to answer any questions and promote your Chapter’s activities. If your Chapter is interested in participating, register and contact HIMSS Member Services Coordinator Yvonne Horton with questions.

Chapter Receptions
A number of Chapters host receptions in conjunction with Annual Conference. HIMSS manages arranging the time and location, and any other special needs for Chapter receptions during conference. There is limited space for mid-day receptions and these are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. To request a reception, please fill out the HIMSS08 Chapter Meeting Space Request Form. All requests must be received by Friday, Feb. 8. Contact HIMSS Meeting Services Associate Manager Jaime Paton with questions on Chapter receptions.

Registration Discount for Chapter Presidents
Chapter Presidents are entitled to a $100 discount on HIMSS08 registration. If the Chapter President will not be using the discount, it can be transferred to another board member. Contact chapters@himss.org for more information.

2007 Chapter Award Recipients Announced

Congratulations to the 2007 Chapter Award recipients! This special recognition is awarded to promote innovative and quality practices within the Chapter community, as well as share best practices and enhance communications among Chapters and HIMSS.

Chapter Leader of the Year Award
Colin B. Konschak, MBA, RPh, CPHIMS
Colin Konschak’s dedication and leadership has truly strengthened the Virginia Chapter. Mr. Konschak was instrumental in supporting the Chapter’s inaugural offering of the CPHIMS training and exam, as well as the Chapter’s inaugural State Advocacy Day. He leveraged several leading CIOs to participate in a roundtable program discussing their respective institutions and plans relating to information technology. He has also been successful in recruiting and retaining a diverse Chapter Board by geography and employment type, and is currently serving as the Chapter president.   

Chapter Innovations Award–Grand Prizes
Large Chapter

The Georgia Chapter recognized a growing need in their membership for educational programs focused on clinical informatics and, as a result, it established a Clinical Informatics SIG, which now meets on monthly conference calls, maintains an e-mail list serv and strategizes on educational programs. The Chapter quickly gained participation as the effort brought in several new members, attracted a new audience to the Chapter and increased sponsorship support.

Small Chapter

The Western Pennsylvania Chapter recognized that both WPHIMSS and HIMSS had limited recognition within their region, and realized an approach should be taken to embrace visibility and image building within their community. WPHIMSS implemented a multi-pronged public relations and communications initiative. The Chapter developed partnerships with local publications that would serve as an outlet for WPHIMSS information, and the Chapter would provide them with content on healthcare IT and management systems. Due to the expanded public relations approach, WPHIMSS increased membership as well as recognition within the healthcare community.

Chapter Innovations Award–Runners-Up
Large Chapter

The New England Chapter hosted a daylong program focusing on the patient and how technology can improve their experience. This innovative patient program demonstrated how community hospitals, IDNs and children’s hospitals are leveraging IT to make a positive impact on patients and their experiences while in the hospital and at home. 

Small Chapter

The Oregon Chapter restructured their conferences in an attempt to increase educational benefits and attract a wider audience of members. The Chapter customized evening sessions, concentrating on nursing informatics and tech topic groups, which also met in conjunction with their annual conference event. Through these newly formatted groups, the Chapter was able to garner interest and increase membership from new constituencies. 

All 2007 Award Recipients will be recognized at the 2008 Awards & Recognition Banquet at HIMSS08 in Orlando. Tickets are still available if you would like to attend and recognize your peers.

Tools & Resources

Speakers’ Bureau for Chapters’ Educational Events

HIMSS has several resources in place to assist Chapters in scheduling great speakers for educational programs and events. If you are interested in having a HIMSS staff member come to a meeting, we have several industry leaders available to cover a variety of specific topics or an organizational overview. Check out these two excellent speakers available through the Speakers’ Bureau for Chapters:

Joyce Sensmeier, MS, RN-BC, CPHIMS, FHIMSS, is the vice president of informatics at HIMSS. Ms. Sensmeier is an adjunct faculty member at Northwestern University in Chicago and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. A nationally recognized speaker and an author of several book chapters, articles and white papers, Ms. Sensmeier received the 2007 Rutgers Annual Recognition Award for Advancement of Computer Technology in Healthcare. She is co-chair of the Alliance for Nursing Informatics, a collaboration of 25 distinct regional and national nursing informatics organizations, and recently assumed the position of technical manager for HITSP. Current responsibilities include the areas of clinical informatics, standards, interoperability, privacy and security, and professional certification.

David Collins, MHA, CPHQ, CPHIMS, manager of the Davies Awards Program at HIMSS, is available to present on lessons learned from Davies Awards recipients, and tips and tricks to writing an award-winning application. In his role with HIMSS, Mr. Collins attends site visits across the three award categories of Organizational, Ambulatory Care and Public Health with committee members to determine award status. He is also charged with overseeing the ambulatory projects of the HIMSS Katrina Phoenix Project, an effort to rebuild decimated physician practices in the Gulf Coast from paper to digital; The Digital Office, the Society’s monthly e-newsletter for the Ambulatory space; and the Emergency Responder Task Force, which is bridging interoperability efforts between emergency responders and inpatient healthcare providers.

In 2004, Mr. Collins served as US Senate Productivity Quality Award (SPQA) Examiner. Prior to joining HIMSS, he served the Virginia Chapter of HIMSS for five years (president in 2003). Mr. Collins previously served as project manager for the Doctor’s Office Quality-Information Technology (DOQ-IT) project at Virginia’s Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) in Glen Allen, Va., for four years.

To view more speakers, visit the Speakers’ Bureau for Chapters online. The Speakers’ Bureau is populated with profiles from industry leaders covering a multitude of topics in healthcare IT and management. HIMSS reviews and approves all speakers that are listed on the Bureau.

The Speakers’ Bureau may also be an opportunity for you to share your knowledge and expertise with Chapters. Register online for an account to be part of the Speakers’ Bureau for Chapters.

Past Member Reports Available for Renewal Drives

Would you like additional resources to increase your Chapter’s membership? Chapter Services will send you a report of former HIMSS members in your region or state who have not recently renewed their membership to help you strengthen your Chapter. With this information, you could inquire why they are no longer members of the Society through a calling campaign or e-mail push; and let them know about all of the new and positive changes your Chapter and HIMSS have made. If you are interested, have questions or would like more information, send an e-mail to chapters@himss.org.

Webinars: Learn About Strategic HIMSS Initiatives

HIT 101
Jan. 24, 11 am CST
Hosted by HIMSS State Government Relations, this educational session educates participants on healthcare IT activities throughout the United States and how they can play a role in transforming healthcare through IT in their states. The educational session includes an overview of HIT from HIMSS Senior Director of Privacy and Security Lisa Gallagher; an overview of the national HIT landscape from HIMSS Vice President of Government Affairs Dave Roberts; an update on state HIT activities from HIMSS Senior Director of State Government Relations Tom Keefe; and an overview of how states can play a role in furthering the use of HIT by Director of the Arizona Healthcare Cost Containment System Anthony Rogers.

HIMSS State Government Relations requests a leader from each HIMSS Chapter listen-in on the Web conference call. If you would like information on how to access the call, please contact HIMSS State Government Relations Manager K. Meredith Taylor.

HIMSS Organizational Affiliate Membership
Jan. 29, 11:30 am CST
HIMSS Vice President of Healthcare Organizational Services Jack Price gives an overview of the new Organizational Affiliate Program for healthcare organizations. Please attend this important session to learn all the new benefits and resources the Organizational Affiliate Program offers to healthcare organizations and their staff members, and how this will affect your Chapter membership. RSVP to chapters@himss.org to register. 

Chapter Support Program
Feb. 5, 1 pm CST & Feb. 13, 11 am CST
HIMSS Chapters now have the option to participate in the Chapter Support Program. Learn all the new program details and have the opportunity to ask questions by participating in either of the informational webinars.

Chapter Spotlight

Central and North Florida Fosters Education and Networking Opportunities

The Central and North Florida Chapter holds a series of educational sessions each year, distributed in various areas in their region. Each session’s focus is education with opportunities for networking, and the membership is surveyed annually to ensure programs are focused on current interests. The Chapter emphasizes provider presentations based on real projects or experiences, typically hosted in provider settings in order to give members the opportunity to see other healthcare organizations and maintain costs. Continuing education units are available for each meeting and presentations are then posted to the Chapter’s Web site as an added member benefit.

In the past two years, the Chapter has made a major effort with Advocacy. Last year, the Central and North Florida Chapter achieved Ambassador Level and is now working to achieve the Presidential Level in 2008. In fact, the Chapter is hosting a HIMSS Health IT Day event at the state capitol this week. 

Central and North Florida is also co-hosting HIMSS08 along with the HIMSS South Florida Chapter. The Chapters are helping to plan the Communities Open House along with other volunteer initiatives during Annual Conference. In addition, Central and North Florida is the recipient of this year’s Chapter Reviewer Promotion Prize. As they had the highest percentage of 2008 proposal reviewers, they won a complimentary Annual Conference registration to raffle off to their members as well as other great benefits. 

The Chapter is continually working to improve and formalize internal planning in order to provide a better blueprint for incoming board members. They have had tremendous sponsorship growth which can be attributed to their emphasis on provider participation, presentations and locations. Over the past couple of years, the board has reached out to the academic and governmental healthcare communities, and, as a result, has gained volunteers from some of those organizations. The biggest challenge it faces is continuing to manage and execute the number of high-quality educational programs they plan for their membership. 

Currently, Central and North Florida is working on updating the strategic plan for the upcoming year.  Their biggest focus is continuing to serve members through better communication and comprehensive programs.

Visit Central and North Florida online to learn more about this Chapter’s initiatives.

HIMSS Updates

NEW HIMSS State Government Membership

HIMSS State Government Relations, in collaboration with HIMSS Member Services, recently made available the HIMSS State Government Membership, a new membership category exclusively for state officials and their designated staff. To date, over a dozen state officials, including state chief information officers, legislators, public health officials and Medicaid directors have taken advantage of the new opportunity. The State Government Membership provides state government executives and their staff with a complementary HIMSS Membership with an aim to increase their knowledge and awareness in healthcare IT and management systems issues, as well as their involvement with HIMSS.

HIMSS hopes State Government Members benefit from the membership through collaboration with HIMSS’ endless periodical and member resources. As members of their local HIMSS Chapter, State Government Members have access to the HIT and management systems experts within their locality. Access to the HIMSS Weekly Insider, HIMSS Pulse on Public Policy and Top-Line Reports provide State Government Members with valuable news and papers. Their membership will not only benefit the state official and their designated staff when developing and executing policy, but also other HIMSS members in their personal and professional HIT and management systems activities.

For more information on the HIMSS State Government Membership, please contact HIIMSS State Government Relations Manager K. Meredith Taylor.

User Groups Offer Educational Programs at HIMSS08

In conjunction with the 2008 Annual HIMSS Conference & Exhibition in Orlando, HIMSS will host educational programming for its two user groups, the Microsoft Healthcare Users Group and the Community for Connected Health.

The Community for Connected Health is a HIMSS-Cisco users group dedicated to sharing best practices for leveraging information to drive better healthcare. On Monday, Feb. 25, the first Annual Connected Health Summit will include a rich lineup of educational sessions focused on business and technology topics for healthcare IT professionals. Through the Summit, healthcare professionals, industry experts and leaders from Cisco Systems will join together for a day of learning, idea exchange, networking and more.

MS-HUG is a HIMSS-Microsoft users group committed to sharing strategic insights for leadership and healthcare IT solutions to improve the delivery of patient care. Tech Forum 2008, Sunday, Feb. 24, will include user-driven presentations focused on real ideas and real tactics that have worked in the field. Leading users of Microsoft technology will share their insights and provide practical strategies on how they apply to the healthcare setting.

Tech Forum and Connected Health Summit attendees save $100 on HIMSS08 when they register for a user-group event and Annual Conference. Attendees must register for both events at the same time in order to receive the discount. For more information, visit HIMSS08 online.

Digital Office E-Newsletter Seeks Writers

The Digital Office is a monthly e-newsletter published by HIMSS. The purpose of the newsletter is to provide readers, who are HIMSS members, physicians, practice managers, other clinicians and media, with practical and positive information on the implementation of the electronic medical record in a physician’s practice or an outpatient setting.

The e-newsletter has standing topic areas that need to be covered in each issue. HIMSS needs writers for the Perspectives on Patient Care column, which features an interview with or article by a healthcare leader who can write on a particular topic or initiative related to healthcare IT and ambulatory care. “Leaders” here refer to CEOs, CIOs, clinicians in leadership roles in the public or private sectors, and other similar senior or executive management individuals in the ambulatory care arena.

Ideas for this column should be sent to the Digital Office Task Force Chair Laura Jantos or HIMSS Senior Manager of the Davies Awards Program David Collins. This article is no longer than 300 words and usually written by an individual. Check out the Digital Office Archives online to learn more.

Apply to Serve on a HIMSS Steering Committee

Volunteers are the lifeblood of HIMSS. The committees represent the key strategic areas the Society addresses. Through the committees, many valuable and ground-breaking new case studies, checklists, white papers and step-by-step guides are developed.

At various times throughout the year, HIMSS seeks members of the Society interested in serving on a Committee. The next application process runs from Jan. 1-March 7, 2008 and the application posts on the HIMSS Web site at that time. The Society encourage any member of HIMSS who is not currently serving in other leadership capacities within HIMSS, and has been a HIMSS member for the past 12 consecutive months, to consider applying for an appointment. In early May, participants are selected by the chair-elect of the HIMSS Board of Directors to serve on a two-year term commencing July 1, 2008.

If you would like to become involved in a committee, but aren’t sure you’re ready for a formal two-year commitment, check out the more than 75 Task Forces and Work Groups currently underway. There is no application or selection process for either of these–any current HIMSS member is welcome to join at any time. Information on all of HIMSS’ volunteer groups is available online.

CEO IT Achievement Award Nominations Open

The annual CEO IT Achievement Award recognizes one or more healthcare industry CEOs who demonstrate leadership and commitment to using IT to advance their healthcare organization's strategic goals. The recipient(s) are profiled in Modern Healthcare magazine and also honored at a VIP event during HIMSS Summit. The 2008 Call for Nominations opens in January. Visit the HIMSS Web site for more information on eligibility and criteria.

Member Spotlight

Member Spotlight recognizes newly advanced or Certified Professional in Healthcare Information and Management Systems-certified (CPHIMS-certified) members along with their corresponding Chapter. Please congratulate your fellow Chapter members or colleagues.

Congratulations CPHIMS recipients!

Kenneth G. Adler- Arizona Chapter
Nick J. Benoit- Louisiana Chapter
Jack L. Buxbaum- Greater Chicago Chapter
Chris Christy- Dallas/Fort Worth Chapter
Sara L. Lambert- Georgia Chapter
James M. Lineberger- New England Chapter
Monica Moldovan- Northern California Chapter
Doug Sabotin- Indiana Chapter
John F. Sweeney- New England Chapter

To join this elite group and see a full listing of certificants, visit www.himss.org/getcertified to learn more about the CPHIMS certification program.

Upcoming Events

View all upcoming Chapter events.

MS-HUG Tech Forum 2008
Feb. 24, 2008
Orlando, Fla.
The MS-HUG Tech Forum 2008 is the place to connect with Microsoft experts, colleagues and top thought leaders in an interactive, one-day forum.

HIMSS08
Feb. 24-28, 2008
Orlando, Fla.
HIMSS08 is the place to learn from industry thought leaders through 300-plus educational sessions, explore an exhibition of 900-plus leading HIT vendors demonstrating breakthrough solutions and network with 25,000 HIT professionals at special events.

Community for Connected Health Summit
Feb. 25, 2008
Orlando, Fla.
The Connected Health Community Summit brings together the power of like-minded users and Cisco experts in a single forum of networking, educational opportunities and best-practice sharing like no other.

HIMSS Virtual Conference & Expo
April 23-24, 2008
Online
The HIMSS Virtual Conference & Expo is not a Web Seminar; it is a fully interactive event that incorporates online learning, live chat, active movement in and out of exhibit booths and sessions, vendor presentations, contests and more.

HIMSS AsiaPac08 Conference & Exhibition
May 20-23, 2008
Hong Kong
Stakeholders across the Asia-Pacific region will convene in Hong Kong to exchange knowledge, showcase successful strategies and share practical solutions to healthcare IT challenges.

Chapter Events