Presidents Message

Dear Fellow HFMA Members:

Our chapter won four national awards for the previous year, including two Yerger awards as well as awards for member retention and certification. As I embark on my year as president of the chapter, I realize that I am taking on a big responsibility to maintain that level of excellence, and I, as well as well as the other officers and board of directors, have been busy planning the upcoming year. Our chapter goals for the upcoming year include:

1. Achieving 3% growth in registered educational hours per member through a variety of high-quality, educational offerings targeting the needs of our membership.
2. Achieve positive growth in membership by maintaining high member satisfaction as well as offerings geared towards younger professionals.
3. Promote certification of our members by making study materials, scholarships, and other assistance available to those interested.
4. Further develop the chapter website.
5. Maintain the financial stability of the chapter.

This year’s national theme is Making Connections which highlights the networking-related benefits of HFMA. Whether looking for an industry best practice, information on healthcare finance issues, or professional networking, you will find resources within HFMA. Like many others, I have found that the more you put into HFMA, the more value you get out. Accordingly, I would encourage you to get involved with the chapter by contacting one of the committee chairs listed within the Chapter Committees section of the website. 

Our upcoming chapter programs include the Volunteer Appreciation Golf Outing being held at Sweetbriar Golf Club in Avon Lake on August 28. This program will include 3 hours of CPE on the theme of “Strategic Financial Outlook” as well as 18 holes of golf or pampering at the spa!  On August 18 we are co-sponsoring along with BKD a Medicare PPS & Legislative Update Webcast. The webcast is FREE and you will receive 1 hour of CPE through HFMA. Watch for other informative programs coming in the fall!

I look forward to a great year of Making Connections and hope to see you at an upcoming HFMA event. 

Sincerely,

Chuck Josey, CPA
President


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New Members - Welcome to NEOHFMA!

Please welcome our newest members to the Northeast Ohio Chapter of HFMA. Look for them at our next meeting and welcome them to our organization.

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Northeast Ohio HFMA Speaker Series
Save the Date for these upcoming programs!

Program Date:       August 28, 2008
Program Location:  Sweetbriar Golf Club

Strategic Financial Outlook and
Annual Volunteer Appreciation Outing

Who will benefit from this? Chief Financial Officers, Controllers, Directors of Finance, All Healthcare Business Professionals Interested in the Future of Our Industry.

Speakers: 

• Christopher Kerns is a senior consultant at the Advisory Board Company.
• James P. Brown is a Principal in the Healthcare Practice of Deloitte Consulting.
• Christopher J. Donovan is Senior Director of Fiscal Services at the Cleveland Clinic.
• Margery B. Mazoh is Senior Project Manager in Fiscal Services at the Cleveland Clinic.

More information to come on these other upcoming events:

Program Date:       September 18, 2008
Program Location:  Corporate College East

Accounting and Auditing

Reimbursement

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The Managed Care Program: July 24, 2008 at Windows on the River

The Managed Care Program in July was a great success. The event began with an excellent lunch in the Windows on the River dining room.  Four very informative and engaging speakers followed: 

The first speaker, Ann Marie Donegan, gave an overview on the recently passed House Bill 125 (Provider Contracting).

Our next speaker, Susan Scheutzow, presented a very comprehensive review of the possible direction that Managed Care will be heading with the next presidential administration.

Next, we had Dr. David Epstein. David had a very impressive presentation on Disease Management and the financial implications of the chronic disease management crisis.

Finally, Charles Cataline gave an update and overview on Medicaid Managed Care. Charles is always a very engaging and lively speaker and we are happy to have him on our team.

The event wrapped up with another beautiful afternoon, happy hour on the Windows patio. The event seemed well received and well attended. The speakers were very informative and presented well and, all in all, the event was a great success.

The Managed Care Committee would like to give special thanks to the group from AAHAM that attended and assisted in the planning and execution of the program.

Click to see photos from this event

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What Every Current and Future Healthcare Finance Leader Should Know About . . .  Revenue Cycle,   Reimbursement, Legal & Compliance Recap

The June program, “What Every Current and Future Healthcare Finance Leader Should Know About . . .” was held at Shooters on the Water. Attendance was very high for this program as three very talented and engaging speakers presented on the topics of Revenue Cycle, Reimbursement and Legal/ Compliance issues. We are very thankful to both Great Lakes Brewing and Shooters for showing flexibility in hosting the event. Great Lakes was the original location, but when registration far exceeded expectations, they were very helpful in the transition process to Shooters. Additionally, the management at Shooters made the transition smooth as well. We also would like to thank all the NEOHFMA members for their support, understanding and flexibility concerning the late change in venue.

Don Paulson of University Hospitals began the program with a very comprehensive presentation of the Revenue Cycle. He was able to illustrate to the attendees process and was able to speak to pitfalls of which to be aware. 

Following Don’s presentation was Chris Mahler of Plante & Moran, PLLC. Chris spoke of Reimbursement  and the basic concepts that each new and future manager in healthcare finance should know. Chris was also able to spend time speaking of elements of the Medicare Cost Report.

The final speaker of the program was Anthea Daniels of Calfee, Halter & Griswald, LLP. Ms. Daniels gave an excellent overview of Fraud and Abuse as well as Stark laws. She explained to the members the differences between each and was also able to give examples of government activities based on her real-life experiences.

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Visit HFMA National at:
www.hfma.org

Visit HFMA Northeast Ohio at:
www.neohfma.org