Marla Farrell, CMT
San Dimas, CA

Therese French, CMT
Tualatin, OR

Sherron Ginn, CMT
Los Gatos, CA

Krista S. Hanlon, CMT
Chico, CA

Sue Ledger, RMT
Fayetteville, NC*

Elizabeth I. Lewis, CMT
Chandler, AZ

Maffie Rafferty, RMT
Azusa, CA

Tammy Marie Ricken, CMT
Surprise, AZ

Melanie Shockley, CMT
Provo, UT

Ellen K. Straw, RMT
Covina, CA

*Hooray across the country! Sue is an AHDI e-mentee with Kat King and just completed the Med-Line School RMT Study Group in Spring 2010.

When  it comes to writing about myself I always seem to have a problem…but I want to introduce myself to all of our members, so I’m going to do my best without under- or over-doing it!

I am originally from Provo, Utah. I came into the world on September 2, 1944.  (Egads!) We lived in Provo and during my tween years we lived in Ontario, Oregon; Nampa, Idaho; and Caldwell, Idaho.  In fact, we moved back and forth between Nampa and Caldwell a couple of times!  Moved back to Orem, Utah when I was in the 9^th grade and it seemed to stick for a while.  Graduated from the original Orem High School in 1962 (home of the Tigers with a brand new school this year), and attended Utah Trade Technical Institute, earning an Associate degree in Business.  I then was employed at  such companies as Geneva Steel (part of U.S. Steel back then), IBM Corporation (worked there when the first PC came out), Northwest Pipeline Corporation, and several smaller companies along the way.

I am the middle of 3 children to Byron and Jean Jensen… my sister, Jeri Dixon, who lives in Blackfoot, Idaho is 7 years older and my brother, Barry Jensen, who lives in Salt Lake is 6 years younger… so when I say middle, I really mean… MIDDLE! :0) Had the same trials and tribulations most middle children have… always getting the blame for everything (not saying I didn’t deserve it :0) but seemed to muddle through okay.  I married in 1966 and had twin girls (quite a surprise).  Decided to stop at that point! I now have an additional 2 stepchildren, 12 grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren! That marriage, unfortunately, ended in divorce in 1978. Married again to an Ogden native and it has been almost 25 years. He is an avid golfer and lives for golf.

I quit working outside the home in about 1998 and formed my own company for transcription services, excluding medical as I had not been trained as yet.  In 2000 I decided to “broaden my horizons” and enrolled in an online medical transcription school, the Medical Transcription Education Center, Inc. (better known as M-TEC).  I was fortunate enough to have Susan Francis, a co-founder of the school, as my instructor, and she is still a good friend to this very day!  She steered me in the direction of AHDI (back then it was AAMT), and I have been an MT and an active member in AHDI ever since.  I have been an MT, a QA editor, a VR editor, and an instructor in the Healthcare Documentation profession.  I was fortunate enough to be assigned to a school in Barbados (in the Caribbean), and taught online and inhouse in both Antigua and Barbados as well as being able to live a year in paradise (Barbados).  At the current time, I am working as an independent contractor as an MT, and anticipating continuing my education with a Bachelor’s Degree.

I was the first president of the new concept of the Online Chapter (now the Online Association), and helped introduce AHDI national office to all the wonderful online offerings they embrace today, such as the webinars, online meetings, online forums, online newsletters and websites, etc. I have also been an officer in the Utah State Association, served on the national AHDI board of directors for 3 years (2006-2008), and am now proud to be president-elect of AHDI-West, another ground-breaking concept for AHDI.  I also serve on several national committees.

What do I do in my spare time? Well… could someone define “spare time”?  :0) I started exercising about 3 months ago, doing “walk-at-home” exercise CDs, and am currently training for and hoping to walk in the 3-day Walk for the Cure (breast cancer) in Phoenix in November (a total of 60 miles over 3 days) in honor of my mother who passed away at the age of 93 of this insidious disease.  If you would like to help out and contribute to both my event and to the cure, please visit the donation page at http://tiny.cc/sokuy

If you have someone you would like me to honor by walking for them, I would be happy to do that also.  Even without having this as my goal, I have lost some unwanted fat, gained some needed muscle, and am getting healthier every day, so it is all worth it!  My highest mile walk so far in one day is 10 miles… I’m working up to it!

That’s enough about me… now, let’s hear about YOU!!!! Please send me a short bio of yourself and we’ll be sure to get it published in the “Getting To Know You” section of this great newsletter, and ALSO on the website!  I look forward to hearing from all of you!

Don’t you just love that word?? It’s one of those words that sends chills down my spine. As a kid, I could not believe it took 12 months for Christmas to come again. Not to mention my birthday…well, back in those days I looked forward to birthdays. You want to know what I’m looking forward to now? Austin…the Music Capitol of the South! And the city will be even more special because lots of my friends and colleagues will be there. Some of them I’m meeting for the first time. The Annual Conference and Exposition (ACE) is a great place to meet up with people I work with and IM on a daily basis. Of course, I also get to see a lot of my long-time friends.

Not to mention, all the great lectures that are on the schedule for this year. The exhibit hall. The networking. All-in-all, I find ACE to be almost as rewarding as Christmas! Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to attend a lot of annual meetings. Each one seems to take on a character of its own. Sometimes I think I know how a meeting will be…only to arrive and find out the latest buzz and voila! The meeting totally changes. This will be the first ACE since the change went into effect last year that makes this meeting the beginning of our committee/Task Force structure. That’s different. It’s the first time the officers will change place actually at this meeting. It’s our first time in Austin.

And this year AHDI has added a Leadership Summit. I can’t tell you how excited I am about this. I have truly missed the opportunity to have face to face time with other component leaders to discuss issues, challenges and share successes.

I hope you all are getting ready to attend this year as well. It’s going to be an awesome meeting!

Natural Language Processing (NLP) is a powerful, new leading-edge technology. This session will cover how it is currently being used to enable new work channels linked to data validation for MTs to promote HIT adoption and meaningful use.

Kyle Silvestro currently serves as the vice president of corporate strategy and business development for NLP International, a company that focuses on natural language processing for healthcare and life sciences. Kyle has been in the healthcare industry for the last nine years. He gained his extensive background in Medical Informatics and Semantic Technologies, specifically Natural Language Processing, while at Language and Computing. As the VP of sales and business development, Kyle worked with industry leaders in transcription, quality, revenue cycle management, interoperability, computer assisted coding, and electronic medical records, in the adoption of Natural Language Processing. Prior to Language and Computing, he was a partner in a management consulting firm that specialized in early to mid stage companies. During that time, he ran the North American Sales program for a clinical criteria vendor focused on patient quality, medical necessity and case management. He holds a bachelor of science in Business Administration from California State University, Chico, where he currently resides.

Kyle will give this presentation at ACE on Friday, August 6, 2010.

Register for ACE 2010
View the ACE 2010 Interactive Schedule at a Glance

This presentation will provide general guidelines to business owners for targeting percentages for cost-of-sale line items on an income statement. Presented from the perspective of a buyer, the business owner will walk away with several practical benefits, such as (1) ideas on how to organize an income statement to help manage the business; (2) guidelines on targeting expense ranges; (3) things to think about when determining how to charge for services; and (4) identifying expenses that buyers focus on the most when valuing a business.

John is president of Suender M&A Advisors, a merger and acquisition advisory firm focused on representing sellers of medical transcription companies. John’s 20+ years of M&A experience include 13 as MedQuist’s senior vice president of mergers and acquisitions, during which time MedQuist acquired over 50 companies. John is also an experienced M&A attorney, beginning his career at one of Philadelphia’s largest and most prestigious law firms. John has been involved in more than 100 transactions ranging in value from under $1 million to over $1 billion.

Ethan Cohen is a director at Suender M&A Advisors, a merger and acquisition advisory firm focused on representing sellers of medical transcription companies. Ethan has 20+ years of experience in strategic consulting, medical transcription, and teleradiology. As the chief technology officer of MedQuist, Ethan envisioned, developed, and implemented the DocQment Enterprise Platform® that MedQuist uses to run its operations. During this time, Ethan was also responsible for facilitating the integration of numerous transcription companies. More recently, Ethan was the president of SPi Healthcare, a medical transcription company with over 1,000 employees and operations in the Philippines, U.S., and India.

Register Now!

Calendar of Events

Real-world examples of how MT has supported the transition to EHRs and how MT can be instrumental in helping providers meet the meaningful use requirements necessary to become eligible for the ARRA incentive bonuses. The underlying concept is that MT is not merely a stop-gap measure for the near term, but can continue to be a vital part of the clinical documentation process.

Jim Tate brings a unique combination of skills to the eHealth field. His direct experience encompasses both clinical and technological environments. Jim is an experienced project manager in the implementation of both EHR and Practice Management systems and has led numerous implementations in the United States as well as China.

Register Now!

Visit ACE365 Now!

This meeting is being held for AHDI Board Member Brett McCutcheon’s partner states and components to discuss the current activities of AHDI members and the BOD. This webinar will contain some elements specific for the partner states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, Corporate and Educational Components, and International members. However, all AHDI members are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Brett McCutcheon, CMT, AHDI-F, began his medical transcription career in 1995. He has worked as a QA editor, educator, and operations director, and currently is an implementation project manager for Transcend Services, Inc. Brett has served as president of the Transcend (formerly TRS) corporate chapter, and chair of the AHDI Ethics Committee. He is currently serving on the AHDI Board of Directors, and is the board partner for Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, corporate and educational components, and international members. Brett currently resides in Denver, Colorado.

Register Now!