House of Delegates
The House of Delegates (HoD) is a deliberative assembly comprised of delegates elected or appointed from each of the 52 Component State Associations (CSA) and the AHIMA Board of Directors. Delegates serve as a grassroots member forum of AHIMA governing the health information management (HIM) profession. The HoD is chaired by the Speaker of the House, an AHIMA official elected by delegates.
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Kim Baldwin-Stried Reich 2013 Speaker of the House |
Jennifer McManis
2013 Speaker-elect of the House |
Delegates work virtually year-round, operating on a July 1-June 30 term advocating for the profession, the members, and the Association. These leaders help keep our profession strong and moving forward by contributing or recommending action on issues affecting the industry.
| Featured Events |
| July 12-13, 2013
Leadership Symposium: Mark your calendar for this two day event at the Westin Hotel Michigan Avenue, Chicago that engages AHIMA, CSA leaders (state and local Board members), and delegates in strategic direction, envisioning the future, and HIM focus. In addition, leadership development as well as association and profession governance will be presented by speakers in key areas such as futurism and management.
If you have questions on the event, please contact Volunteer Services.
Registration for both events will be posted on the event calendar in 2013. |
Contact Us!
To contact the HoD office, e-mail the Profession Governance Team or fax (312)233-1464.
House of Delegates
Our History
Founded in 1946, the House of Delegates is a long-standing, decision-making body of our professional association. Delegates have a critical role in guiding and governing the health information management (HIM) profession. In 2007, the House of Delegates implemented a structure comprised of six standing house teams representing individual facets of health information management. This structure allowed for more tactical work, engagement, and valuable contributions. Team charges were set by the AHIMA Board of Directors and accomplished over time.
In 2012, the HoD implemented a new, forward-thinking approach to the operations and configuration of the House of Delegates. The diagram below illustrates how we are currently organized. This allows for more agility and diverse input for strategic planning to better address and meet the needs of our members, profession, and industry.
Governing the Profession
We gather input from the Envisioning Collaborative consisting of one selected delegate or non-delegate representative per state to help inform the Board in setting strategy. We have a House Leadership Team consisting of one CSA delegate per state, divided into three functional workgroups. Along with subject matter experts from other relevant areas, delegates not on the Leadership Team or Envisioning Collaborative will join Task Forces. As issues come through the House Leadership pipeline and are vetted, delegates will be notified and assembled to address them.
This approach will position the House of Delegates to move more agilely to address the issues facing our profession today, tomorrow, and in the future and will allow the House to make the best use of time and effort for our delegates to govern the profession.
*The number of task forces will evolve as needed.
House Leadership
House Leadership will serve as a steering committee consisting of 52 CSA delegates. They ensure effective House of Delegates operations through alignment with strategy and provide oversight to the designated task forces. The leadership team will divide into the following task forces to address specific intiatives:
- Operations and direction
- Task form development
- Project management and follow up
House Leadership members will identify best practices, document performance, and foster innovation and agility in decision making.
Co-chairs of House Leadership: Sandra Huyck and Jennifer McManis
Envisioning Collaborative
The envisioning collaborative serves as a "think tank" comprised of delegates, subject matter experts, and industry leaders bringing forward emerging issues and trends that can impact the HIM profession.
Another way to think about this collaborative is a group of professionals conducting an environmental scan. Their charge is seeing the big picture by looking at our environment (internally and externally) and by gathering the data, consolidating the information, and validating the results.
This group provides a robust exchange of perspectives, innovation, and ideas that will enable us to make sound decisions to help generate strategic solutions advancing the profession.
To ensure we have a balance of short term and long term scanning, the Envisioning Collaborative will be split into two groups. The Blue group will focus on long range vision. The Green group will focus on shorter range vision. Below is a breakdown of each group and their deliverables.
| Blue Group |
Green Group |
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Chair: Kim Baldwin Stried-Reich
Stands for: "blue sky; blue ocean thinking"
Focus on: Long Term; 5-10 years
Deliverables: Develop quarterly ideation/innovation/brainstorming report. |
Chair: Vicki Delgado
Stands for: "green light, go, in the now"
Focus on: Short Term; 2-5 years
Deliverables: Develop a bi-annual environmental scan report due in December and June (for Summer Leadership Symposium). |
Task Forces
Task forces create a member focused objective. They are the doers of the important work by addressing a define set of charges on a mega issue. Task force members will be comprised of delegates, subject matter experts, and industry leaders.
Throughout the year, a call to serve will be sent to delegates, subject matter experts, and industry leaders for their service. This will allow for more flexibility and agility in the completion of projects.