President’s Message

It was such an honor to be President of VHIMA for the last year. I could not have done it without the help of a great Board, Committee Chairs and Committee Members. What an amazing group of people who stepped up and volunteered countless hours of their time throughout the last year.

2022–2023 Board Members

• President — Heather Stebbins
• President-Elect — Arnita Brooks
• Past President — Tonya Deborde
• Vice President of Media and Communications — Rael McDonald
• Secretary — Rhoda Hewitt
• Treasurer — Norma Jackson
• First-Year Director — Angela Almond
• Second-Year Director — Kathleen Scott
• Third-Year Director — Susan Lehner
• Adjunct Board Member — Dan Rode

I want to highlight some of our accomplishments over the last year:

Members: The Board sent out a survey to our members to get feedback/suggestions in reference to our Annual Conference. We asked about preference of virtual or in person and which area of Virginia you would like to see the next conference. We are listening to you and may ask for your feedback on a more regular basis, so stay tuned!

Governance Committee: Continued work on reviewing and updating policies and procedures to make sure future Board members have a clear understanding of responsibilities and duties. We have created a New Board Member Orientation Plan and we will continue to make adjustments to this as needed.

Coding Roundtable: Thank you Gloria Litton and her committee members for a great year of Education for our VHIMA members. They hosted RHIT and CCS Exam Prep sessions as well as numerous Coding sessions throughout the year. Looking forward to the next year of Education sessions for our members!

Media and Communications: We have set up additional social media channels for VHIMA, we are now on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Links to those pages are on our website. Rael McDonald, VP of Media and Communications, has started VHIMA’s first Media and Communications Committee and I am excited to hear about suggestions and ideas that come from this committee. We will be looking for new and innovative ways to reach and engage our members of VHIMA.

Finance Committee: Thank you Norma Jackson, VHIMA Treasurer, for chairing this committee and thank you to the committee members that volunteered their time. The VHIMA budget was reviewed in great detail- feedback and suggestions from these committee meetings were shared with the VHIMA Board. The Finance Committee and VHIMA Board are very conscientious of how the VHIMA funds are being utilized.

Room to Zoom: Thank you to Lisa Whitaker for helping with Room to Zoom meetings. We had great discussions about the healthcare profession, AHIMA and Advocacy. Meetings will start back up in September. We would love to have more members to join and participate. If you have any topics you would like us to discuss please let us know!

VHIMA Annual Conference 2023: Our conference was held May 17th and 18th in Hampton, Virginia. Thank you to all the Board Members, Committee Chairs and volunteers for making this event a success! We had great speakers, food, entertainment, vendors and networking. I look forward to another great Conference in 2024!

Scholarship Winner: Congratulations to Carla Swann she was awarded $2,000 as the 2023 VHIMA Scholarship Winner.

I would like to thank VHIMA members for allowing me to serve as the VHIMA President for 2022-2023. I am truly blessed and grateful to have worked with such a great group of people. Your hard work and dedication to our profession is appreciated. I am looking forward to another great year for our 2023-2024 VHIMA Board.

Heather Stebbins, MHL, RHIT
VHIMA President 2022-2023