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76th AHIMA House of Delegates Recap

Pictured from left to right – Bryanna Schoeffel, Cherri Fields, Chrisann Lemery, Jennifer Mueller, Heather Pinske, Wil Limp, and Taryn Brunner. 

76th AHIMA House of Delegates Recap

WHIMA delegates attended the 76th AHIMA House of Delegates session in Columbus, Ohio on October 9th. The House of Delegates includes representatives from the 52 CSAs (component state associations) (50 states plus Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C.) This year, there were 187 delegates in attendance representing 47 CSAs.

Wisconsin’s 5 delegates include President Wil Limp, President-elect Heather Pinske, Past President Taryn Brunner, 3rd Year Director Bryanna Schoeffel, and 3rd Year Director Cherri Fields.

The 2022 House of Delegates was the first in-person session since 2019. Under consideration by the House of Delegates were numerous bylaw changes. A few changes reflected the means to hold meetings and votes electronically; simply updating the bylaws to reflect current technology. Other amendments referenced the overall structure of voting and business being accomplished by the AHIMA Board of Directors and Executive office. In all, 13 amendments to the bylaws were considered, discussed, and voted on.

Two bylaw amendments created quite a bit of discussion:

  • An amendment was passed, after some discussion, providing a way for two or more component state associations to merge. This was in response to a request from two state associations; New Hampshire and Vermont. Both are small associations, in states with smaller populations, and the merger will benefit the members of their states.
  • One proposed bylaws amendment did not pass after much discussion.  The amendment was about AHIMA having the ability to suspend payments to a CSA that is not meeting the requirements outlined in their Affiliation Agreement. Concerns expressed were based on a lack of metrics to suspend payments and vague language in the amendment.

The House of Delegates session began with an AHIMA leadership roundtable including AHIMA CEO Wylecia Wiggs Harris, Board President/Chair Tim Keough, and other AHIMA leaders. A few interesting takeaways were the upcoming introduction of micro-credentials including an ROI one, virtual proctoring of certification exams, and a move from mentoring to sponsorship opportunities for workforce development.