July 2013

TEXAS MEDICAL AUDITORS ASSOCIATION
THE OBSERVER
President’s Message
Volume 127
July 2013
Times Are a Changing for TMAA
Thanks to technology, and the Board’s willingness to try something new, two recent Board meetings have been
conducted via teleconference. This option allows us to meet more frequently, and at a fraction of the cost of a traditional meeting. It also allows us to avoid the time involved with traveling to a meeting place.
Special thanks to Linda and Tim Hutchinson who generously allowed TMAA to use one of their business teleconference lines for our April meeting.
I don’t want to steal our Education/Programming Committee’s thunder, so I am not going to give specifics about
the speaker line-up for the Fall Conference. What I am going to say is that this conference is not to be missed.
The quality and expertise of the speakers committed is one of the best ever! Cathy Mezmar and Mary Barrientos
have been working very hard on this year’s program. Please be sure to thank them for a job well done.
Believe it or not, research has already begun for TMAA’s 2014 conference. However, in order for the organization to go forward, it is necessary for us to make some changes to the way the organization approaches the continuing education certification process. One of the challenges that we’ve encountered with recruiting for the Education Committee Program chair is the requirement of a BSN, with experience in education. Supporting committee members generally need the RN designation. These designations make a significant portion of our membership ineligible to serve on this committee, even if there was a desire to do so. In addition to these required credentials, the process of preparing a continuing education application requires a time commitment that many of our
members are unable or unwilling to make.
As a result of the challenges that TMAA is facing with the continuing education process, the Board is exploring
options to secure our future. A couple of the ideas presented include piggy-backing onto a hospital system with a
continuing education department and programming already in place, or hiring a nurse educator to do the application for TMAA. It has been suggested that a retired TMAA member, with the required credentials, might be interested in contracting for the job.
As members, you have a vested interest in the survival of TMAA. If you have suggestions or resources who may
be able to assist with transitioning our continuing education program, please reach out to me or another Board
member. My mobile phone number is: 210-386-7593 and my email address is: [email protected]
Shonna Macaulay, RN, BSN, CCM ,CPHM
President
From the Past President
TMAA’s fall conference will be the completion of my term on the board with TMAA. Under Shonna’s guide, the
board is presenting the Conference at the Great Wolf Lodge and we will have great speakers. The topics were
taken from evaluation suggestion of what would help you in your job as a nurse auditor.
My current job is to tell you about the other events and sites to visit before and evenings of the conference. The
North Texas area has hundreds of great dining so will not go into that too much. Grapevine, Texas has grown so
much since the DFW International Airport opened. Although it has grown from a small town to a wonderful place
to visit, it has maintained it’s small town spirit if you go to downtown Grapevine. First– downtown has great
places to shop and eat. I love it. Grapevine is known as Wine country and a shopaholic paradise. Grapevine
Mills is to die for and pretty close to Great Wolf Lodge. Wine tours are also really fun. Unfortunately, the Wine
Fest is 9/12-9/15/13. Grapevine also has a Visitor Shuttle for the many wonderful sites to see.
The State Fair of Texas starts 09/27-10/20/2013, and we will have a new “Big Tex” making his appearance this
year. The fair is always fun, with museums, Broadway musicals, and great fair food. Of course, Dallas is known
for its museums and arts. A couple of great sites to visit are The Dallas World Aquarium, Museum of Arts,
The John F. Kennedy Memorial Plaza-50 year anniversary activities, Dallas Arboretum, Perot Museum of
Nature and Science, Dallas Holocaust Museum, SMU President Bush Library and Museum, and the remodeled Zoo. Of course, there are a ton of other attractions
Fort Worth is Cowtown, and a must see is the Stockyards with shops, Billy Bob’s, and great barbeque and steak
restaurants. Another famous restaurant near the Stockyards is Joe T Garcia’s Mexican Restaurant where even
Elvis ate. Downtown Fort Worth is the Bass Performance Hall and Sundance Square which is always having
great Broadway musicals and concerts, and on the Square are fun things to do. There are museums and the arts
there are a must as well. But I liked the Fort Worth National Cowgirls Hall of Fame. Of course, TCU is near
the arts district, and just around the corner it seems Fort Worth has the greatest Zoo.
Arlington is home of Six Flags Over Texas, Hurricane Harbor, Texas Rangers, and the Dallas Cowboy Stadium. The Cowboys in-town game is 9/22/13 and will be on the road the weekend of the Conference. The Texas
Rangers, if in the playoff games will be determined then. Great shopping at the Highlands and Parks Mall.
UTA campus has grown in the past few years, if you would like to visit for your child possibility of college.
There is also the Texas Motor Speedway on I-35 West route going towards Denton where there is North Texas
and Texas Women's Colleges.
So many places to visit– and these are just a few. I know Plano and Allen also have many wonderful places to
see. It is my understanding that if you come in on Monday prior, the conference room rates are the same as during the Conference, the room rates are the same as during the Conference, but Friday night and the weekend the
rates go up. This might be a fun week to bring kids or grandkids since the Great Wolf Lodge has so many activities for them to do in a secure enclosed area. It is located right in the middle of North Texas cities and offers so
many road trips.
Neta Morse, BSN, MS, CMAS
Past President
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From the Secretary
Hello All
The TMAA Conference for this year will be held at The Great Wolf Lodge,
100 Great Wolf Drive, Grapevine, TX 76051 right outside DFW.
Great Wolf Lodge is going to be such a great adventure. It has a massive 84-degree
indoor water park where you can splash away in over 80 square feet of water-packed
excitement. There is something to do for everyone such as a jaw-dropping slide for thrill seekers or zero-depth
entry areas for the little ones.
Outside the water park the fun continues where you can entertain the family for hours. There is the MagiQuest,
Scooops for kids spa, Cub Club, Northern Lights Arcade, Compass Quest, Creation Station, Howly Wood XD
Theatre, Lazer Frenzy and many more daily activities.
You can explore the lodge by age or with the entire family. There is an array of options to choose from for dining from the in-lodge restaurants. This is such a great location for the conference. Visit the TMAA website for
more details. See you there!!
Driving Directions
Navigation or GPS device: 100 Great Wolf Drive, Grapevine, TX 76051
From Fort Worth (Western Texas): Take TX-121 and TX-183 merge. Turn left on Texan Trail. Turn right on Grapevine Hwy/TX-26.
Great Wolf is 1 block on the right
From Downtown Dallas (Eastern Texas): Take I-35 E North to I-635 West 7 miles to Bass Pro Drive. Turn left on Bass Pro Drive. Turn
left on Grapevine Hwy/TX-26. Great Wolf is 1 mine on the left
From North Dallas (Northern Texas): Travel TX-121 south towards DFW Airport. Exit right on Grapevine Hwy/TX-26 at Grapevine Mills
Mall. Great Wolf is 2 mines down TX-26 on the left
From Houston (Southern Texas): Take hwy 45 North to I-635 West. Take I-635 West 7 miles to Bass Pro Drive, Turn on Bass Pro Drive.
Turn left on Grapevine Hwy/TX-26. Great Wolf is 1 mile on the left
Wanda Webb, RN
Secretary
From the Website Coordinator
Website News
Would you like to get a peak into our Annual TMAA Seminar? Then take a few minutes to visit the website at
www.tmaa.info. We have posted pictures of the Great Wolfe Lodge, site for the fall seminar. This hotel will
bring take you back a few years as it brings out the kid in each of us. It’s a happy place with an outdoor, forest
feeling. So mark your calendars and plan on attending this years’ seminar in Grapevine, Texas.
Also visit the website for all the current newsletters. To contain cost, all newsletters will now be posted on the
web, and not mailed. You will be alerted by email when new issues are posted. Feel free as a TMAA member to
send in articles of interest and medical updates and we will be happy to include them in the newsletters. Send
articles to Laura Josefsen, our editor, anytime thru out the year for her to post. Updates for the fall seminar will
also be posted on the website as they become available, so stay tuned and check us out often.
Debbie Braddock, RN, CMA
Website Coordinator
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From the Membership Chair
Fellow TMAA members, where are you all?? Our numbers are low for this time of year so we need each of you
to help remind and recruit medical auditors to join up. To
make it easy, the membership application is on the web so
it’s easy to download and send in. The fees are $60.00
and run from January to December each calendar year. If
there is anyone you’d like me to personally contact, then
send me an email and I will be happy to extend the invitation out to him or her.
This organization has been in service for 27 years and I’d
hate for us to disband, so we all need to help get more
members to join us. TMAA offers easy and affordable
ways to obtain our needed CEU’s thru this organization,
but in order to continue, each of us needs to contribute,
The organization cannot run on Board Members alone.
We each need to contribute to make TMAA strong and
functional.
So don’t be shy, step up and volunteer. Being on the
Board is work, but the rewards out-weigh the work load.
Take it from me, I have been on the Board since 1996 and
love every minute of it. I have learned a lot from working
with the various leaders & members and I have developed
some very close friendships with several members because of our time of working together. It’s a relationship
where professionalism and friendship share the same
goals, so it’s like having another family. I love TMAA
and will continue to work for it’s success. Please join me
in that endeavor. The directories will be typed in July so
all membership applications need to be sent in by then in
order to be printed in the book. We will hand the books
out at the September seminar. If you cannot attend, they
will be mailed out afterwards.
Have a great summer, and please promise to advertise
TMAA to all medical auditors you meet. We are a great
group and welcome others to join and find that out for
themselves.
Debbie Braddock, RN, CMA
Membership Chair
From the Treasurer
I hope everyone is doing well and the summer
weather is treating you OK.
Your program and education committees are
working very diligently on the conference, and
have speakers lined up. The budget is being
carefully watched, with the goal of an excellent
conference at a reasonable price. I have been a
member of several professional organizations
throughout my years as a nurse, and I can verify
that TMAA does a very good job of keeping the
costs down, and yet providing excellent programs.
Our bank balance at the end of April was
$19,568.76, We have received $3,240.00 for
membership dues since I took over at the beginning of October. Obviously, we have not gotten
into the expenses of the conference yet, but all
the board and committees are very aware of
costs, and will work to keep the costs down. We
are in a very good place financially, right now.
The location of the conference, Great Wolf
Lodge, offers a lot for your family to do, while
we have our conference. You will be able to
enjoy all the amenities after hours, as well as a
lot of local Dallas activities, malls, etc. Do not
forget your bathing
suits.
Hope everyone has a
great summer!
Linda Hempfling,
Treasurer
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From the Nominating Committee
Just a little trip:
As I went to get into my car last night to go and finish errands it occurred to me the strangest wonderment…how
in the world did ONE man get all these parts figured out and working in synch with each other?
I pushed the button on the key fob and joila the door unlocked!
I slid into my seat which Ed had left way back and slid a button on the side and magically it moved to just the
right spot.
My back was sore, another button and then ahhhh it was heated, wow!
Obviously, I adjusted the rearview mirror which slid effortlessly on the ball at the end of the shaft. The side mirrors a simple turn of a knob to the right and then the left. …..didn't even have to roll down the window.
Oh, the window, slightly darkened to protect the interior and safety glass to protect me in case of an accident.
Putting the key into the ignition began an automatic little chime to remind me of my seatbelt, the dash lit up telling
me how far until dinner time for the car and then the most intriguing sound, the low rumble of an engine coming
to life.
Being married to a very mechanically minded engineering guy who has auto crossed many times, I have learned to
love that sound. I even enjoy crawling under the car while he is working on the brakes just to stare at all the parts
that have to communicate.
So you are saying how in the world does all this relate? Not one SINGLE person (I know some wonderful female
engineers and race drivers) came up with all this. It was thousands from the the parts runner on the assembly line,
the mold scaler for design perfecting, the design engineer, the safety engineer, the leather fabrication plant, the
robotics designer, the electrical wiring harness maker….you get the drift right?
If we as an organization are ever going to thrive and survive we have to have new talent. (Or all cars would have
looked like tanks!). We are selecting the future of our Organization this coming fall. We need fresh talent on the
Nominations Committee and a President Elect. As YOU read this think about how you could possibly be this. Forget that it looks great on a resume, though it does….or this is where I go to get my CMAS hours. If we are not
here that will not occur and without your help in coming forward or offering a suggestion of someone you feel
would be helpful the same scenario will occur. I know none of us wants this, you are an incredible treasure-trove
of talent, believe in yourself….I do!
Debbie Hewitt, RN CMAS
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A special thanks to our sponsor for your continued support!
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Scenes of the Great Wolf Lodge
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TMAA BOARD of DIRECTORS
PRESIDENT
Shonna Macaulay, RN, BS, CCM, CPHM
[email protected]
210 386-7593
EVENT COORDINATOR
Nicole Cormier, LVN
[email protected]
409-284-4827
VICE PRESIDENT/MARKETING
Nancy Kaiserman, RN CMAS
[email protected]
972 250-6636
HISTORIAN
Terri Harding, RN
[email protected]
972-965-7316
SECRETARY
Wanda Webb, RN
[email protected]
713 855-8085
MEMBERSHIP/WEB
Debbie Braddock, RN, CMAS
[email protected]
210-341-7900
TREASURER
Linda Hempfling, RN, CMAS
[email protected]
713 729-7303
NOMINATING
Debbie Hewitt, RN, CMAS
[email protected]
713 202-5503
PAST PRESIDENT
Neta Morse, RN, BSN, MSm CMAS
[email protected]
817 312-2629
PROGRAM AND CEUS
Cathy Mezmar
[email protected]
956 428-7209
Mary Barrientos
[email protected]
956 364-0440
BYLAWS & STANDARDS
Linda Hutchinson, RN
[email protected]
210 497-7627
EDUCATION
Mary Barrientos , RN
[email protected]
956 364-0440
PARLIAMENTARIAN
Joyce Lovett-Adkins
[email protected]
Newsletter
Laura Josefsen,RN
[email protected]
281 685-8111
The opinions expressed in The Observer
are those of the authors or persons
quoted. They do not necessarily reflect the
views of the TMAA Board of Directors
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Texas Medical Auditors Association (TMAA)
Laura Josefsen, Newsletter Editor
23 Tudor Glen Place
Woodlands, Texas 77382
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From the Editor
The position of Nurse Auditor is a wonderful career choice. It is different every day and that keeps
it exciting. Professional nursing organizations
work to provide education, mentoring, and support
for all fields of nursing.. It is one of our greatest
resources. Isn’t it awesome to have a professional
organization dedicated to nurse auditing. Utilizing
these resources, such as the website for information, as well as attending the conferences gives us a
feeling of excitement and gets us re-charged as we
see old friends, meet new friends, learn a LOT, and
have fun at the same time! Being involved in the
organization helps us keep up with the changes in
the healthcare system and helps to provide direction. Our involvement also works to help define
our practice guidelines. It takes everyone working
together to accomplish optimal and effective
growth in our field .
Laura Josefsen, RN, ACHRN
Newsletter Editor
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MARK YOUR CALENDARS!
2013 TMAA CONFERENCE
GREAT WOLF LODGE
GRAPEVINE, TEXAS
SEPTEMBER 26-27, 2013