Meeting & Agendas

Meeting called to order by Cynthia Colovas, Advisory Committee Chair. Members greeted and introduced themselves to other members.

Members reviewed minutes from September 27, 2013 meeting. Sharon Moody motioned to accept minutes and Mary Keeton second the motion. The members voted and the minutes were accepted.

Norma Mercado announced that in order to comply with the 60 Credit Hour Cap set by the Legislation; she is going forward with revising the HITT AAS degree. Norma said she and Ellen Wuertz reviewed several of the HITT courses which could be altered but will look at other colleges and their degree plans before finalizing the AAS degree. Norma said that before she can implement the changes in the degree plan, she will have to get with Pat Recek and then go before the curriculum committee for approval. She expects to do have this done by fall 2014 so she can implement the new degree in fall 2015. Pat Recek said that the college will be streamlining the process of changing the degrees to comply with the 60 hours cap and a lot of the proposed degrees may have to go to SAC for approval. Cynthia Colovas expressed concern that the new degree may not be ready by August 2015. Cynthia asked Norma if she needed help. Norma stated that every 2-3years AHIMA changes domain and standards. She also stated that in July she would be meeting with AHIMA to discuss changes. Norma Mercado will keep members informed about the changes by email.

Norma Mercado presented a Student Data report to the board members. She informed the members that there were 43 students in the HITT AAS program and 18 students in the Medical Coding certificate program. She said she did not have outcomes for the fall 2013 since she was not available to gather data. Norma said she is waiting on results for the student and employer surveys. Ron Modesty asked the question if the numbers are down in the program. Ellen Wuertz replied and said no, that the numbers are higher than last year. Cynthia Colovas asked the question as to who is doing the marketing for the program. Norma Mercado said that she had worked with marketing to do a TV commercial for the program. Pat Recek also stated that ACC will be having a Career Fair and information about the program will be made available to the public. Cynthia Colovas asked for an update on ICD-10. Norma Mercado said that all students are getting 10 and not 9. Cynthia Colovas asked if new staff had been hired. Norma Mercado announced that Mary Keeton had been hired as the new full time faculty for the program. Norma also stated that she will be posting for a new adjunct.

Norma Mercado announced that discussion had taken place to do away with the Medical Coding certificate. Norma Mercado stated that she plans not to offer it in fall 2015. Norma Mercado asked the question as to how do the members think this decision will affect the work place? Donna Carl and Cynthia Colovas expressed support with doing away with the certificate program. Pat Recek stated that Norma Mercado might look at an enhance certificates with emphasis on certified coding specialist. She said this may help also with the strong clinical background that work places are now looking for. Norma Mercado will present more information at next meeting.

Next meeting tentatively scheduled for September 12, 2014. Norma Mercado stated that the after fall 2014 board meetings would be meeting once a year. If need additional meeting she will schedule as needed. Meeting adjourned. There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned by Cynthia Colovas.