The Association of Healthcare Internal Auditors Elects 2013 Officers

Denver, Colo., February 14, 2013: The Association of Healthcare Internal Auditors (AHIA) membership has elected new Board of Director leadership to guide the association in its role as the premier resource and advocate for internal audit professionals in healthcare. On January 25, 2013, the following individuals were inducted to the AHIA Board of Directors:

• Robert Michalski, CHC, CHPC, CCE - Chair: Robert is Chief Compliance Officer for Baylor Health Care System, which is a faith-based not-for-profit health care provider system in Dallas, Texax. Baylor has 30 Owned, Operated, Joint Ventured or Affiliated hospitals, provides 2.8 million patient encounters annually, has over 21,000 employees and recorded $4.1 billion in total operating revenue in fiscal year 2012. Mr. Michalski has over 20 years of health care experience in consulting, patient accounting and has served as Compliance Officer with internal audit responsibilities for two health systems for 12 of those years. Mr. Michalski received a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Health Administration degree from The Ohio State University in Columbus, OH. He has been active in the AHIA for several years including speaking at the national conferences, serving on the planning committee for the national conference the last six years and serving as an officer on the board for the last two years.

• Heidi Crosby, CPA, CIA, CHFP - Vice/Chair: Heidi is the Director of Audit Services for Trinity Health, head quartered in Livonia, Michigan. Trinity Health is one of the largest Catholic health systems in the United States. Trinity Health has more than 56,000 full time equivalent employees providing services in over 47 owned and managed hospitals, 432 outpatient clinics, 32 long-term care facilities numerous home health and hospice programs in over 10 states and more than $616 million in community benefit ministry. Ms. Crosby has over 27 years of combined health care experience in both internal and external audit. She earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Pace University in New York and is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) and is a Certified Healthcare Financial Professional (CHFP). Ms. Crosby has been an active member of the AHIA, speaking at the national conference, a member of the Technology Committee for three years and a member of the Board of Directors for the past four years.

• Cavell Alexander, MBA, CPA, CIA, CFE - Secretary/Treasurer: Cavell is Vice President and Chief Audit Executive for Intermountain Healthcare in Salt Lake City, Utah. Intermountain Healthcare is an internationally recognized, nonprofit, system of 22 hospitals, a medical group with more than 185 physician clinics, and an affiliated health insurance company, SelectHealth. Ms. Alexander has worked in several industries in various capacities within internal audit for the past 20 years; however, the majority of her career has been spent in and around healthcare. She started her career in audit with the DHHS Office of Inspector General where she conducted reviews of Federal programs including Centers for Medicare/Medicaid Services, National Institutes of Health, and the Centers for Disease Control. From 1998 to 2000 Ms. Alexander served as Director of Compliance and Internal Audit for Exempla Healthcare in Denver, Colorado. From 2000 to 2005 she served as a Director with CHAN Healthcare Auditors where she lead a team of 22 professionals that provided internal audit services to several clients including Catholic Health Initiatives, a $9 billion system with 38 hospitals. Prior to joining Intermountain Healthcare in November of 2006 she was a Director with Protiviti in their Denver office, providing internal audit and Sarbanes-Oxley consulting services to a variety of Fortune 500 companies. Ms. Alexander is an accredited Quality Assurance Reviewer as designated by the Institute of Internal Auditors.

• Joyce L. Lang, CPA, CIA - Immediate Past Chair: Ms. Lang has 12 years of experience leading healthcare internal audit programs and revenue cycle operations in Washington and Oregon. She has more than 30 years of auditing and accounting management experience and is a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) and Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Ms. Lang received her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from California State University at Northridge. She has served AHIA as its Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary/Treasurer and the Chair of three annual conferences, and has been active in other professional and industry associations.

The newly elected 2013 officers will join the following at-large board members in forming the 2013 AHIA board of directors:

• Dagmar I. Herrmann-Estes, CIA: Director of A/R Operations for Johns Hopkins Medicine Physician Billing Services in Baltimore, MD
• Linda McKee, CPA, CIA: Chief Audit Executive for Sentara Healthcare in Norfolk, VA
• Debra Muscio, MBA, CFE, CHC, CCE: VP, Chief Audit and Compliance Officer for Community Medical Centers in Fresno, CA
• Bryon Neaman, MBA, CPA, CIA: Senior Vice President of Internal Audit for Bon Secours Health System, Inc. in Marriottsville, MD
• Kelly Nueske, RN, CPA, CIA, CMA: Managing Director - Enterprise Risk Services for Altegra Health in Los Angeles, CA

Founded in 1981, AHIA is a network of experienced healthcare internal auditing professionals who are responsible for assessing and evaluating enterprise risk in a complex and dynamic healthcare environment. Through its highly regarded annual conference, online tools, professional guidance, and award winning publication, New Perspectives, AHIA helps elevate and advance the internal audit professional to be an authoritative voice and strategic partner within healthcare. Visit www.ahia.org for more information.

The Association of Healthcare Internal Auditors Elects 2012 Officers

Denver, Colo., January 31, 2012: The Association of Healthcare Internal Auditors (AHIA) membership has elected new Board of Director leadership to continue its role as the premier resource and advocate for internal audit professionals in healthcare. On January 1, 2012, the following individuals were inducted to the AHIA Board of Directors:

• Joyce L. Lang, Chair: Joyce is Revenue Cycle Director for Ocean Beach Hospital & Medical Clinics, a community-owned-and-operated critical access hospital in southwest Washington that operates three rural health clinics. Previously, Ms. Lang led internal audit programs in Portland, OR in both the healthcare and transportation industries. She has more than 30 years of auditing and accounting management experience and is a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) and Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Ms. Lang received her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from California State University at Northridge. She has served AHIA as its Vice Chair, Secretary/Treasurer and the Chair of three annual conferences, and has been active in The Institute of Internal Auditors and other professional and industry associations.

• Robert Michalski, Vice Chair: Robert is Chief Compliance Officer for Baylor Health Care System, which is a faith-based not-for-profit health care provider system in Dallas, TX. Baylor serves more than 1.2 million patients each year and recorded $4 billion in total operating revenue in fiscal year 2011. Mr. Michalski has 19 years of health care experience in consulting, patient accounting and has served as Compliance Officer with internal audit responsibilities for two health systems for 11 of those years. Mr. Michalski received a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Health Administration degree from The Ohio State University in Columbus, OH and is certified in Healthcare Compliance (CHC). He has been active in the AHIA for several years including speaking at their national conferences and serving on the planning committee for the national conference the last five years.

• Heidi Crosby, Secretary/Treasurer: Heidi is the director of Audit services for Trinity Health head quartered in Novi, Michigan. Trinity Health is one of the largest Catholic health systems in the United States. Trinity Health has 53,400 full time equivalent employees providing over 1.3 million inpatient days, over 8.7 outpatient and ER visits, over half a million long term care patient days and more than $453 million in community benefit ministry. Ms Crosby has over 26 years of combined health care experience in both internal and external audit. She earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Pace University in New York and is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) and is a Certified Healthcare Financial Professional (CHFP). Ms. Crosby has been an active member of the AHIA, speaking at the national conference and a member of the Board of Directors as well as a member of the Technology Committee for the past 3 years.

• Dagmar I. Herrmann-Estes, Director-at-Large: In 2010, after eight years with the Hopkins Office of Internal Audits, Dagmar accepted the position of Director of A/R Operations for the Johns Hopkins Medicine Physician Billing Services. The group provides billing services for the Johns Hopkins Hospital, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, three Hopkins owned Community Hospitals and the Johns Hopkins Primary Care Physician group. Recently Ms. Herrmann-Estes has been appointed to be the Johns Hopkins Medicine enterprise co-business owner of the Hopkins outpatient and inpatient registration function and with that she plays a critical role in the implementation of the Epic application across the enterprise. She graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in accounting from Saint Michael’s College in Colchester Vermont, and earned her Master’s of Business Administration from the Johns Hopkins Carrey Business School. Ms. Herrmann-Estes is a Certified Internal Auditor and has served on AHIA’s Annual Conference Planning Committee for six years, of which the last two she served as the Conference Planning Committee Chair.

• Bryon Neaman, Director-at-Large: Bryon is the senior vice president of internal audit for Bon Secours Health System, Inc. in Marriottsville, Maryland. Bon Secours Health System is a $3 billion integrated health system represented in seven states and includes 18 acute care facilities, with support from 20,000 employees. He has more than 20 years of audit, accounting, and financial leadership experience. He previously has served as a practice leader for both Ernst & Young and Deloitte and Touche. Mr. Neaman holds an undergraduate degree in accounting from King’s College and a Masters of Business Administration from St. Josephs University. He is a certified public accountant (CPA), certified internal auditor (CIA), and a Six Sigma Black Belt.

The newly elected board members join current board members Mike Fabrizius, San Diego, CA, immediate past chair; Linda McKee, Norfolk, VA, Director; Debra Muscio, Fresno, CA, Director and Kelly Nueske, Los Angeles, CA, Director in forming the 2012 Board of Directors.

Founded in 1981, AHIA is a network of experienced healthcare internal auditing professionals who are responsible for assessing and evaluating enterprise risk in a complex and dynamic healthcare environment. Through its highly regarded annual conference, online tools, professional guidance, and award winning publication, New Perspectives, AHIA helps elevate and advance the internal audit professional to be an authoritative voice and strategic partner within healthcare. Visit www.ahia.org for more information.

Association of Healthcare Internal Auditors captures international publication award for New Perspectives Magazine

Denver, Colo. — June 3, 2011 The Association of Healthcare Internal Auditors (AHIA) has won an EXCEL Award for New Perspectives, a quarterly professional journal focused on healthcare risk management; auditing of controls and governance for healthcare organizations; healthcare industry news and legal issues; and the auditing profession.

Awarded by Association Media & Publishing (AM&P), an international association dedicated to improving the quality of association publications, the Excel Award represents distinction in the association community. New Perspectives took the Silver Award in the category of design excellence.

The 31st annual Excel Awards, which drew over 1,100 entries this year, recognize print and electronic publications for excellence in graphic design, editorial content and overall communications effectiveness.

New Perspectives’ editor in chief, Mr. Ken Spence said, “Our success comes from those who had a vision and those who have worked and work now to carry it out. Competing against the best keeps you sharp and lets you see where your efforts are taking you." He also acknowledged the invaluable participation of the writers, "None of New Perspectives' achievements happen without our dedicated columnists and authors, who so willingly share their expertise with our readers to move them to places of greater professional vision."

Spence has served as the publication’s editor in chief since 2005, after working for 34 years at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, NH, where he founded and directed the internal audit and compliance functions. Under the direction of Spence, AHIA’s New Perspectives journal has received the 2010 Apex Award of Excellence, Magazine & Journal Writing, Magazines & Journals—Print Over 32; 2009 Apex Award of Excellence for Most Improved Journal, as well as Regular Departments & Columns; and a 2008 Gold Circle Awards honorable mention—peer-reviewed journals.

Founded in 1981, AHIA is a network of experienced healthcare internal auditing professionals who are responsible for assessing and evaluating enterprise risk in a complex and dynamic healthcare environment. Through its highly regarded annual conference, online tools, professional guidance, and award winning publication, New Perspectives, AHIA helps elevate and advance the internal audit professional to be an authoritative voice and strategic partner within healthcare. Visit www.ahia.org for more information or to join our network.

Healthcare Group Endorses Authoritative Guidance Framework

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. — The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) and the Association of Healthcare Internal Auditors (AHIA) are pleased to announce the AHIA’s formal endorsement of the mandatory components of the International Professional Practice Framework (IPPF).

Established by The IIA, the IPPF provides “mandatory” and “strongly recommended” authoritative guidance for internal audit practitioners all around the world. The framework was developed through a rigorous process of due diligence and approvals of international committees. The IPPF’s mandatory components include the official Definition of Internal Auditing, the International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing, and the Code of Ethics. Strongly recommended components include Position Papers, Practice Advisories, and Practice Guides. The IPPF is designed to help ensure internal audit efficiency, effectiveness, and professionalism.

“The healthcare field is home to an essential segment of the internal audit profession,” says Director of Standards and Guidance Lily Bi, CIA. “And the AHIA’s official recognition and endorsement of the IPPF is a significant step toward helping ensure healthcare internal audit practitioners adhere to the well recognized international standards for the profession.”

The IIA and the AHIA have long maintained a strong relationship built upon mutual respect, shared goals, and a commitment to quality internal auditing all around the globe. Both organizations view the AHIA’s resolution to endorse the IPPF as a natural progression of their individual and combined efforts to advocate for internal audit professionalism.

According to AHIA Chair Mike Fabrizius, CIA, the inherent changing landscape in healthcare is both a challenge and an opportunity for internal auditors. “Our members work in a dynamic industry and strive to meet increasing stakeholder expectations that require a sound conceptual framework,” says Fabrizius. “The AHIA Board of Directors’ enthusiastic endorsement of the IPPF on behalf of our members reflects our commitment to the highest standards of internal audit knowledge, competency, excellence, and professionalism.”

ABOUT THE IIA

Established in 1941, The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) is an international professional association with global headquarters in Altamonte Springs, Fla., USA. The IIA is the internal audit profession's global voice, recognized authority, acknowledged leader, chief advocate, and principal educator. Members work in internal auditing, risk management, governance, internal control, information technology audit, education, and security.

ABOUT THE AHIA

Founded in 1981, the Association of Healthcare Internal Auditors (AHIA) is a network of experienced healthcare internal audit professionals who are responsible for assessing and evaluating enterprise risk in a complex and dynamic healthcare environment. Through its highly regarded annual conference, online tools, professional guidance, and award-winning publication, New Perspectives, AHIA helps elevate and advance the internal audit professional to be an authoritative voice and strategic partner within healthcare. Visit www.ahia.org for more information or to join our network.

The Association of Healthcare Internal Auditors Elects 2011 Officers

Denver, Colo., February 23, 2011: The Association of Healthcare Internal Auditors (AHIA) membership has elected new Board of Director leadership to continue its role as the premier resource and advocate for internal audit professionals in healthcare.

The new officers are as follows:

• Michael Fabrizius, Chair: Mike is currently vice president of internal audit for Sharp HealthCare. Sharp is a not-for-profit integrated delivery system in San Diego, CA. He has 25 years experience in various chief internal audit executive positions in the healthcare industry. Fabrizius is a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) and Certified Public Accountant (CPA). He graduated from Northern Illinois University with both an MBA and BS in Accounting. Mike has previously served AHIA in various Board and Committee roles. He has also been active in The Institute of Internal Auditors, including Chairman of the International Board in 1997/1998.

• Joyce Lang, Vice Chair: Joyce is the director of management audit services for Legacy Health, a not-for-profit healthcare provider system with six hospitals in the Portland, OR metropolitan region. Ms. Lang has led internal audit programs in the healthcare and transportation industries for over 15 years. She is a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) and Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Ms. Lang received her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from California State University at Northridge. She has served AHIA as its Secretary/Treasurer and the Chair of three annual conferences, and has been active in The Institute of Internal Auditors and other professional and industry associations.

• Robert Michalski, Secretary-Treasurer: Robert is Chief Compliance Officer for Baylor Health Care System, which is a faith-based not-for-profit health care provider system in Dallas, TX. Baylor serves nearly 1.4 million patients each year and recorded $3.8 billion in total operating revenue in fiscal year 2010. Mr. Michalski has 18 years of health care experience in consulting, patient accounting and has served as Compliance Officer with internal audit responsibilities for two health systems for over ten of those years. Mr. Michalski received a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Health Administration degree from The Ohio State University in Columbus, OH and is certified in Healthcare Compliance (CHC). He has been active in the AHIA for several years including speaking at their national conferences and serving on the planning committee for the national conference the last four years.

AHIA’s Board also includes Deborah Radke, director of medicine operational audits for John Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD; Heidi Crosby, director of audit services for Trinity Health in Farmington Hills, MI; Steve Gasparich, regional director for Providence Health & Services in Beaverton, OR; Linda McKee, chief audit executive for Sentara Healthcare in Norfolk, VA; Debra Muscio, corporate audit, ethics and compliance officer for Central Connecticut Health Alliance in New Britain, CT and Kelly Nueske, director of enterprise risk services for Sinaiko Healthcare Consulting, Inc. in Los Angeles, CA.

Founded in 1981, AHIA is a network of experienced healthcare internal auditing professionals who are responsible for assessing and evaluating enterprise risk in a complex and dynamic healthcare environment. Through its highly regarded annual conference, online tools, professional guidance, and award winning publication, New Perspectives, AHIA helps elevate and advance the internal audit professional to be an authoritative voice and strategic partner within healthcare. Visit www.ahia.org for more information or to join our network.