Fall 2011 Update

LCMA General meetings are held at Pacificsource on International Blvd. The meeting starts at 6:15pm and is finished by 7:45pm. We offer 1 hour AAMA CEU with each meeting. There is no charge for AAMA members or students and retirees. There is a $5.00 per meeting charge for non-members. The business meetings of the chapter are usually held on the last Tuesday of the month. We meet at the Willamette Valley Cancer Institute on Country Club Road. They start at 6:00pm and usually last 1-1 ½ hours. Anyone may attend these meetings and I encourage you to do so. I wish to thank them for allowing us to meet in their facility. Lane chapter has been considering the restructuring of their educational and business meetings due to lack of participation and attendance.

Lane Chapter is planning the OSMA 2012 Annual Conference, to be held at the Red Lion Inn in Eugene; April 19-22. A coding seminar will be held on April 18^th, just prior to the conference. Featured speakers are Sandy Erlewine, CMA (AAMA), CPC of Yakima, WA and Barbara Parker, CMA (AAMA), CPC, CCS-P of Silverdale, WA. Topics included are Diagnosis Coding, Procedural Coding with Update for 2012, Avoiding Fraud and Abuse, Compliance is Critical, and Health Care Reform. Registration forms for both of these will be posted on the OSMA website. If you are interested in helping with either of these events, please contact me.

As we have been doing all year, Lane Chapter is still collecting non-perishable food items to be donated to Food for Lane County. So far to date, we have collected over 400 pounds of food for members of our community that are less fortunate than us. We have also started to collect pet food for the Greenhill Humane Society, to help with expenses in sheltering stray or abandoned animals before they are adopted.

I want to thank Pacificsource Health Plans for allowing us to use their facility for our meetings. It is an excellent location for us. Your support of LCMA is greatly appreciated. Also, let me give a big round of applause to Tony Baker for setting up the room and staying for our meetings. THANKS, truly is not enough!

Once again, thank you for your confidence in allowing me to serve as President of the Lane Chapter of Medical Assistants. It is an honor and a privilege that I don’t take lightly. I believe my theme for the year states my feelings well, Pride, Passion, Perseverance. Be proud of your credentials, be Passionate of your career and Persevere………don’t let anything get you down!

Candy Miller, CMA (AAMA)

LCMA President 2011-2012