Staff Development
Region 2 Fall Institute offers educational sessions and new extras
January 6, 2020
8:18 pm
The Region 2 Fall Institute 2019, held Oct. 9-11 in Verona, New York, featured two pre-conference sessions and some new well-received additions to the event, according to Kristen Zebrowski, senior consultant at Healthcare Management Solutions in Vails Gate, New York, Hudson Valley Chapter past president and treasurer for Region 2 and Michele Mecomonaco, reimbursement manager at St. Joseph’s Health in Syracuse, New York, Central New York Chapter past president and regional executive for Region 2.
The two pre-sessions, which received very good evaluations by attendees, were:
- A CHFP, HFMA member-only study group, which included a chance to take Module I of the exam immediately following the presentation.
- A Medicare Cost Report 101 presentation, which was created after chapter leaders heard from members about the lack of understanding regarding the cost report and how the operations and transactions performed by various departments within an organization can impact the cost report and reimbursement from the Medicare program.
A few new additions to the event, which were well-received by the 381 institute attendees, included:
- A lounge area for taking calls and/or doing work as well as a lounge sponsorship opportunity.
- Use of the CVent App, which received positive reviews and allowed the event to go paper free.
- A “Jeans Day” for day 2 of the institute because it is held in October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Attendees could wear jeans in exchange for a donation to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. This effort raised $1,241 for the cause.
- A movie night, showing “12 Strong, The Declassified True Story of the Horse Soldiers,” which featured the story of one of the event’s keynote speakers, Mark Nutsch, who led a Green Beret team of U.S. Special Forces on a covert mission to Afghanistan.
Educational highlight
An educational highlight from the event was Hall of Fame speaker Connie Podesta’s presentation: “Life would be easy if it weren’t for other people – part II,” according to Zebrowski and Mecomonaco. Podesta, who spoke at the Region’s 2017 institute and earned rave reviews, wowed the audience again providing insight into the power of personality and tips on communication to increase engagement.
The next Region 2 Fall Institute is scheduled for Oct. 14-16, 2020.
