ACDIS thanks the volunteers who have stepped forward to gather CDI professionals in their regions for networking and education purposes. We are pleased to announce the following new networking efforts:

• Alabama: Inspired by attending networking meetings in Georgia and Tennessee, CDI specialist Margaret Stephens, RN, MSN, CCDS, from Huntsville (AL) Hospital hopes to gather CDI-related professionals closer to home to share best practices. A teleconference for interested individuals will be held Friday, March 23, 10 a.m. (EST). For information, contact margaret.stephens@hhsys.org or ACDIS Associate Director Melissa Varnavas at mvarnavas@cdiassociation.com.
• Children’s/NICU network: ACDIS is developing a special networking group for CDI professionals working in children’s hospitals or looking to expand their current CDI program efforts to cover pediatric or neonatal intensive care units (NICU). An initial teleconference for interested individuals will be held Friday, March 23, 2 p.m. (EST). For information, contact ACDIS Associate Director Melissa Varnavas at mvaranvas@cdiassociation.com.
• Missouri: Sara Baine, MSN-Ed, CDI specialist at SoutheastHEALTH in Cape Girardeau, MO, hopes to gather CDI professionals from the intersection of Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Arkansas, and Tennessee. For information, contact her at 573/331-6932 or e-mail sbaine@SEhealth.org.
• Nebraska: Cindy Lungrin and Michelle Clyne from Catholic Health hope to gather interested professionals for networking purposes via telephone conference. For information, contact ACDIS Associate Director Melissa Varnavas at mvaranvas@cdiassociation.com.
• Philadelphia, PA: The first meeting of the Philadelphia/Southern New Jersey ACDIS Chapter will be held Thursday, March 22, 8-10:30 a.m., at Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center, in Camden, NJ. RSPV to Judi Bates via e-mail at Batesj@lourdesnet.org, or by phone at 856/757-3161. Or contact, Debby Dallen at dallend@einstein.edu, or by phone at 215/456-8902.
• Rochester, NY: Ruth Pfrengle, BSN, RN, director of utilization management at the University of Rochester Medical Center, volunteered to help facilitate networking opportunities in the region. For information, contact her at 585/273-3816 or e-mail ruth_pfrengle@urmc.rochester.edu.
• San Antonio/Austin, Texas: Barbara Presley, RN, CDI specialist at the University Medical Center Brackenridge in Austin volunteered to help professionals from the area to network. For information, contact her at 512/324-7679 or e-mail baPresley@seton.org.
• Houston, Texas: Pat Spooner, RN, CCS, independent contractor based in Spring, TX, hopes to gather CDI professionals from the greater Houston area. For information, contact her at 281/350-4135 or e-mail Budderpat@aol.com.  
• Vermont: Suzanne Schultz, RN, BSN, CCM, CCDS, CDI specialist at the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington, volunteered to connect CDI professionals in the state. For information, contact her at 802/847-2140 or e-mail suzanne.schultz@vtmednet.org.
• Washington: The Evergreen ACDIS Chapter of Northwest Washington seeks new volunteers to help lead the group in 2012. For information, contact Cathie Murphree, LPN, CCDS, Documentation Improvement Specialist/HIM, at St. Joseph Medical Center in Bellingham, at 360/788-6300 ext. 3429 or e-mail CMurphree@peacehealth.org.
• West Virginia: Sheila Harrison, RN, BSN, CDI specialist at the Charleston Area Medical Center, Teays Valley Division, volunteered to help get networking efforts started in the state. For information, contact her at 304/389-0689 or e-mail Sheila.Harrison@camc.org.