ACDIS is currently considering the formation of three local groups in the state of California. If you are interested in participating in meetings in northern, central, or southern regions of the state please e-mail ACDIS Associate Director Melissa Varnavas at mvarnavas@cdiassociation.com.

MaryAnn Shanley, RN, clinical documentation specialists at  The Hospital of Central Connecticut hopes to meet with other CDI specialists from "The Constitution State." For information, e-mail mshanley@THOCC.org or call 860/224-5900 ext. 2168.

The Florida ACDIS Chapter meets quarterly. For information, contact Sylvia Hoffman, RN, Clinical Documentation Specialist, Tampa (FL) General Hospital at shoffman@tgh.org.

Bonnie I. Epps, MN, RN, manager of Clinical Documentation Improvement at Emory Healthcare, Inc., in Atlanta and her compatriot James Howell Doster, RN, also at Emory in Atlanta, have agreed to host the Georgia contingent of CDI specialists. For information regarding upcoming meetings contact Epps by phone at 404/712-4550 or by e-mail at Bonnie.Epps@emoryhealthcare.org.

Northern Illinois CDI Network started in 2008 and meets quarterly. The group currently includes 17 hospitals in the Chicago area. Contact Linnea Thennes, clinical documentation specialist at Northwest Community Hospital, Arlington Heights, at lthennes@nch.org.

Dee Schad, RN, BSN, CCDS, CDMP nurse manager at Clark Memorial Hospital in Jeffersonville, IN, hopes to gather CDI professionals in the southern Indiana area. Contact her at 812/283-2632 or by e-mail at dee.schad@clarkmemorial.org.

The New Orleans CDIS Chapter meets every other month. For information contact Melissa Mayer at melissamayer@ejgh.org, Royceann Fugler at rfugler@ejgh.org, or Lindy Sells at Lsells@ejgh.org.

The Maryland Hospital Association Clinical Documentation Improvement Workgroup meets bi-monthly, the third Friday of the month from 1:30-3 p.m., at the Maryland Hospital Association Headquarters in Elkridge. Contact Christine Mobley, RN, director of clinical documentation at Prince George's Hospital Center Christine.Mobley@dimensionshealth.org, or James Nagel at jen.01@ex.uchs.org.

Sharin L. Cancilla, RHIT, CDS over at Botsford Hospital in Farmington Hill, MI, has been networking with a few local hospitals there but hopes more will connect for more formal meetings. Contact her at scancilla@botsford.org.

Michelle L. Callahan, RN, CDI lead specialist at the Hennepin County Medical Center, Minneapolis seeks CDI from the Viking state to join regular networking meetings. E-mail her at Michelle.Callahan@hcmed.org.

Joann A. Agin, RHIT, regional manager, data quality at Carondelet Health in Kansas City, MO, is gathering CDI professionals in her area. For information, call 816/943-2115 or e-mail jagin@carondelet.com.

Michelle Clyne, RN, BS, Clinical Documentation Improvement Specialist at Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney, NE, hopes to gather CDI professionals in the Midwest region. For information, contact her at 308/865-7951.

Laura J. Werner, MSN, documentation specialist at Carson Valley Medical Center in Gardnerville, NV, wants to gather clinical documentation improvement specialists from the area for networking meetings. Contact her at 775/783-3064 or by e-mail at LWerner@cvmchospital.org.

Patty Spry, RN, Clinical Documentation Specialist at Emerson Hospital in Concord, MA, and Adrienne Gmeiner, RN, CCS, of Lawrence (MA) General Hospital co-chair the New England ACDIS Chapter. The group, active for more than a year, boasts more than 50 members. For information, e-mail PSpry@emersonhosp.org or adrienne.b.gmeiner@lawrencegeneral.org.

New Jersey ACDIS meets monthly at the offices of Reimbursement Review Associates, Inc., in East Brunswick, NJ. For information, contact Deborah Gardner-Brown, RHIT, CCS, C-CDI, at 732/238-4511 or e-mail Deborah@RRA-INC.Com.

Albany: Lois Rubin RN, BSN, CPUR, CCDS, lead clinical documentation specialist, Case Management Department, at St. Peters Hospital in Albany, NY, seeks to gather CDI professionals from the area for regular networking initiatives. Contact her at LRubin@sphcs.org.

Long Island: Adelaide M. La Rosa, RN, director of clinical documentation improvement for St. Francis Hospital in Roslyn, NY, plans to gather CDI specialists from the various municipalities of New York's Long Island. Contact her Adelaide.LaRosa@chsli.org.

Westchester County: Deanna Holowczak at Riverside Healthcare System in Yonkers encourages those from the New York City/Westchester County area to join for networking meeting. For information, e-mail dholowczak@riversidehealth.org.

The North Carolina ACDIS Chapter meets quarterly. For information contact Leah Taylor, RN, clinical documentation specialist at Iredell Memorial Hospital in Statesville,  by phone at 704/873-5661 ext. 3630, or by e-mail at leah.taylor@iredellmemorial.org.

Kristine Cilona, RN, documentation specialist at Mercy Medical Center in Canton, OH, hopes to connect with others from the Buckeye State. Contact her at Kristine.Cilona@csauh.com.

Teri Sholder, RN, BSN, CPC, manager of documentation specialists, in the Clinical Quality Deptartment at Kettering Medical Center in Dayton, OH, area, hopes to gather specialists from south western region to discuss documentation issues. Contact her at Teri.Sholder@khnetwork.org or call 937/395-8462.

Northeastern PA: CDI programs located in the Northeast Pennsylvania and Southern New York. For information, contact Sue Tiffany at tiffany_susan@guthrie.org.

Philadelphia: CDI specialists in the Philadelphia area interested in joining a local chapter can contact Debby Dallen, RN, Clinical Documentation Coordinator, at Albert Einstein Medical Center, in Philadelphia, at dallend@einstein.edu.

Southwestern PA: CDI groups in this area have meet regularly since May 2004. Originally meeting three times a year the group now meets bi-annually. For information, contact Josie Pearson, BSN, RN CDIS, from Memorial Medical Center in Johnstown, PA, via e-mail at jozierp@comcast.net.

ACDIS is currently considering the formation of local groups in Texas. If you are interested in participating in meetings please e-mail ACDIS Associate Director Melissa Varnavas at mvarnavas@cdiassociation.com.

Gwendolyn Valiani, RN, BS, Clinical Documentation Review Specialist, at MediCorp Health System in Fredericksburg, VA, wants to connect with other CDI professionals from the 10^th state in the Union. Contact her at gwen.valiani@medicorp.org.

Joan Kloster, RN, Clinical Documentation Specialist at Overlake Hospital Medical Center in Bellevue and Jennifer Woodworth, RN, BSN, manager of clinical documentation improvement at Multicare Health System in Tacoma have joined forces to create a CDI chapter in the Evergreen State. Contact Kloster at joan.kloster@overlakehospital.org or Woodworth at Jennifer.Woodworth@multicare.org.