On behalf of the Canadian Health Information Management Association (CHIMA) Board of Directors, we would like to take this opportunity to thank our members, partners, and the CHIMA staff for their support and unwavering commitment to the Health Information Management (HIM®) profession.

This past year was filled with positive change and a renewed sense of community within the HIM® field. Our national conference connected HIM® professionals from across the country, who enjoyed the opportunity to engage and learn from their colleagues. We will build on this success throughout 2019 by hosting chapter events from coast to coast, the first of which takes place in Vancouver, British Columbia on March 22, 2019.

This past year also saw the arrival of our new CEO & Registrar, Jeff Nesbitt, who is fully committed to engaging the HIM® profession to both deepen and expand the value we offer to our members and stakeholders across Canada. He took his first trips to central Canada last year and will be traveling across the country through 2019 to meet our members, educational partners, and stakeholders in the other regions. 

We continue on the path we set out in the strategic plan, which was approved in 2017, to make a difference to Canadians through the use of health information.

Governance highlights:

• New Board Director members in 2018/19:
– Monique Rasmussen, CHIM (British Columbia)
– Nona Gatchalian, MBA, CHIM (British Columbia)
– Dr. Keith Denny, Director Clinical Standards and Quality, CIHI (Ontario)

• Selection and onboarding of our new CEO & Registrar, Jeff Nesbitt

• In-person Board of Director’s meetings held in September 2018

• Joint board and Chapter Advisory Council (chapter chairs) meeting held September 2018

Robert Van Oort, MLT, CHIM     
Chair, CHIMA Board of Directors   

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There are two things that tend to happen at the start of each new year: we make a promise to engage with our gym memberships a little more often and we receive our HIM® professional membership notices through CHIMA. 

Since joining the Health Information Management Association and College in August, I’ve had the opportunity to meet with and talk to people about the difference the HIM® profession makes to Canadians. From Whitehorse to Newfoundland and everywhere in between, people have been warm and friendly in engaging with me to share their ideas on where we have opportunities, challenges, and areas for improvement. Welcome Video Message from CEO Jeff Nesbitt

As we lean into 2019, I want to share my assessment of where we’re at. I understand that you want more value from CHIMA – more engagement, more advancement and more recognition.

I know that we must do a better job of building a community within Canada’s HIM® profession, because our daily work is critical to the care that Canadians receive.

You play an important role in building this community. When you volunteer, participate, or pay your membership dues, you are advancing both yourself and the profession. You’re creating a stronger community of likeminded professionals across the country who recognize the importance that information makes to the people of Canada. You see the difference the profession makes each day you show up to work.

So just as we look at that gym membership and recognize the benefits of walking through those doors, the same applies to your engagement in the HIM® profession through CHIMA. As our national team begins 2019, we’re excited to get down to work to both deepen and expand our contribution to advancing the profession – and we look forward to working with all of you to make a difference.

I hope you enjoy our first newsletter of 2019. I’m sure you will find both a value for yourself and recognize the positive contributions that we’re making together in the HIM® profession.

Jeff Nesbitt
CEO & Registrar