CHICAGO (Jan. 2, 2019) — American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) members elected Valerie J. Watzlaf, PhD, MPH, RHIA, FAHIMA, as president/chair of the 2019 Board of Directors. Her one-year term began Jan.1.

Dr. Watzlaf is vice chair of education and associate professor within the department of health information management (HIM) in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (SHRS) at the University of Pittsburgh. She also holds a secondary appointment in the Graduate School of Public Health. In those capacities, she teaches and performs research in the areas of HIM, epidemiology, quality improvement, statistics, and long-term care.

Dr. Watzlaf has worked as an HIM practitioner and consulted in several healthcare organizations in HIM, long-term care, and epidemiology. She has served/chaired many AHIMA committees including the Data Quality Task Force, Coding, Policy, and Strategy Committee, Research Committee, Council on Accreditation, Council for Excellence in Education, AHIMA Board of Directors, and the AHIMA Foundation Board of Directors. She is also on the editorial advisory board for the Journal of AHIMA and Perspectives in HIM. Watzlaf has published extensively in the field of HIM and has delivered more than 100 presentations and authored more than 50 publications.

Dr. Watzlaf has received the AHIMA Research Award, the Pennsylvania Health Information Management Association’s Distinguished Member Award, and the University of Pittsburgh's SHRS Distinguished Alumnus Award.

“Right now, associations need strong board leaders who are forward thinking, willing to make difficult decisions, and have a deep understanding of the needs of their members and the industry,” said AHIMA CEO Wylecia Wiggs Harris, PhD, CAE. “AHIMA is fortunate to have such strong leadership during a time of rapid change in the health information management profession.”

"I'm honored to be leading the association and very proud of what the HIM profession has accomplished," said Watzlaf. "I look forward to working with the rest of the AHIMA Board of Directors to positively support the association and the profession."

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