Journal of AHIMA - July 2011

Dear Colleagues, This year will be remembered for the powerful forces of nature that threatened and destroyed communities across the county, bringing hardship and suffering to the lives lived within them. Anyone who knows someone—and everyone who is someone—suffering in the aftermath understands the profound loss and struggle to rebuild. Yet, our individual suffering—as health information managers working to rebuild our personal lives—does not absolve our unbroken obligation to recover and secure as much patient information as possible.

That is why the AHIMA Foundation is initiating the Health Information Relief Operation (HIRO) Fund, an ongoing recovery source to assist HIM professionals whose lives and communities have been shattered by natural or man-made catastrophes. Through the generosity of AHIMA members and HIM’s greater professional community, and started off with a $10,000 donation by AHIMA, the HIRO Fund (pronounced “hero”) will provide material relief to those whose professional practice has been shaken beyond the call of duty.

We are proud to extend this request for your assistance in helping those who are struggling to piece together their lives while, in many cases, helping restore healthcare services for neighborhoods that have been torn apart.

This is not the last year disasters will strike, but it will be the last year the health information community is unprepared to immediately answer the call of entire communities of colleagues in need. But we can only do so with your help and support. Please, be a real HIRO! Support the AHIMA Foundation’s HIRO Fund today.