Award Categories

The Triumph Awards recognize excellence in the following areas:

Distinguished Member
Champion
Community Outreach
e-Him
Educator
Legacy
Mentor
Pioneer
Research
Rising Star

Distinguished Member Award

Award Description
The Distinguished Member Award is AHIMA’s highest award of honor. This award celebrates an individual with a long, exceptional history of HIM contributions. It is awarded to an outstanding individual whose record of contributions to the field over many years is truly exceptional.

Qualifications
Qualified individuals are HIM professionals who have made significant contributions to the HIM field through dedicated volunteer service, innovative professional practice, education, research, or publishing. These are just a few of the ways an individual qualifies.

Potential sources for nominees include the following: ACE members, State Leaders, Fellows, and other HIM professionals who have distinguished themselves as leaders.

Guidelines
Nomination criteria for this award include the following:

Volunteer service as an officer, director, committee or council chair or member, task force chair or member, special project director, CoP Facilitator, or representative of the HIM field at government hearings for AHIMA or other national healthcare associations
Significant original research or authorship, editing, or service on editorial board for journals, books, monographs, and other publications that advance the HIM profession
Advancement of professional practice through development of new theory; active dissemination of knowledge about cutting-edge practice innovations, or leadership in a specialty area
Regular presenter at HIM conferences and other educational events; respected instructor in academic HIM programs; or developer of groundbreaking teaching strategies

Champion Award

Award Description
The Champion Award honors those whose long-term and enthusiastic support of AHIMA and the HIM profession has advanced AHIMA’s capacity to achieve its mission and/or advanced HIM practice.

Qualifications
Qualified nominees are individuals, groups, or corporations who have worked tirelessly to support the HIM profession by advancing AHIMA’s leadership position and/or who have developed or refined practice theory, demonstrated leadership, or introduced innovation and creativity to current practice. These are best characterized as individuals or organizations that go above and beyond in their quest to make the HIM profession thrive.

Potential sources for nominees include the following: ACE members, State Leaders, Fellows, and other HIM professionals who have distinguished themselves as leaders

Guidelines
Nomination criteria for this award include the following:

Advancing legislative initiatives that promote the interests of the HIM profession
Serving the needs of AHIMA members through advocacy of patient rights and confidentiality; educating the public regarding health information, or support and promotion of professional practice standards
Positioning the HIM profession as a leadership force in the healthcare industry
Introduction of creative practice innovations through advances in technology, development of more effective quality management measures, or new methods of promoting employee motivation and job satisfaction
Demonstrated leadership in HIM education
Employing HIM practice in alternate careers not limited to the healthcare industry
Providing inspiration, guidance, and opportunities for emerging leaders to participate in AHIMA's volunteer structure and to build meaningful leadership experiences
Significant support of key AHIMA initiatives

Community Outreach Award (New 2009)

Award Description
The Community Outreach Award honors those HIM professionals or groups who have embraced the need for public outreach and encouraged the overall management of health information. The nominee should have provided information on HIM topics to the public (e.g., medical identity theft, HIPAA, and privacy/confidentiality. Activities should include presentations, development of toolkits, innovative programs, and other forms of outreach focused on empowering consumers to be proactive participants in their healthcare using health information.

Qualifications
HIM professionals or groups who exemplify vision and compassionate leadership in promoting consumer health awareness and advocacy through dedicated volunteer service, innovative outreach and a spirit of collaboration and teamwork.

Guidelines
Required nomination criteria for this award include the following:

Presentations to community groups in a variety of settings
Development and/or participation in health campaigns with a focus on HIM roles
Employing social networking tools to increase community awareness (using technologies such as blogs, Facebook, YouTube, etc.)
Promoting PHRs and other tools in community forums
A record of motivating other HIM professionals to develop and deliver consumer outreach programs to promote community health awareness either in their work setting or in the community at large
Encouraging professionals in other fields (e.g. public health departments, patient education coordinators, patient information resource coordinators, librarians) to partner with HIM professionals to present information about consumer health and other HIM topics (e.g., Individuals who have played a strong role in the Community Education Coordinator (CEC) program for the PHR campaign).
Groups or individuals who have obtained funding to promote community education
Educating the public on the roles of HIM professionals
Advocacy through contacting local, state, and federal representatives to communicate messages regarding the importance of consumer empowerment in health information

e-HIM® Award

Award Description
The e-HIM Award honors those individuals, groups, or organizations who have made important advances in areas related to e-HIM® - supporting the vision of health information as electronic, patient-centered, comprehensive, longitudinal, accessible and credible.

Qualifications
Qualified individuals are HIM professionals or organizations who have helped “push the envelope” in the transition to electronic health information management and have advanced the state-of-the-art through their work.

Potential sources for nominees include the following: ACE members, State Leaders, Fellows, and other HIM professionals who have distinguished themselves as leaders

Guidelines
Nomination criteria for this award include the following:

Participating in setting facility-wide standards
Implementing e-HIM®systems that impact the quality and safety of the delivery of healthcare within an organization
Performing systems analysis to develop or design e-HIM® systems

Educator Award

Award Description
The Educator Award honors those who demonstrate excellence in preparing the next generation of professionals for their HIM careers.

Qualifications
Qualified individuals or departments of educators/instructors who teach in a formal health information administration or health information technology program that grants associate, baccalaureate or masters degrees, and who are involved in AHIMA activities at the state or national level.

Potential sources for nominees include the following: ACE members, State Leaders, Fellows, and other HIM professionals who have distinguished themselves as leaders.

Guidelines
Nomination criteria for this award include the following:

Development and implementation of creative teaching tools and methods
High standards of excellence and high expectations of students
Awareness of the instructor’s impact as a role model
Commitment to student mentoring in the classroom and beyond
Outstanding contributions to the research base of the field

Legacy Award

Award Description
The Legacy Award honors a significant contribution to the knowledge base of the HIM field through an insightful recent publication, building on the enduring tradition of the Edna K. Huffman Literary Award.

Qualifications
Qualified individuals or "teams" are those who have authored a landmark book, book chapter, article, monograph, or instructional guide that was published in some form (including electronic media) by a recognized professional association or publisher within the last two years.

Potential sources for nominees include the following: ACE members, State Leaders, Fellows, and other HIM professionals who have distinguished themselves as leaders

Guidelines
Nomination criteria for this award include the following:

Presenting new theoretical concepts or further development of concepts previously advanced by others
Detailing hands-on practice techniques that are ready for implementation
Providing tools to educate health information professionals or the general public

Mentor Award

Award Description
The Mentor Award honors individuals with long records of encouraging students or colleagues to realize their full potential who have helped others find ways to achieve their best.

Qualifications
Qualified individuals or "teams" are those rare professional colleagues and friends who touch our lives and launch us toward new horizons. Posthumous awards may be given.

Potential sources for nominees include the following: ACE members, State Leaders, Fellows, and other HIM professionals who have distinguished themselves as leaders.

Guidelines
Nomination criteria for this award include the following:

A record of motivating talented young people to enter the HIM profession
Providing ongoing, long-term career guidance to one or more HIM professionals.
Encouraging young professionals to become involved in AHIMA activities at the state and local level and supporting their efforts.
Fostering enthusiasm for the profession
Willingness to provide clinical sites and supervision for multiple students designed to help them achieve exemplary HIM competencies
Support of the training process for new professionals through teaching, serving on panels or advisory committees, and advising individual students
Serve as a mentor who guides students to new opportunities and fosters their enthusiasm for the profession

Pioneer Award (New 2009)

Award Description
The Pioneer Award honors those individuals, groups or organizations who are focused on moving HIM into the future of the healthcare industry. The Pioneer Award honors persons or groups who have promoted important advances in areas related to HIM in supporting the vision of e-HIM®, standards development, patient safety, systems development, and any domain where visionary thinking has made a difference. These members demonstrate their ability to provide insight into the future for HIM practice and whose activities takes HIM to places it hasn't been before.

Qualifications
Qualified nominees are individuals who have utilized breakthrough thinking and actions for HIM that has demonstrated the future of the profession.

Guidelines
Nomination criteria for this award include the following:

The introduction of creative practice innovations through advances in technology;
A demonstrated ability of a forward thinking leader in the healthcare industry
Implementing systems that impact the quality and safety of the delivery of healthcare within an organization, across multiple organizations or states
Participating in standards development to move HIM implementation to a new level
Demonstrated activities that have opened the door for others to make advances in HIM practice

Research Award

Award Description
The Research Award honors those who have made an outstanding contribution to HIM research.

Qualifications
HIM professionals or groups who exemplify unusual vision and leadership in understanding HIM philosophy and conduct, or support research demonstrating the application of these concepts to healthcare.

Potential sources for nominees include the following: ACE members, State Leaders, Fellows, and other HIM professionals who have distinguished themselves as leaders.

Guidelines
Nomination criteria for this award include the following:

Conducting research of high merit, which significantly contributes to HIM theory or practice
Developing institutional research capabilities
Developing programs to train researchers for the profession
Serving as mentor to new researchers

Rising Star Award

Award Description
The Rising Star Award recognizes and encourages the best of the fresh new talent being trained in health information administration or health information technology degree granting-program nationwide. It honors a gifted student or promising new professional who embodies great hope as we look to the future of the HIM profession.

Qualifications
Qualified individuals are a) students enrolled at the time of nomination in an approved HIA or HIT degree program, or who have graduated in the last three months; or b) HIM professionals who have been credentialed within the last seven years. Nominees must demonstrate significant potential for future leadership, innovation, creativity, and administrative capacity.

Potential sources for nominees include the following: ACE members, State Leaders, Fellows, and other HIM professionals who have distinguished themselves as leaders.

Guidelines
Nomination criteria for this award include the following:

Willingness to change tradition, take risks, think critically and to lead others in these processes
Exceptional problem-solving ability with the capacity to envision the “big picture” in health information management and to make decisions accordingly
Demonstrates excellence in the management of personnel, finances, or information systems
Demonstrates commitment to the HIM profession through active participation in local, state, and national AHIMA activities-especially those that promote HIM education