CMSA Presents Prestigious Awards and Installs New Board Members at 29th Annual Conference & Expo

LITTLE ROCK, Ark., Sept. 19, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The Case Management Society of America is proud to announce the recipients of CMSA's 2019 awards. The award winners, as well as the installment of new national board members, took place at CMSA's 29th Annual Conference & Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada during the week of June 10-14, 2019.

The 2019 Case Manager of the Year is Mary McLaughlin Davis, DNP, MSN, ACNS-BC, NEA-BC, CCM. Mary is known for her dedication and commitment to CMSA, both on the chapter level and over the last 8 years while serving in several roles, including president, on the national board. Over her 43 year career she has significantly and positively contributed to the practice of case management, establishing case management policies and procedures, integrating new case management programs and transition models, launching new clinics, developing and delivering continuing education curricula and participating in quality and process improvement as well as patient care enhancement initiatives. Currently Mary is senior director of case management at Cleveland Clinic Health System.

The 2019 Award of Service Excellence recipient is Cheryl A. Acres, RN, CCM, CDP.

Ms. Acres has been an RN for over 39 years, and in 1998, obtained her certification as a case manager (CCM). Her clinical practice area includes acute care and home health care. Cheryl is an entrepreneur in case management, with an independent practice (Comprehensive Care Management, LLC) focused on the elderly and their families. She is involved with CMSA and other organizations, where she shares her insight, knowledge and skills. She is unwavering in her advocacy for her patients, and on numerous occasions has stepped in personally to help them with needs such as transportation arrangements, getting prescriptions filled and accompanying patients to medical appointments.

CMSA's ninth Lifetime Achievement Award was bestowed upon Patricia Susan Agius, RN, BS, CCM, CPHQ. Patricia's 46-year career began with her LPN credential in 1973, progressed as she served in many case management roles and continues today as she volunteers her leadership and time for the Mid Atlantic Chapter of CMSA. Pat has shared her strong knowledge of case management and clinical guidelines for decades, including providing feedback on revisions of CMSA's Standards of Practice for Case Management and establishing proclamations from state legislators to recognize case management.

The CMSA Foundation is proud to sponsor the Case Management Practice Improvement Award and Case Management Research Award. This year, the Case Management Practice Improvement Award recipient is Coordinated Behavioral Care, Inc (accepted on behalf of Barry Granek, Senior Director) for "Pathway Home". Kelson Zehr accepted the Case Management Research Award for "Case Study: Triad Case Management Model Applying Human Performance Technology."

In Las Vegas CMSA installed four new national board members. They are:

PRESIDENT - ELECT
Melanie Prince, RN, MSN, RN-BC, CM
2019- 2020

SECRETARY
Janet Coulter MSN, MS, RN, CCM
2019-2022

DIRECTORS
Colleen Morley, DNP, RN, CMCN, ACM-RN
2019-2022

Tracey Armstrong, MBA, BSN, RN, PHN
2019-2022

Jose Alejandro, PhD, RN-BC, NEA-BC, MBA, CCM, FACHE, FAAN, CMSA national president, said, ""It's exciting to recognize the accomplishments of these distinguished case management professionals. Their contributions make a significant difference in the lives of others and exemplify CMSA's practice standards."

CMSA executive director, Kathleen Fraser MSN, MHA, RN-BC, CCM, CRRN, remarked, "All of our recipients are so deserving of their awards and make me so proud to be both a CMSA member and serve as executive director. They are all such wonderful reflections and representations of our great organization and I appreciate their contributions to our outstanding profession."

CMSA sends congratulations to our winners, and thanks everyone who helped with the process. For information about CMSA's Awards, visit http://www.cmsa.org/Awards.

About the Case Management Society of America (CMSA)

Established in 1990, the Case Management Society of America is the leading non-profit association dedicated to the support and development of the profession of case management. CMSA serves more than 30,000 members, subscribers and participants, and 80 local and international chapters through educational forums, networking opportunities, legislative advocacy and established standards to advance the profession. For more information, visit http://www.cmsa.org or follow CMSA on Twitter @CMSANational.

SOURCE CMSA