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Just Associates' Beth Just Honored by CHIMA with its Legacy Award

Mackenzie Higgins is also named a Rising Star at CHIMA’s 2020 Annual Convention

Centennial, CO - (NewMediaWire) - October 7, 2020 - Just Associates, Inc., announced today that its late CEO and founder, Beth Just, received the CHIMA (Colorado Health Information Management Association) Legacy Award in honor of her life’s work advancing the HIM profession. The award was announced in conjunction with CHIMA’s 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting, where Just Associates’ identity manager, Mackenzie Higgins, also received the association’s Rising Star Award.

Just, MBA, RHIA, FAHIMA, passed away in July 2019 following a lengthy battle with cancer. Over the course of her 30-year career, she was dedicated to discovering and applying innovative solutions to the costs and challenges of maintaining patient data quality to improve patient care. She was equally dedicated to improving the HIM profession, ensuring its voice was heard and reshaping its role in an evolving—and often tumultuous—healthcare environment.

“Those of us fortunate enough to know Beth were continuously amazed by her tenacity, dedication and enthusiasm. She cared deeply for her employees, colleagues and the HIM profession as a whole, and we are grateful to CHIMA for honoring her memory with this Legacy Award,” said Lora Hefton, executive vice president, Just Associates. “She has left an enduring legacy that we at Just Associates remain dedicated to carrying out by serving our clients with the integrity and expertise she instilled in us all.”

The Legacy Award is for deceased or retired CHIMA members who exemplified the professional image of the association through partnership, leadership, research and development, mentoring, publications, advancement of the profession and/or recognition by other organizations. Just was a well-respected HIM leader, teacher and visionary who founded Just Associates in 2002 and built it into a nationally recognized leader in patient matching and health information data integrity and management. She was a tireless advocate for HIM and spoke frequently at leading state and national HIM and health IT association conferences. Just also served in numerous national and state volunteer roles throughout her career, including on the AHIMA board and as CHIMA past-president and board chair.

CHIMA also recognized Higgins with its 2020 Rising Star Award, which distinguishes up-and-coming HIM professionals who exemplify the professional image of the association and demonstrate significant potential for future leadership, innovation, creativity, volunteerism, service, and administrative capacity. Honorees have also made a strong commitment to the HIM profession through active participation in local, state, and national AHIMA activities, particularly those that promote HIM education.

Through her work, Higgins has shown an ability to develop relationships with her clients and peers while demonstrating her growing expertise of HIM’s best practices. Higgins, who joined Just Associates in 2017, chaired CHIMA’s Technology Committee for two years and was named the 2018 CHIMA Outstanding Volunteer. Higgins also participated as a panelist at the 2019 CHIMA Annual Meeting, sharing her experience navigating the world of a non-traditional HIM role in hopes of bringing a new perspective to the up-and-coming generation of HIM professionals. She also is a session presenter at the 2020 Annual Meeting.

"We are proud that Mackenzie has been recognized by CHIMA for her devotion to the HIM profession. She already exhibits many of the qualities Just Associates looks for in an up-and-coming leader and has shown her ability to develop relationships with her clients and peers while demonstrating her growing expertise of HIM best practices,” said Hefton. “Perhaps her most impressive quality is Mackenzie’s love of learning and commitment to improve with every project she leads. She embodies what it means to be a Rising Star in the HIM world.”

About Just Associates, Inc.
A recognized leader in health information data integrity and management for nearly two decades, Just Associates, Inc. (www.justassociates.com) is a healthcare data integration consulting firm that delivers superior value to its clients through improved patient matching. Just Associates has the process expertise and systems knowledge to deliver tailored, value-added solutions that improve clients’ financial outcomes and business processes, support delivery of quality patient care, and meet the expectations of diverse stakeholders through improved data integrity.

Elizabeth S Goar
8133332844
liz@npccs.com