Welcome to
Montana Chapter
President's Welcome
Greetings from your Montana Chapter of HFMA 2022-2023 President, Tesa Topley.
I am excited to serve the chapter for the upcoming year and look forward to seeing what the next 12 months bring to our amazing chapter. A special shout out to Kelly Akkerman for leading our chapter last year. You were a great “el Presidente” and you are leaving big shoes to fill…and possibly an empty shot glass.
Here is a little info about me: I am born and raised in MT, left for a bit, and returned home where we are ecstatic to raise our boys – Logan (16) and Hoot (15). These boys are my light and my reason for living and cussing. I have been busy the last 9 months teaching them to drive and there are many days I get to work frazzled and sweaty. Russ is my partner in crime in raising these hooligans and there are days I say “I am raising 3 boys”! We all revolve around our tennis-ball-loving-rescue-puppers Bailey. I enjoy kayaking the rivers, following the boys around the state for cross country and track meets, and working on miscellaneous artsy projects around the house and she-shed.

“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life” …unless if you choose healthcare! I started in coding in 1997 and have continued in the HIM arena since then. I love the organization, structure and diversity of HIM. I enjoy privacy, release of information, compliance…but I always seem to fall back into coding. When there is a backlog, I jump in and code my stress away! I am not your typical HFMA-er…but I have grown to love it so much! I enjoy learning about customer service, being a patient advocate and the entire Patient Access process (except the piece of asking patients for money).
I have found that serving the MT chapter members is a highlight in my “work” career. I volunteered to be on the Board purely by peer pressure (Thank you Laurie Pierce!) but have thoroughly enjoyed all aspects of volunteering for our chapter. I have met some of the most amazing people that I truly am honored to call friends. If you are looking to branch out and meet new people, volunteer on one of our many committees! I am looking forward to our Fall Conference – exciting keynote speakers, relevant and up-to-date education, our amazing Business Partners, and all of us together again. We have quite a few fun events added to the event so be sure to join us. Mark your calendars for October 19-21 in Billings!
Cheers to all of our wonderful MT Chapter Members!
Tesa Topley, RHIA, CRCR, CICA
