President’s Welcome

Greetings Greater Heartland Chapter Members!

My Name is Jana Cook, and I will be the President of the Greater Heartland Chapter during the 2022-2023 Chapter year. I have worked in healthcare finance for 20+ years and as a Chief Financial Officer at Phelps Health for the last six years. I have been married to my husband, Justin, for 24 years, and we have three kids, Emma, age 17, Gabriella, age 14 and Dexter, age nine. I spend most of my weekends and free evenings chasing my kids around at their various sports events, including volleyball, soccer, baseball, football and basketball. This Mama is partial to volleyball! 

I joined HFMA in 2006 and one of the first events I attended was a session for finance professionals who were new to healthcare. I can honestly say this session was a great introduction for me to learn about all the complexities of healthcare finance, but most importantly, it opened my eyes to the great resources HFMA provides. Over the last 15+ years, I have attended many local events, annual conferences, read countless articles and magazines, and most significantly, networked and partnered with many of you!  Through my participation in HFMA, I have met many people whom I am honored to call friends.  

During the last few years, our roles as healthcare finance professionals has evolved as COVID-19 has forced our organizations to pivot quickly and do more with less. We have faced loss of volumes (elective procedures), staffing shortages, supply shortages, COVID-19 surges, rising inflation, payment cuts and the list continues. These challenges necessitated the need for me to be a resource in my organization beyond counting beans (I can say that as a CPA) and to be a resource that can be counted on to help problem solve, plan and develop those around me. This year, I have specifically focused on understanding the challenges my organization faces (outside of Finance) and that has changed my outlook on how I can support my organization as the CFO.

My chosen theme for this Chapter year is Count on Us! As a member of the Greater Heartland Chapter, we want you to Count on Us to provide the following invaluable resources to support you as a finance professional:

• Count on Us to provide educational opportunities around industry initiatives
• Count on Us to provide networking opportunities for you to connect with your peers
• Count on Us to connect you to resources that can provide solutions
• Count on Us to help you grow professionally
• Count on Us to provide certification training
• Count on Us to be a listening ear

COVID-19 taught our industry the importance of collaborating with each other. During this Chapter year, we want to hear from you! Please share the things you like or don’t like, education topics and networking ideas. Getting feedback from our members will help make sure we have a successful Chapter year. Contact me via email at [email protected] or at linkedin.com/in/jana-cook.

I want to officially thank those that have gone before me as Past-Presidents of the Greater Heartland Chapter, including Kyle Lee, Jean Nyberg, Connie Stimpson and Kevin Bohnert as well as all of our legacy chapters Past-Presidents. Because of each of you, our Chapter has grown and unified to be a Chapter that supports our finance professionals statewide. Kyle, Jean, Connie and Kevin, each of you have demonstrated servant leadership and your enthusiasm for HFMA has been a great inspiration to me!

I look forward to working alongside of all our great volunteers during the 2022-2023 Chapter year and meeting each of you at a live Chapter event! Thank you for your support, and I can’t wait for us to get started!

Sincerely,

Jana Cook, MBA, CPA
Greater Heartland Chapter President 2022-2023