Della Collins receives 2010 Outstanding Achievement Award

Della Collins accepts the VMGMA/Medical Mutual Outstanding Achievement Award from Jim Kay, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Medical Mutual.

by Medical Mutual and Jody O’Neil, VMGMA Administrator.

Della Collins, Practice Manager of Endocrinology & Diabetes Center in Chesapeake, Va., received the Virginia Medical Group Management Association/ Medical Mutual Outstanding Achievement Award at the VMGMA Spring Conference on March 13 in Charlottesville, Va.
Ms Collins financially turned a failing medical practice into a thriving entity by:

• Researching ancillary services that could be billed for to increase the practice’s revenue. In 2 years, the practice went from $0 ancillary revenue to over $150,000.
• She was in charge of closing 2 practice locations and combining them into 1 new location which decreased operating costs while providing a location conducive to future expansion both clinically and administratively.
• She recruited 3 nurse practitioners which doubled patient capacity and practice income.
• She is fully credited with researching, selecting and implementing their Electronic Medical Records System and E-Prescribing System.
• She researched, applied for, and received approval for the practice’s first research grant. This allowed the purchase of medical equipment that normally would not have been possible because the tests are not covered by insurance. The addition of this diagnostic equipment has improved patient care by providing the patient and providers with valuable data that would normally not be accessible.

Due to the above mentioned measures, the practice passed the $1,000,000 mark in gross income for the first time in their history.

The VMGMA/Medical Mutual Outstanding Achievement Award is given annually to honor an active VMGMA member who has demonstrated leadership, expertise, experience and vision during a specific event or throughout a career. The award recipient receives a $2,000 educational scholarship sponsored by Medical Mutual to be used for attendance at the MGMA National Conference. He or she also receives free registration and hotel accommodations to the VMGMA Spring Conference, where the award is presented and featured in the VMGMA e-newsletter, Practice Notes.

Among our membership are many outstanding achievers who are eligible for nomination and consideration for this award. The very easy nomination process can be reviewed at www.vmgma.org in the Member’s Only section. We hope to be overwhelmed with 2011 nominations.

Many thanks to our friends at Medical Mutual for their generous support of this educational scholarship.

Jody O’Neil, an author of this article, is Administrator of the Virginia MGMA in Sandston, Va. She can be reached at (804) 328-3344 or at vmgma@comcast.net.