Ann Ortolaza, RHIT and former “roving” reporter for this column for the past four years will be celebrating her 10th Anniversary as an Outpatient Coder for Rochester Regional Health on July 5, 2022. Her love for the HIM field began when she as a teenager visiting her mother in the hospital. Walking down the hallway she spotted a big Medical Records sign and wondered what it was all about. There was something about the hospital setting that attracted Ann, and at that moment she knew she wanted to work in the health field in some capacity with Medical Records in the back of her mind.
After graduating from high school Ann attended Monroe Community College (MCC). Initially, she enrolled in the Medical Secretary program, but quickly changed over to Medical Records. She stayed in the program for a year, but was not satisfied with her grades and decided to drop out of college to pursue a full-time job.
Ann married shortly after leaving MCC. She worked odd jobs to help raise her family. Her job search was focused solely on the health field. Her first HIM position was working as a Medical Records Clerk at Northeast Medical Group. She pulled charts and made sure all the labs and x-rays were included in the charts for the following day’s appointments. At Rural Metro Ambulance Service, she was employed as a Billing Clerk. She became very familiar with Explanation of Benefits (EOB) and how to fix denials. She contacted insurance companies regarding denials and the patients themselves to work out a system of payment. Her boss was very pleased by her determination and dedication to help reconcile accounts.
Ann challenged herself to go back to school in 1999. She had an opportunity to take a six-month Medical Billing course at BOCES. She said to herself, “If I get good grades in Medical Billing, then I know God is opening the door for me to go back to school.” She did well in the course and gave her confidence to continue her education. Ann enrolled back into the Health Information Technology (HIT) program at MCC in 2003 and attended school part-time until her graduation in 2007. “I thank God for allowing me to go back to school to finish what I started long ago. I came full circle.”
As Ann continued her studies at MCC she also continued adding more experience to her resume. She worked part time as a secretary at Strong Memorial Hospital’s Emergency Department (ED). She had a variety of responsibilities and got to see how medical records were used in the ED. Even in this position she felt she was helping the Medical Records Department by ensuring providers sign the attestation statement forms.
After graduating from MCC, Ann was offered a position at the Anthony Jordan Health Center (AJHC) as a Bilingual Medical Records Technician. She oversaw the medical records for the OB-GYN Department. She had the unique opportunity of setting up the medical records room. Working with her supervisor, she calculated and ordered the number of shelves and charts needed to house the medical records. She managed the charts and daily Release of Information requests. In addition, she provided interpretation services for the providers whenever it was needed. She loved her job at AJHC but left to pursue a job in coding. She worked at MVP Health Insurance, but it did not turn out to be the coding position she was looking for.
In 2012, Ann landed her first coding position at Rochester General Hospital. She likes variety and has experience coding in several different work queues including emergency department treat and release, emergency department pre-admitted services, oncology, urgent care, and CPEP department. She is also trained in editing accounts in pathology and labs. “It keeps me busy and I’m not bored coding just one account.”
Ann truly loves her job and the HIM field. She is inspired to do her job well to help her supervisor, director, and ultimately the hospital. “I love doing my part to help the hospital get paid for the services they provide.” She challenges herself to give her best every day and to learn new work queues. She finds the flexibility and variety of career opportunities available in the HIM field most rewarding. “If you want a career where you are never bored and want to be challenged every day and have the flexibility to work in different areas, whether it’s coding, compliance, data integrity and analytics or administration and the opportunity to work in a variety of places such as hospitals, clinics, doctor offices and insurance companies, then I would say HIM is the field for you.” Her excitement about her profession rubbed off on her son, Steve Ortolaza. He graduated from MCC and earned his RHIT credentials in 2020. Steve works at Anthony Jordon Health Center and currently is the treasurer for RRHIMA. Ann’s motto is “Never give up, no matter what your age. Follow your dream.”
In her spare time Ann enjoys spending time with her husband, Luis, 2 sons, Steve and Samuel, and their family dog, Otis. Her favorite book genres are biographies and non-fiction. Hallmark movies tops her TV viewing. We are very grateful for Ann’s service as the “roving” reporter for NYHIMA Perspectives Spotlight column. Thank you, Ann for your time and dedication to this publication. Ann enjoyed interviewing the candidates: “It has been a wonderful experience and a great opportunity to meet people.”
Carol Manfreda, RHIT
