Elizabeth “Betty” Rockendorf, MS, RHIA, CHTS-IM, CHPS, a program director for the University of Wisconsin Bachelor of Science in Health Information Management and Technology (HIMT) at UW-Parkside, was a recipient of the 2025 American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) Triumph Educator Award.
The AHIMA Triumph Awards recognize those who have made significant contributions to the health information profession by advancing the field and enhancing educational opportunities.
“I am honored to receive the Triumph Educator Award, which recognizes my career in higher education and highlights my passion for nurturing and helping others fulfill their potential,” Betty said.
Her accomplishments were celebrated in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the annual AHIMA conference. Betty was awarded for supporting the next generation of health information professionals by guiding them in the program’s capstone project. In the past nine years, she’s found 331 students successful capstone placements across more than 20 states.
“I’m really proud of that,” she said. “It’s getting harder and harder to find capstone placements for students, but I’m pretty persistent. I keep after it and do the best I can to see that they get a great experience.”
Betty’s award also honors her vast involvement in professional associations. She’s worked to emphasize the importance of credentials for health information professionals, being actively involved with the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics & Information Management Education (CAHIIM), as well as the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS).
“The biggest surprise was to win an award just for doing the things that I like to do and that I do anyway.”
Betty works with AHIMA at the national level, where she recently served on a committee looking to revise competencies. In the Wisconsin Health Information Management Association (WHIMA) group, she takes part in conferences to present and teach others throughout the state. She also formed the state’s first Health Information Educator Group, providing an opportunity for educators across Wisconsin to get together and discuss the changing competencies and challenges they face.
“It goes a long way to be a volunteer and to participate, and then for my students, to see that I’m doing these things as well as helping them and offering career advice, mentoring them, and encouraging them to take the exams so they can earn credentials through AHIMA or HIMSS. So I guess the biggest surprise was to win an award just for doing the things that I like to do and that I do anyway.”
Betty has previously won the 2020 WHIMA Educator Award and the 2016 WHIMA Distinguished Member Award. She says her recent honors at the AHIMA Triumph Awards are a “shot in the arm” in this stage of her career.
“It gave me forward momentum to keep doing what I’m doing and remember that it is what I enjoy doing. Sometimes we tend to forget that, so it was a nice reminder that this is where I want to be.”
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