ldcarter

Diane recently received recognition by Long-Term Living Magazine as one of the ten most influential people in the past 40 years in the field of long-term care for her visionary work in recognizing the power of the Internet and Web-based learning in 1999 and for being the creative force behind the development of the American Association of Nurse Assessment Coordination (AANAC). AANAC provides support for the work lives of nurse assessment coordinators and directors of nursing in long-term care (LTC). Since founding AANAC she has provided the leadership and management to bring this start-up organization to national prominence, with more than 14,000 professional clinicians receiving the most accurate, current information daily to support their professional workdays. She plays a major role at the national level in ensuring that the voice of LTC nursing is heard, pushing for a national agenda in meeting the needs of elders and others who reside in LTC. Prior to forming AANAC, Diane held positions as the associate director of the Colorado Association of Homes and Services for the Aging and as RAI/MDS coordinator for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. She was instrumental in successfully implementing the Colorado beta test for MDS automation and transmission. In addition, she conducted provider training throughout the state and nationally on a variety of regulatory issues. Diane was an instructor for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and an advisor on development of the Quality Indicators and Quality Measures for LTC. As the deputy director of support and analytical services for the Health Facilities Division of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, she worked extensively in survey and certification, complaint investigations, and regulatory analysis. She is SMQT certified in survey and complaint investigations by CMS (formerly HCFA). Diane has been a provider trainer since 1990, when she was the director of regulatory affairs for the Colorado Health Care Association, and has provided more than 300 programs in Colorado and nationally on federal regulation, survey and certification, OSHA regulations, Train the Trainer for certified nursing assistants, and a variety of other regulatory issues. Diane worked for more than five years at the Center for Health Services Research, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, where she assisted in conducting the national Swing Bed Study; the Cost, Quality and Case Mix Study; the Teaching Nursing Home Study; and the Colorado Case Mix Study. She began her nursing career as a nursing assistant in Colorado nursing homes. She holds a bachelor of arts in English from the University of Northern Colorado, both a bachelor of science in nursing, and a master of science in nursing–nursing administration from the Colorado Health Sciences Center. She is also a clinical specialist in psychiatric nursing. She began her career as the director of nursing in a Denver nursing home. She also worked at Denver General Hospital in surgical intensive care.