Two UConn Health employees are lending their experience and expertise to a healthcare finance industry trade group, holding leadership roles with the Connecticut chapter of the Healthcare Financial Management Association.
Kyle Dunleavy, director of single billing in UConn Health’s Clinical Business Services, started a one-year term as chapter president June 1, while Chad Bianchi, vice president of finance and logistics and controller, started a one-year term as president-elect, to succeed Dunleavy as president in June 2027. Both are volunteer roles.
HFMA has more than 145,000 members nationwide, including finance professionals in hospitals, health systems, physician practices, healthcare finance vendors, and health plans. The Connecticut chapter has nearly 1,900 members.
“There is a coordinated effort throughout the state for hospitals to learn from one another on how to improve their bottom lines, and UConn Health is very much a part of that,” Dunleavy says. “We’re a leader in that area as well, evidenced by us taking on these roles and being heavily involved. Just knowing that we’re not siloed and out there doing it alone, we are trying to learn best practices from others.”
UConn Health has been involved with the Connecticut chapter for more than 20 years. Its enterprise membership provides access to educational resources, career development tools, and networking opportunities for as many as 260 employees in revenue cycle, finance, and information technology.
“Everyone can talk about increasing revenue and decreasing costs,” Bianchi says. “But then you get into things like the Project Thrive initiatives, where they’re like, ‘Well, what can you look at?’ You can look at your contracts. ‘How do you analyze your contracts? Where are the most savings opportunities?’ And everyone’s going through the same stuff.”
The group also offers certification courses in a broad range of topics from revenue cycle to accounting and finance to business intelligence. These courses offer members a chance to enhance their skills while earning certificates to demonstrate their mastery of a number of critical subject matter areas.
“Certified Revenue Cycle Representative (CRCR) is the most widely held certification, along with Certified Healthcare Financial Professional (CHFP),” Dunleavy says. “A significant portion of UConn Health’s revenue cycle staff currently hold the CRCR certification as part of our ongoing education efforts.”
Other examples of certifications and credential opportunities available to UConn Health employees include Certified Specialist Accounting and Finance, Certified Specialist Ambulatory Practice Management, Certified Specialist Business Intelligence, Certified Specialist Payment and Reimbursement, and AI Governance.
As chapter president, Dunleavy will lead the effort to organize conferences such as the annual meeting in the fall and an annual revenue cycle event in the spring. The New England chapters also hold a regional conference annually.
