Lunch & Learn meeting held at J.L. Walston & Associates in Durham

Ms. Margier Pugh, Collection Manager at J.L. Walston & Associates, conducted a power-point presentation on the "Five Forbidden Phrases A Customer Never Wants To Hear". Lunch was held in the conference room and enjoyed by all in attendance.

Growth requires Additional Dialers Installed

J.L. Walston & Associates was recently awarded an Extended Business Office contract. The goal is to increase cash flow with an overall lower cost to the customer.

Voice Recording System Installed

In an effort to increase results for its customers and improve the training of its staff, J.L. Walston & Associates invested in a Mirra Series 2 Racal Recorders voice recording system. Over 1300 hours of conversations are stored on a single DVD optical disk.

A voice recording system makes it easy to:

MDHBA recognizes HIPAA Compliance Program

Medical Dental Hospital Business Associates requires agencies to have a HIPAA Compliance Program in order to be awarded the associations Certification Award. J.L. Walston & Associatesmaintains this status and makes every effort to be HIPAA compliant. This group meets during the first month of each quarter to ensure that the protected health information (PHI) is confidential. All paper with PHI is shredded by a vendor who is also HIPAA compliant.

Predictive Dialing Systems Upgraded to Handle Growth

J.L. Walston and Associates utilizes the Noble Systems Predictive Dialer. The predictive dialing system offers variable pacing methods that can be configured to meet the needs of the operations. The speed of dialing automatically adjusts to fluctuating call volumes while optimizing each financial representative's activity.

Financial representatives are assigned to handle both outbound and inbound calls at the same time, therefore promoting increased efficiency. The dialing system efficiently routes inbound callers to the representative waiting the longest, thereby reducing the number of abandoned or dropped inbound calls. The system filters busy signals and unanswered calls to maximize the amount of time speaking to customers. Financial representatives receive only live calls, instead of unproductive numbers, which creates an efficient call center that maximizes productivity. The predictive dialer also provides internal and external call transferring as well as custom on-hold messaging.

John L. Walston Presented Lifetime Achievement Award

John L. Walston, Sr. was honored at the annual meeting of MDHBA by being presented the Lifetime Achievement Award. Fred Kirschner wrote a personal letter for the presentation that was made by John's son Lee Walston of Durham, NC. In 1996, the Board of Directors of MEDICAL-DENTAL-HOSPITAL BUSINESS ASSOCIATES voted to create a new award in honor of Fred Kirschner for his dedication and service to MDHBA. This Award recognizes an individual member for his innumerable and valuable contributions to the healthcare industry and as a leader, teacher and consultant. The Award is presented at the annual MDHBA meeting.

J. Lee Walston, Jr. Elected As National President

In October 2002 J. Lee Walston Jr., Vice President of Operations of J.L. Walston & Associates in Durham, NC has recently been elected as President of the Medical-Dental-Hospital Business Associates. Walston will preside at the 2003 annual meeting in La Jolla, California. MDHBA has 60 years of experience in related business services to healthcare business associates. MDHBA is a service association of select, quality, accounts receivable management companies working together to provide educational programs and quality services for its members and the healthcare industry. MDHBA offers a full range of useful services and benefits designed to help medical and hospital accounts receivable business associates perform at a higher level every day.

Walston is a graduate of East Carolina University with a Masters Degree in Business Administration. He and his wife, Christine, reside in Durham, NC, and have two daughters.

Agency Honored by Certification Process

J.L. Walston & Associates of Durham, N C., and Emporia, VA, is the recipient of the prestigious Agency Healthcare Certification Award, the highest award for standards, quality and service given by the Medical-Dental-Hospital Bureaus of America (MDHBA), located in Chicago, Il.

Certification requirements require that all collectors must be MDHBA certified and that owners and senior management personnel must have obtained the status of Certified Professional Bureau Executive (CPBE). The agency must also be the recipient of the MDHBA Pinnacle Award. Standards of conduct are distributed and acknowledged by all employees. Other action plans involve company-wide compliance meetings and Internal Systems Monitoring by a Compliance Committee to coordinate and implement corporate integrity programs.

Jim Walston Speaks at National Convention

Jim Walston, account executive of J.L. Walston & Associates of Emporia, VA, and Durham, NC, was a guest speaker at the annual meeting of Medical-Dental-Hospital Business Associates. MDHBA is headquartered in Washington, DC, and has 60 years of experience in assisting healthcare-related business service firms. Jim shared his experiences relating to finding quality people, how to qualify your applicants in the interview process. Jim is a graduate of Ferrum College with a degree in Business Administration with emphasis in Decision Support Systems.

J. Lee Walston, Jr. Elected to President of Carolina Collectors Association

J. Lee Walston Jr., Vice President of Operations of J.L. Walston & Associates, has recently been elected as President of the Carolina Collectors Association. CCA helps make up the membership of the American Collectors Association.

The American Collectors Association is an international trade organization of credit and collection professionals that provides a variety of accounts receivable management services to over one million credit grantors. Headquartered in Minneapolis, ACA serves members in the United States, Canada and 55 other countries worldwide.

ACA has approximately 4,200 members including third-party collection agencies, credit grantors, attorneys and vendor affiliates. In order to be eligible for ACA membership, applicants must meet several specific requirements.

Members must agree to comply with all applicable laws, including federal law which, in addition to prohibiting harassment and abuse by collectors, provides proper procedures for obtaining debtor location information, communicating with consumers and disclosing that consumers have the right to dispute the validity of a debt.

J. Lee Walston Jr., Receives the Designation of Certified Professional Bureau Executive (CPBE)

J. Lee Walston Jr., account executive of J.L. Walston & Associates in Durham, NC, earned and received the designation of Certified Professional Bureau Executive (CPBE) by the Medical-Dental-Hospital Bureaus of America (MDHBA), headquartered in Washington, DC. He is the first affiliate member in MDHBA to receive this designation. The designation recognizes that Walston and PCS-Medical Bureau maintain high standards of accounts receivable management services for clients in the healthcare profession. The CPBE program was established by MDHBA more than 25 years ago to provide certification and recognition for members that maintain high quality standards and services for their healthcare clients.

John L. Walston Honored by Medical Collections Association

Washington, DC: John L. Walston, president of J.L. Walston & Associates of Durham and Emporia, VA, is the recipient of the prestigious Pinnacle Award, the highest award for standards, quality and service of the Medical-Dental-Hospital Bureaus of America (MDHBA), located in Washington, DC. Walston has served as president of the MDHBA.

Candidates for the Pinnacle Award must first achieve MDHBA's Certified Professional Bureau Executive (CPBE) designation. They must sign a commitment statement indicating their agency's support for the quality improvement process, and that the agency will make its best effort to comply with the requirements of the Pinnacle Award.

Local Businessman Receives ACA Scholar Degree in Collection Business Management

Minneapolis, MN, Nov. 23, 1999 - Jim Walston, a medical collections account executive with J.L. Walston and Associates, located in Emporia, VA and Durham, NC, has earned the Scholar Degree in Collection Business Management from the American Collectors Association (ACA). Walston, who joined the family-owned business in 1996, is responsible for developing ways to increase the company's sales goals and training and hiring new collection professionals. During his years with the company he has helped increase business, attracting as many as 50 new clients. Walston has been recognized as an asset to his company because of his dedication and commitment to success. One supporter, his father John Walston, the owner of J.L. Walston and Associates who started the business 30 years ago, says his son brings a level of knowledge that puts his company ahead of firms that have not taken advantage of the ACA Scholar Degree. "My ACA degree is indeed a benefit," says Walston, who grew up in Emporia, VA and now resides in Durham, NC. "I know I am passing on standards to new employees that will help this company succeed."

The primary responsibility of a collection professional is to promote a positive relationship with customers and to uphold the ethical business practices established by ACA.