Michayla Steele

About Michayla Steele

I’m a practical, people-focused CDI leader passionate about bridging clinical documentation with operational outcomes. In my current role as Associate Director of Special Projects in CDI, I’m focused on strengthening prebill DRG workflows, and designing processes that are scalable, accurate, and aligned with the broader goals of quality care and financial integrity.My background includes consulting and system-level project work, with experience in denials and appeals, especially around DRG downgrades and clinical validation. I\'m building on that foundation to support more proactive approaches to denial mitigation and appeals strategy across teams and processes.I lead with curiosity, clarity, and collaboration. I value partnership across roles and departments from CDI to coding, care teams, and vendors to build effective, meaningful workflows. I believe the future of CDI lies in intentional process design, data-informed insights, AI leveraging, and advocating fairness in expectations and workloads.Let’s connect if you’re interested in CDI strategy, prebill optimization, or improving denials and appeals processes through shared learning.• Software Experience: 3M Encoder, Nuance CDE One, Epic, Cerner, Cobius Audit Manager, Solventum, Vizient *The postings on this profile are my own and do not represent positions, strategies, or opinions of my employer.

Experience

1. Interim Cdi Associate Director of University Facilities

   Emory Healthcare

   Oct 2025 — Present · GA, US

   Oversight of CDI operations across University Facilities, driving process consistency during leadership transition • Partnered with the interim CDI Director to align system-wide CDI initiatives and optimize Solventum analytics to track and elevate performance

Education

• Ohio University

  Bachelor's degree, RN-BSN

  2014 — 2015

• Western Governors University

  Master of Business Administration - MBA, Health/Health Care Administration/Management

  2016 — 2018

• Edison State Community College

  Associate's Degree, Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse

  2012 — 2014

• Western Governors University

  Bachelor of Science - BS, Health Information Management

Skills

• Advanced Cardiac Life Support (Acls)
• Inpatient Care
• Nursing Process
• First Aid
• Leadership
• Patient Advocacy
• Hospitals
• Nursing Education
• Clinical Research
• Pediatrics
• Electronic Medical Record (Emr)
• Surgical Nursing
• Aed
• Critical Care Nursing
• Acls
• Emr
• Patient Safety
• Cpr Certified
• Hipaa
• Inpatient
• Step Down Icu
• Patient Education
• Nursing
• Nursing Care
• Registered Nurses
• Process Improvement Projects
• Medical Terminology
• Healthcare
• Critical Care
• Adult Cpr
• Basic Life Support (Bls)
• Customer Service
• Direct Patient Care
• Pediatric Advanced Life Support (Pals)
• Healthcare Management
• Business Management
• Circulation Nursing
• Medical-Surgical
• Acute Care
• Intensive Care