MELANIE HUNLEY, RHIA
Madisonville,Louisiana
Summary
Healthcare consulting operations executive with 30+ years of experience leading enterprise delivery strategy, workforce optimization, implementation governance, and mid-revenue cycle transformation across national hospital and health system engagements. Proven success aligning staffing capacity with demand forecasts, improving utilization performance, strengthening implementation lifecycle execution, and supporting margin protection across multi-service-line consulting environments. Recognized for advancing Resource Management Office capabilities, improving contract-to-operations transition readiness, and strengthening cross-practice coordination supporting scalable consulting delivery.
Core Expertise: Consulting delivery operations, Workforce optimization strategy, Resource Management Office (RMO) development, Implementation lifecycle governance, Coding/CDI/revenue integrity alignment, Margin protection strategy, Utilization forecasting, Cross-service line integration.
Overview
31
31
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Director of Operations
UNITED AUDIT SYSTEMS, INC. (UASI)
10.2024 - Current
- Provide enterprise consulting operations leadership supporting workforce strategy, implementation governance, and utilization optimization across national hospital engagements spanning coding, CDI, and denials services.
- Lead cross-practice delivery alignment initiatives improving staffing deployment consistency across multi-service-line consulting engagements
- Advance Resource Management Office capabilities strengthening forecasting accuracy and enterprise visibility into staffing capacity and placement readiness
- Partner with executive leadership to monitor utilization performance and address margin variance drivers through deployment strategy adjustments
- Standardize contract-to-operations transition planning improving implementation readiness and onboarding execution speed
- Coordinate implementation readiness across recruiting, operations, and client delivery leadership supporting scalable engagement launches
- Establish structured client satisfaction monitoring aligned with delivery performance indicators
- Leadership Scope: Enterprise delivery coordination, workforce deployment strategy, implementation lifecycle governance, margin protection, cross-practice integration.
Coding Audit Manager
UNITED AUDIT SYSTEMS, INC. (UASI)
10.2022 - 10.2024
- Directed multi-client coding audit delivery supporting inpatient, outpatient, professional fee, and risk adjustment engagements across hospital systems nationwide.
- Led distributed audit delivery teams ensuring alignment between auditor skillsets and engagement scope requirements
- Partnered with client success leadership to maintain contractual performance expectations across concurrent consulting engagements
- Delivered audit trend insights supporting documentation integrity and reimbursement optimization strategies
- Strengthened delivery consistency through standardized audit workflow practices
- Supported recruiting alignment improving staffing responsiveness for new engagements
- Delivery Scope: Revenue integrity strategy, coding accuracy improvement, distributed team leadership, client performance reporting, compliance alignment.
Project Manager
UNITED AUDIT SYSTEMS, INC. (UASI)
06.2015 - 10.2022
- Led enterprise implementation initiatives supporting coding, CDI, and revenue cycle consulting engagements across hospital and health system clients nationwide.
- Directed implementation lifecycle execution across multi-site engagements from discovery through stabilization
- Coordinated cross-functional delivery teams spanning recruiting, operations, quality, and executive stakeholders
- Built standardized implementation planning frameworks improving execution predictability across engagements
- Managed escalation pathways ensuring timely resolution of implementation barriers
- Implementation Scope: Client onboarding strategy, workforce readiness coordination, delivery governance, stakeholder alignment, risk mitigation planning
Department Head of Patient Access
ST. TAMMANY PARISH HOSPITAL
01.2015 - 06.2015
- Directed front-end revenue cycle operations across registration, insurance verification, authorization, and point-of-service financial clearance functions, strengthening upstream documentation accuracy and reducing downstream billing and denial risk
- Partnered with enterprise revenue cycle and clinical leadership to align patient access workflows with ICD-10 readiness and Soarian revenue cycle implementation requirements, supporting organization-wide transition stability
- Implemented standardized access performance expectations and cross-department coordination processes improving registration quality, supporting clean claim performance, and strengthening end-to-end revenue capture alignment
Project Manager
ST. TAMMANY PARISH HOSPITAL
01.2013 - 01.2015
- Directed enterprise readiness initiatives supporting regulatory and platform transformation across HIM and revenue cycle operations
- Coordinated multidisciplinary governance structures aligning clinical departments, revenue cycle leadership, IT, and vendor implementation teams
- Supported documentation workflow redesign and coding readiness strategies strengthening compliance alignment and reimbursement stability
Department Head Health Information Management
ST. TAMMANY PARISH HOSPITAL
05.2003 - 01.2013
- Directed enterprise HIM operations including coding, transcription, release of information, and documentation governance
- Implemented organization-wide document imaging infrastructure improving clinical record accessibility and workflow efficiency
- Established remote coding and transcription workforce model improving staffing flexibility and productivity performance
- Served on RAC, ICD-10, Meaningful Use, and HIPAA governance initiatives supporting enterprise regulatory readiness
Healthcare Consultant
MED-DATA MANAGEMENT
10.1997 - 05.2003
- Managed complex projects with tight deadlines, ensuring timely delivery of high-quality healthcare solutions to clients.
Director of Health Information Management
LOUISIANA YOUTH ACADEMY / FORREST HILLS HOSPITAL
05.1995 - 10.1997
- Directed HIM department operations for psychiatric hospitals.
Education
Bachelor of Science - Health Information Management
University of Louisiana At Lafayette
Lafayette, LA05-1995
Affiliations
- American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA)
- Louisiana Health Information Management Association (LHIMA)
Certification
Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA)
Timeline
Director of Operations
UNITED AUDIT SYSTEMS, INC. (UASI)
10.2024 - Current
Coding Audit Manager
UNITED AUDIT SYSTEMS, INC. (UASI)
10.2022 - 10.2024
Project Manager
UNITED AUDIT SYSTEMS, INC. (UASI)
06.2015 - 10.2022
Department Head of Patient Access
ST. TAMMANY PARISH HOSPITAL
01.2015 - 06.2015
Project Manager
ST. TAMMANY PARISH HOSPITAL
01.2013 - 01.2015
Department Head Health Information Management
ST. TAMMANY PARISH HOSPITAL
05.2003 - 01.2013
Healthcare Consultant
MED-DATA MANAGEMENT
10.1997 - 05.2003
Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA)
05-1995
Director of Health Information Management
LOUISIANA YOUTH ACADEMY / FORREST HILLS HOSPITAL
05.1995 - 10.1997
Bachelor of Science - Health Information Management
University of Louisiana At Lafayette