Ann Arbor, MI — January 3, 2006 — Diane Nixon, manager of the U-M School of Dentistry's Clinic Billing Office, has been elected regional vice president of the American Business Women's Association (ABWA). She was elected to a one-year term during the group's national meeting in November.

In her role as District V vice president, Nixon will be a part of the ABWA National Board of Directors, a group of nine that functions as the governing body of the 45,000 member association. Members also serve as trustees of the Stephen Bufton Memorial Education Fund which has awarded more than $14 million in scholarships to women since its inception. She will also speak at the ABWA regional spring conference in Muncie, Indiana, and at chapter events.

"The leadership, team building, and networking skills I have developed in my position at the School of Dentistry, have directly helped me achieve this goal," Nixon said.

Nixon, who has been a member of the organization for more than 20 years, was President of ABWA's Maia Chapter (so named for the Greek goddess of the month of May) in Ann Arbor for two terms, from 2002-2004. She was also a former chapter president, vice president, treasurer, and Woman of the Year. She was also past chair of the Eastern Michigan Council of ABWA, which comprises 16 chapters, and the Council's Woman of the Year.

As manager of the School's CBO, Nixon is in charge of an office of 18 that is responsible for dental care reimbursement from both insurance companies and patients.

Each month her office receives approximately 750 incoming calls weekly from patients with billing questions. The office also electronically files more than 350 dental and medical claims with insurance companies daily and follows up on about 400 inquiries and 800 rejections each month from insurance companies. Each month, her office mails more than 14,000 statements to patients.

The University of Michigan School of Dentistry is one of the nation's leading dental schools engaged in oral health care education, research, patient care, and community service. General dental care clinics and specialty clinics providing advanced treatment enable the School to offer dental services and programs to patients throughout Michigan. Classroom and clinic instruction prepare future dentists, dental specialists, and dental hygienists for practice in private offices, hospitals, academia, and public agencies. Research seeks to discover and apply new knowledge that can help patients worldwide. For more information about the School of Dentistry, visit the Web at: www.dent.umich.edu.

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