Derenda F. Lovelace, RN-BS, BSN, Cm, received her BSN from UVA in 1978.  She has worked as a psychiatric-mental health nurse for many years; and became involved in Utilization Review (UR) when her children were small (1988). Derenda has worked in private and state hospitals, for county mental health, and the insurance industry, in addition to her current role with the federal government.

She has served 2-1/2 years as a clinical instructor for residents and medical students in the Medical College of Virginia Psychiatry Clinic, as well as one year in the Chesterfield County Technical School LPN Program. She has been at Kenner Army Health Clinic, Fort Lee, for 14 years; and has assisted the military in deploying the TRICARE Program. Derenda started as Utilization Management (UM) Nurse Consultant, where she received her first case management experience working with active duty soldiers. This role evolved to include contract oversight of the case management function under the initial Managed Care Support Contract.

Her current position is Medical Management Nurse Consultant which includes performance, supervision, contract oversight of case management, and input into UM and disease management. She has been an ANA certified case manager since October, 2005; and a member of CMSA for 3+ years.

She holds the position of President-Elect for Central Virginia CMSA Chapter. Derenda recently published an article, “Bridging Case Management and Primary Care Manager Gaps in a Military Setting” in the 2006 May/June edition of The Case Manager magazine with two Navy colleagues and co-presented the paper at the 2006 CMSA conference. She is also currently enrolled in the University of Alabama’s Master’s in Case Management of Rural Populations Program through e-learning.