Nancie Martin, 82, worked with N.J. health records

Nancie Keenan Martin, 82, of Medford Lakes, a longtime health records consultant who was a medical records director at Cooper University Hospital in the 1950s, died of lung cancer on Tuesday, Feb. 17, at the Wilmington home of a son.

Born in Trenton, Mrs. Martin graduated from Haddonfield Memorial High School in 1950 and studied English literature at Bucknell University for two years before earning accreditation as a medical records librarian in an 18-month-long program at Hahnemann Hospital in Philadelphia in 1953.

Mrs. Martin joined the Cooper staff in 1953 and left in 1958 to raise a family, son Jeff said. Since the 1950s, she and her family had lived in Medford Lakes.

She returned to work in 1977, her son said, and since then had been a self-employed health records consultant.

As a member of the American Health Information Management Association, he said, she was a registered health information administrator.

"Her consultant work included health-care privacy," her son said. "She checked for the compliance of the facilities" with the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.

Betsey Irwin, who retired from a career as a health and physical education teacher in Medford Lakes and Moorestown, had been a friend of Mrs. Martin's since grammar school days. Irwin said Mrs. Martin chose her career because "it was something that was needed."

In her long career, Irwin said, Mrs. Martin worked with so many health care and retirement communities in South Jersey that "you could name almost any one of them and she was the medical records consultant."

And in her private life, Irwin said, "she was an absolutely wonderful friend to anyone who became her friend."

Mrs. Martin was a member of Fellowship Alliance Chapel in Medford and the Medford Lakes Country Club.

Besides her son, she is survived by son Scott, daughter Kim Schulte, five grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. Her husband, Bill, died in 1997.

A visitation was set from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27, at the Lechner Funeral Home, 24 N. Main St., Medford, with a memorial service at 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 28, at the Protestant Community Church, 100 Stokes Rd., Medford Lakes.

Donations may be sent to the Nancie K. Martin Memorial Fund at the Wilmington Savings Fund Society, care of Lorie Herbus, 500 Delaware Ave., Wilmington, Del. 19801.

Condolences may be offered to the family at www.lechnerfuneralhome.com.