- Leadership Spotlight:
Confronting the Unique Realities of Rural Healthcare Leadership - ACHE Would Like Your Input on Our Strategic Plan
- Leading Ethically During Complex Times
- Reminder: Run for Regent-at-Large
- CMS to Reward Delivery of High-Quality Care to Underserved Populations
- Reminder: HHS Webinar Tomorrow on Engaging Boards and Executives in Safety
Leadership Spotlight:
Confronting the Unique Realities of Rural Healthcare Leadership
Payment systems, power dynamics, labor availability and access are issues that affect many hospitals and health systems today. However, leaders of rural healthcare organizations confront unique challenges. “Every 3-4 weeks, another rural community loses its hospital, and as the number of hospitals in rural America continues to drop, the people who depend on them are getting older, poorer, and sicker on average than their urban counterparts,” write the authors of a new book, Healthcare Leadership and Rural Communities: Challenges, Strategies, and Solutions.
In their new title, Timothy L. Putnam, DHA, FACHE; Nikki King; and William Auxier, PhD, outline what it takes to manage care in a rural community and provide advice on overcoming the common challenges that healthcare executives confront. Published in collaboration with the National Rural Health Association, this book provides candid insights that the authors gained from their experiences as rural healthcare managers and their work with leaders in the field.
For example, in Chapter 1, the authors list practical tips to help rural healthcare leaders connect with their staff, such as “Don’t park in the executive spot.”
Check out the table of contents and introduction to learn more, and purchase your copy today. And, don’t forget to take advantage of the Health Administration Press Summer Sale by using the promo code SUMMER23 at checkout.
ACHE Would Like Your Input on Our Strategic Plan
ACHE’s Strategic Plan is designed to leverage the organization’s role in building a leadership workforce capable of addressing the challenges facing our field now and in the future. The plan builds on the hallmarks of our commitments to integrity, lifelong learning, leadership, and diversity and inclusion, and amplifies our aspirations in service to our members, our profession and our field.
The 2023–2025 Strategic Plan focuses on ACHE’s work to advance health by leading for equity and safety, grow our professional community of leaders by leveraging our partnerships with chapters and other organizations, and help leaders reach their highest potential by deepening our engagement with members and the healthcare community. We measure our progress toward achieving our strategic objectives by monitoring key metrics within each of these areas.
The ACHE Board of Governors annually examines its Strategic Plan with a continuing focus on meeting the evolving needs of our members and the healthcare field. Given ACHE will begin a new strategic plan process next year, the Board affirmed the current plan’s direction and relevance and recommends no changes for the 2024–2026 Strategic Plan. ACHE’s three-year Strategic Plan focuses on the organization’s roles as catalyst, connector and trusted partner, and translates our ambitions in each area to specific actions we will undertake.
If you would like to provide your feedback, please take a moment to review the current 2023–2025 Strategic Plan and send us your thoughts, comments and ideas for improvement. Please direct your email response to the ACHE Executive Office at strategicplan@ache.org. The deadline for comments is Oct. 31.
Leading Ethically During Complex Times
“Given today’s complexities, ethics in our field is always evolving—a living, breathing construct rather than a static guideline,” writes ACHE President/CEO Deborah J. Bowen, FACHE, CAE, in her latest “Perspectives” column. “That’s why we review and update the Code [of Ethics] every year to ensure it continues to serve as a relevant standard of conduct in our profession. By holding ourselves accountable and having good systems in place, we can ensure that our decisions are those that merit the trust, confidence and respect of our colleagues and all those we serve.”
Visit HealthcareExecutive.org to learn which three responsibilities oftentimes require more from our ethical obligations as leaders, and to read more from the July/August issue of Healthcare Executive.
Reminder: Run for Regent-at-Large
The ACHE Board of Governors is calling for applications to serve as Regent-at-Large in District 2 beginning in March 2024. ACHE Fellows who are racially or ethnically diverse and/or identify as LGBTQ+ are eligible for Regent-at-Large vacancies within their district.
The goal of the Board of Governors in appointing Regents-at-Large is to diversify the Council of Regents. The purpose of the Regent-at-Large is to promote diversity in the governance of ACHE with respect to race, ethnicity, gender, religion, age, sexual orientation or disability. For further details, please refer to ACHE’s Statement on Diversity. The responsibilities of the Regent-at-Large—including suggested knowledge, skills and experience for the role—are included in the position description. We encourage interested candidates to review the position description and Statement on Diversity before applying. The appointment will be made by the Board of Governors in December 2023. Candidates should not directly contact members of the Board of Governors or ACHE staff to request letters of support.
If you have any questions about running for Regent-at-Large, please contact Jennifer L. Connelly, FACHE, CAE, vice president, Volunteer Relations, at jconnelly@ache.org. Candidates must declare their candidacies by Sept. 15.
CMS to Reward Delivery of High-Quality Care to Underserved Populations
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued a final payment rule Aug. 1 for inpatient and long-term care hospitals that updates Medicare payments and policies; adopts hospital quality measures to foster safety, equity and reduce preventable harm in the hospital setting; and recognizes homelessness as an indicator of increased resource utilization in the acute inpatient hospital setting.
For acute care hospitals paid under the fiscal year 2024 Inpatient Prospective Payment System that successfully participate in the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting Program and are meaningful electronic health record users, the final rule will result in an increase in operating payment rates of 3.1%. Under the new final rule, CMS also finalizes a health equity adjustment in the scoring methodology for the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program that rewards hospitals that serve higher proportions of dual-eligible patients for providing excellent care. It also finalizes a policy to recognize the higher costs that hospitals incur when treating people experiencing homelessness when hospitals report social determinants of health codes on claims, meaning that hospitals will generally receive higher payments when a patient is experiencing homelessness.
You can learn more about the new final payment rule in a CMS press release and fact sheet.
Reminder: HHS Webinar Tomorrow on Engaging Boards and Executives in Safety
Tuesday, Aug. 22, the National Action Alliance to Advance Patient Safety and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services are sponsoring a webinar, “Engaging Boards and Executive Leadership in Safety.” This webinar is part of the Department of Health and Human Services’ summer webinar series sponsored by the National Action Alliance—a public-private effort to support healthcare delivery systems’ move toward zero harm.
The learning of the National Action Alliance builds upon recognized frameworks, such as Safer Together: A National Action Plan to Advance Patient Safety, with its four foundational areas of culture, leadership and governance; patient and family engagement; workforce safety; and creation of learning health systems. The national action plan, which includes recommendations for workforce safety, is the work of 27 federal agencies, safety organizations, experts and patient and family advocates, including ACHE. This resource and other tools, including Leading a Culture of Safety: A Blueprint for Success, are available at ache.org/Safety.
Visit the National Action Alliance webpage to learn more and to register for the webinar series.