Board Composition and Selection

Board Composition and Selection / en Fri, 25 Apr 2025 22:47:39 -0500 Fri, 18 Oct 24 16:06:32 -0500 AHA podcast: Strategies for Creating an Effective and Diverse Board /news/headline/2024-10-18-aha-podcast-strategies-creating-effective-and-diverse-board In this conversation, Schonay Barnett-Jones, trustee at Children’s National Hospital and AHA board member, discusses strategies for recruiting a diverse board of trustees to any health care organization, and how to engage and retain the next generation of future board members. <a href="/advancing-health-podcast/2024-10-18-strategies-creating-effective-and-diverse-board?utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=aha-today">LISTEN NOW</a>&nbsp;<div></div> Fri, 18 Oct 2024 16:06:32 -0500 Board Composition and Selection Supporting Hospital and Health System Boards as We Navigate a Changing Health Care Landscape /news/perspective/2024-05-17-supporting-hospital-and-health-system-boards-we-navigate-changing-health-care-landscape The many complexities of health care today continue to challenge hospital and health system governing boards to ensure that high-quality patient care is provided to the communities they serve.Nowadays, boards need to bring much more than traditional oversight of finances, quality and patient care. Board members must be knowledgeable across a wide variety of health care topics and issues (some further their learning by rounding with clinicians), as well as community bridge-builders who can forge coalitions to advance health.The past few years have wrought profound changes, expanding the board’s role in hospital and health system oversight as never before.For one thing, the accountability of boards has substantially increased. Today, board members find themselves confronted with multi-faceted challenges such as workforce shortages, a rise in behavioral and mental health issues that impact their communities and workforce, not to mention the ever-present threat of cyberattacks and the expanding role of artificial intelligence.Successfully engaging with these issues requires not only a thorough understanding of them, but the ability to create workable strategies and solutions to support their hospitals and health systems to continue to provide high-quality care for their patients and communities.Today’s risks have become more significant than in the past. For example, it is important for hospitals and health systems to have a cybersecurity plan in place and for boards to understand what the plan is, what the risks are and what the plan will be going forward.And because risk oversight has become increasingly important to organizational sustainability, boards also need to create an enterprise risk management (ERM) discipline that supports the identification, assessment and management of risks. This helps boards to function as effective stewards and fiduciaries and focus on the issues critical to creating greater value for their organizations and stakeholders.At the same time, boards also should be looking at their structure to ensure they are diverse in representing their community’s needs. Diversity not only means race and ethnicity, but age, expertise and skill set. A diverse board is a strong board, one that can have robust discussion about the issues impacting their hospitals and health systems.Service as a board member today can be demanding, but the opportunity to guide, advise and support the health care organizations that are cornerstones of our communities is immensely rewarding.The AHA supports good governance by offering education and resources on governance practices and our field’s emerging challenges that are crucial to advancing health in every community across the country. <a href="https://trustees.aha.org/" target="_blank" title="AHA Trustee Services homepage">AHA’s Trustee Services</a> serves as the hub for a broad array of efforts to help hospitals and their boards navigate the transforming health care landscape.In addition, several of AHA’s key meetings have sessions or educational tracks designed for trustees. For example, at July’s <a href="https://leadershipsummit.aha.org/" target="_blank" title="2024 AHA Leadership Summit homepage">AHA Leadership Summit</a> in San Diego, trustees will have opportunities to enhance their understanding of emerging issues in governance and learn to apply new models and practices.Good governance helps ensure quality care for patients and families; fosters safe, positive environments for health care teams; and ultimately helps create healthier communities.Thanks to all the community leaders who serve on hospital and health system boards across the country. Please use our <a href="https://trustees.aha.org/" target="_blank" title="AHA Trustee Services homepage">trustee resources</a> as additional insight and tools so we can continue our work together to advance health in America. Fri, 17 May 2024 08:38:03 -0500 Board Composition and Selection AHA podcast: Why Nurses on Your Board Matter /news/headline/2023-12-13-aha-podcast-why-nurses-your-board-matter Ellen Brzytwa, R.N., a trustee at the Cleveland Clinic, discusses her mission to recruit more nurses to hospital board positions. <a href="/advancing-health-podcast/2023-12-13-why-nurses-your-board-matter?utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=aha-today">LISTEN NOW</a><div></div> Wed, 13 Dec 2023 16:05:00 -0600 Board Composition and Selection Why Nurses on Your Board Matter /advancing-health-podcast/2023-12-13-why-nurses-your-board-matter The push for increased diversity and inclusion on boards of governance for hospitals and health systems is a necessity for success. A 2023 AHA national survey found that boards are paying increased attention to bringing diverse viewpoints to their membership, including from one particular group — nurses. In this conversation, Ellen Brzytwa, R.N., trustee at the Cleveland Clinic, discusses her mission of bringing more nurses into board positions, and how her own experience demonstrated that more hospital boards should have nurses as trustee members.<hr><div></div>&nbsp;<div class="raw-html-embed"> <div class="raw-html-embed"> <details class="transcript"><summary> <h2 title="Click here to open/close the transcript.">View Transcript &nbsp;</h2> </summary> 00;00;00;21 - 00;00;42;17 Tom Haederle The push for increased diversity and inclusion on boards of governance for hospitals and health systems is gaining momentum these days. A 2023 AHA national survey found that boards are paying increased attention to bringing diverse viewpoints and life experiences to their membership. This includes diversity of professional backgrounds. In this podcast, one trailblazing hospital trustee says what more boards could really benefit from is the perspective of nurses. 00;00;42;20 - 00;01;08;23 Tom Haederle Welcome to Advancing Health, a podcast from the �� Association. I'm Tom Haederle, with AHA Communications. Ellen Brzytwa was recruited as a hospital trustee 45 years ago. The first nurse trustee for a hospital in the greater Cleveland area. Her own experience has shown her that more hospital boards should have nurses as members. People who understand firsthand the complexity of patient care and issues of quality and safety. 00;01;08;26 - 00;01;23;02 Tom Haederle In today's podcast, hosted by Sue Ellen Wagner, vice president of Trustee Services at AHA , Brzytwa discusses her mission of bringing more nurses into board positions. All of the benefits they bring and what boards should be focusing on now. 00;01;23;05 - 00;01;43;15 Sue-Ellen Wagner Hi, this is Sue Ellen Wagner, vice president of Trustee Services with the �� Association. I want to introduce Ellen Brzytwa, a trustee of the Cleveland Clinic, who's here with me today. Thank you, Ellen, for being here with me. Ellen, in addition to being a board member, has a nursing background. Ellen, can you talk to us a little bit about your background? 00;01;43;17 - 00;02;07;07 Ellen Brzytwa, RN Yes. I have been very fortunate to have a nursing background and also be a hospital trustee. My clinical work and my academic work early on in my career were in psychiatry. Now, behavioral health and public health. And I was recruited to be a hospital trustee 45 years ago. 00;02;07;08 - 00;02;07;18 Sue-Ellen Wagner Wow. 00;02;07;18 - 00;02;12;27 Ellen Brzytwa, RN I was the very first nurse trustee for a hospital in the greater Cleveland area. 00;02;12;29 - 00;02;47;01 Ellen Brzytwa, RN And it was a very exciting time to be a trustee. I was really unaware that this was so unusual. And as I grew in my role of being a hospital trustee, I came to understand the value of what I was doing in terms of my own work in enhancing and promoting my hospital and all the good things that it did, but also my relationships with other trustees at that time that none of them had any kind of health care background, mostly all male. 00;02;47;09 - 00;03;15;16 Ellen Brzytwa, RN And also from the local community, well-meaning. I found I was acting as a translator and helping them to understand what it was we were talking about because they were all male at the time. They often were hesitant to ask questions, and I came to understand this and people would approach me after the meetings for clarification. Eventually I would just ask right in the meeting. 00;03;15;19 - 00;03;51;20 Ellen Brzytwa, RN That's another acronym. What does that mean? I can't remember. And then after a while, everybody got comfortable with that. Quality and safety issues were there from the very beginning. Fast forward, I've now served in hospitals and hospitals that are merged into large systems and have been very privileged to be part of the AHA effort to involve trustees in a more meaningful and ongoing way, which I think over my career, 45 years as a trustee is new, and I think it's coming into its own. 00;03;51;23 - 00;04;26;27 Ellen Brzytwa, RN I think trustees bring a huge insight to the very hard working staff of AHA at all levels of the hospital associations, too. They have relationships they can use effectively to advance and also educate all kinds of people that need to understand how hospitals work and why there are over 45 years always continuing crises. Although in my lifetime doing this, I do think we are at a very, very critical, very, very uncomfortable place. 00;04;26;29 - 00;05;04;12 Ellen Brzytwa, RN And the role of the trustee to be helpful to the executive staff and to their communities, I don't think has ever been more important. One of the things that I've grown to understand is the need for perhaps more trustees that are nurses. And about ten or 15 years ago I was involved with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation series of investments trying to deal with the nursing shortage, advance the public's understanding of the role of the nurse, but also to move more nurses onto the boards of trustees. 00;05;04;14 - 00;05;38;01 Ellen Brzytwa, RN This has become a passion for me. That's great. It has been rewarding. And now I'm seeing more interest in this than I have ever. It was always just a hard sell. The other CEOs and the trustees and say, we have, you know, the chief nursing officer saying, no, no, no, I'm talking about an independent outside expert on the field of nursing that will bring you more vision and understanding about the complexities of patient care, about the huge nursing workforce. 00;05;38;03 - 00;05;59;19 Ellen Brzytwa, RN And all these things are now coming to the fore, especially the issues of quality and safety and nursing practice. So I'm hoping that by my activities with AHA and the people that I work with, that are the staff and other trustees that are starting to think this way, that I can advance that agenda of getting more nurses on boards. 00;05;59;25 - 00;06;23;23 Sue-Ellen Wagner I think you are. I just want to mention you are on the Committee on Governance with AHA and you've contributed a lot of valuable insight on workforce challenges to that group. So I do think you're increasing awareness. To talk a little bit about - so with all the workforce challenges that our hospitals and health systems are facing, what shape boards be focusing on with those workforce challenges? 00;06;23;23 - 00;06;33;11 Sue-Ellen Wagner And if you could also address as part of that discussion and the value that a nurse will bring and how can folks find a nurse, that independent nurse. 00;06;33;18 - 00;07;18;05 Ellen Brzytwa, RN To be on a board? Yeah. Well, let's talk about that. As long as we've been talking about nurses on boards. Any hospital that's interested in this can reach me through Sue Ellen to talk about it, because sometimes people have to get comfortable with the idea, and I'm always available to do that. But there is a terrific organization called Nurses on Boards, &nbsp;and go online, nursesonboards.com, and there's a whole structure in place to be either a partner with nurses on boards, to get more information on this, or to ask their help in terms of finding an outside nurse that could be a trustee for their organization. 00;07;18;05 - 00;07;49;27 Ellen Brzytwa, RN And yesterday I was in a trustee meeting here at the AHA Leadership Summit in Seattle, and one of the gentleman who was presenting offered himself as an example and said, I live in Chicago, but I'm the chairman of the board of a hospital in Bend, Oregon. So even if you're a remote hospital or you're from a geographic area in which you're having a difficulty finding someone, this can be accomplished. And nurses on board 00;07;50;03 - 00;08;17;10 Ellen Brzytwa, RN and also Sue Ellen Wagner at AHA can help a hospital if they have interest in doing this. The value is, again, in terms of understanding that all of the dimensions of the nursing shortage, I often find that people are just panicked over what's immediately in front of them. And I sure don't blame them because half of my heart is as a trustee, as a nurse 00;08;17;10 - 00;08;51;21 Ellen Brzytwa, RN also, I see the stress. I see what COVID did to the nurses. I see the expense of dealing with that. And nurses are now being paid for the value they are. But looking at the shortage, there's more dimensions to it than just looking at how many people you need to recruit or your turnover rate. All those things are very important, but I often think that the hospital side focuses on that and has less focus on the education side. 00;08;51;24 - 00;09;14;13 Ellen Brzytwa, RN And I'm seeing a shift in that to a lot more interest on a sustained level in terms of the pipeline. How do we compete with perceived cool jobs when young people see that nowadays? How do we get them in the pipeline? How do we get a populations that have never been attracted to a profession or a nursing? Get them prepared. 00;09;14;14 - 00;09;39;27 Ellen Brzytwa, RN You have to start in practically late primary school, early junior year to recruit and get them into science-based thinking and curriculum. And there has to be a cool factor. And we have so many things about health care and hospitals that are so cool. All this superhero stuff, we have it. We checked all the technology, all these things, we have it all. 00;09;39;29 - 00;10;03;17 Ellen Brzytwa, RN We just don't package it, we don't sell it. And hospitals are really going to have to. And I start to see them putting in pipelines that are addressing the education part of being a nurse and the recruitment part, but also all these other dimensions of the cool factor. We still only have 12% of nurses that are male. We have a huge job to do with those. 00;10;03;18 - 00;10;29;22 Ellen Brzytwa, RN We've got all kinds of underserved populations. We only have, I think it's now 14% of nurses that are African-American. We have less than that that Asian Pacific, and the worst are our tribal nation nurses. And we have so many places to get people into nursing, but it has to be a sustained evidence-based approach. So that's one thing. 00;10;29;22 - 00;11;09;26 Ellen Brzytwa, RN But the other side of the hospitals taking more interest is in the nursing education programs that produce or registered nurses. And they really I think most hospitals do not know the ins and outs of how colleges and universities educate nurses and how to support those systems or how to intervene to expand the capacity of schools of nursing. We can look at new models of care on the practice side and the delivery side, but if we don't pay additional intense attention to the schools and colleges of nursing in this country, we will not be helping ourselves. 00;11;09;28 - 00;11;10;14 Ellen Brzytwa, RN So. 00;11;10;15 - 00;11;34;02 Sue-Ellen Wagner Oh, and thank you, because you've really outlined what boards should be paying attention and looking at that strategy for the workforce going forward. Getting back to the board's role in terms of governance and recruiting board members who have a nursing clinical background, I'm thinking you'll agree that that should be part of a governance matrix, right? Of skills and competencies that folks should be looking at. 00;11;34;02 - 00;12;03;26 Ellen Brzytwa, RN Absolutely. AHA did one of the most intense and expansive surveys on what boards of trustees in America need that I've ever seen in my career. And as I say, I've been a hospital trustee for 45 years. In my early career, I created an institute for trustees in Cleveland because I saw such a huge need, and now they are starting to look at people having to and help me here. 00;12;03;27 - 00;12;16;03 Ellen Brzytwa, RN Sue Ellen Sure. One thing is they're looking for health literacy in new recruits of trustees to a hospital board. Well, automatically, a nurse has 00;12;16;05 - 00;12;17;01 Sue-Ellen Wagner health, right? 00;12;17;01 - 00;12;57;23 Ellen Brzytwa, RN Literacy. The second thing they're looking for is expertise. In mission critical areas. Well, what's more, mission critical for a hospital than a sufficient number of well-educated, healthy, vibrant, joyful nurses taking care of patients not only in hospitals, but in all ambulatory settings. And so to me, the case for having a nurse trustee is so powerful. I yesterday spoke briefly at a meeting and I said to the other people in the room, even if you never see me again, you'll be thankful that I pushed you on this to think about this. 00;12;57;25 - 00;13;09;15 Ellen Brzytwa, RN Because go back to your home base. Go back to your health facility and think about what I'm saying. It's very, very important and it will help the other trustees as well. 00;13;09;17 - 00;13;24;16 Sue-Ellen Wagner Yes. Well, and also adding that skill set to your metrics if you don't have it already. Yeah. Just one last thing in closing. AHA put out a 2022 governance and survey report identifying all of the trends I think you referenced. 00;13;24;16 - 00;13;25;19 Ellen Brzytwa, RN That's excellent. 00;13;25;20 - 00;13;48;08 Sue-Ellen Wagner One of the trends that's not so great is pointing out that boards do not have many of the survey respondents. 18% that we got do not have that nursing skill set on their boards. So that's one of the areas that we need to work on with our hospitals and health systems to help recruit for that key clinical eye and expertise. 00;13;48;08 - 00;14;11;24 Ellen Brzytwa, RN That's right. And also to piggyback on that same survey, it showed that &nbsp;- and I'm guilty as charged - there's a lot of us that are old and need to exist stage left off these boards at some point. And looking at adding younger trustees, there's a lot of young nurses that are leaders and would be amazing 00;14;11;24 - 00;14;13;00 Sue-Ellen Wagner to be on a board. Yes. 00;14;13;00 - 00;14;27;04 Ellen Brzytwa, RN And they're looking for diversity within nursing. We do have diversity. We've got more diversity than many of the other health professions. So I think it's a double, triple win. Take that trust. A nurse, trustees, your board. 00;14;27;09 - 00;14;35;20 Sue-Ellen Wagner Well, Ellen, thank you for joining me today. Appreciate your words of wisdom. And hopefully more folks will pay attention to adding nurses on their boards. 00;14;35;21 - 00;14;50;21 Ellen Brzytwa, RN Well, I thank you for making an arrangement to have me interviewed about this with you, Sue Ellen, and I appreciate AHA's continuing and expanding focus on the nursing profession and the nursing workforce. Thank you. </details> </div></div> Wed, 13 Dec 2023 01:15:37 -0600 Board Composition and Selection AHA announces new trustees for 2024 /news/headline/2023-08-08-aha-announces-new-trustees-2024 The AHA has elected <a href="/press-releases/2023-08-08-aha-names-new-trustees-board">eight new members</a>&nbsp;to its Board of Trustees for three-year terms beginning Jan. 1. The incoming members are: Kurt Barwis, president and CEO of Bristol (Conn.) Health; Norvell Coots, M.D., president and CEO of Holy Cross Health and the Maryland Region of Trinity Health in Silver Spring, Md.; Steven Diaz, M.D., chief medical officer of MaineGeneral Health in Augusta; Laura Kaiser, president and CEO of SSM Health in St. Louis; Michael Mayo, president and CEO of Baptist Health in Jacksonville, Fla.; Tim McManus, national group president for HCA Healthcare in Nashville, Tenn.; Robert Trestman, M.D., professor and chair of psychiatry and behavioral medicine at Carilion Clinic and the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine in Roanoke; and Matt Wille, president and CEO of Munson Medical Center in Transverse City, Mich. In addition, Bill Gassen, president and CEO of Sanford Health in Sioux Falls, S.D., will fill an unexpired term on the board.&nbsp; Tue, 08 Aug 2023 15:01:00 -0500 Board Composition and Selection New trustee elected to AHA board /news/headline/2023-02-23-new-trustee-elected-aha-board AHA has <a href="/press-releases/2023-02-23-aha-names-new-trustee-board">elected</a>&nbsp;Ascension CEO Joseph R. Impicciche to immediately fill a vacancy on its Board of Trustees effective through 2024. Impicciche currently serves on AHA’s Committee on Health Care Strategy and Innovation, and previously served on AHA’s Strategic Leadership Group on Provider-led Health Plans and Task Force on Health Care Liability Reform.&nbsp; “The AHA is an important voice for hospitals and health systems as we work to advance an environment that best meets the healthcare needs of those we serve,” said Impicciche. “I am honored and humbled to represent the perspectives of our associates, providers and communities as part of the AHA board.” Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healy last month <a href="/news/headline/2023-01-25-aha-board-member-kate-walsh-named-hhs-secretary-massachusetts">named</a>&nbsp;former AHA trustee Kate Walsh as the state’s Secretary of Health and Human Services.&nbsp; &nbsp; Thu, 23 Feb 2023 16:06:00 -0600 Board Composition and Selection AHA Names New Trustee Kate Walsh to the Board /press-releases/2022-06-23-aha-names-new-trustee-board WASHINGTON (June 23, 2022) —&nbsp;The �� Association (AHA) has elected Kate Walsh to fill a vacancy on its Board of Trustees for a term effective immediately and ending December 31, 2024. The Board of Trustees is the highest policymaking body of the AHA and has ultimate authority for the governance and management of its direction and finances.“I’m deeply honored to join the Board of Trustees of the �� Association,” said Kate Walsh, President and CEO of Boston Medical Center Health System. “With the AHA’s leadership and support, hospitals have played a critical role in safeguarding our communities through COVID-19 and other public health emergencies. The AHA is also focused on two of the central challenges facing the entire health care community, reducing the health sector’s carbon footprint for a healthy climate, and achieving true health equity for all of our patients.”Walsh is president and CEO of Boston Medical Center (BMC) Health System. The primary teaching affiliate of Boston University School of Medicine, Boston Medical Center has more than 6,000 employees and 880 physicians who are affiliated with Boston University Medical Group. BMC Health System also includes WellSense Health Plan, a Medicaid Managed Care Organization, and Boston HealthNet, a network affiliation of 12 community health centers throughout Greater Boston.Prior to joining BMC in 2010, Walsh served as executive vice president and chief operating officer for Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Before her tenure at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Walsh was the chief operating officer for Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research and at Massachusetts General Hospital in positions including senior vice president of medical services and the MGH Cancer Center. Walsh also held several positions in a number of New York City hospitals including Montefiore, Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, Saint Luke’s – Roosevelt Hospital Center and the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation.Walsh is currently on AHA’s Strategic Leadership Group on Urban Hospital Sustainability and was a member of AHA’s Strategic Leadership Group on Provider-led Health Plans from 2016-2019 while also joining the AHA Task Force on Ensuring Access in Vulnerable Communities from 2015-2016.Walsh is an active member on the boards of the Boston Public Health Commission, the Massachusetts Hospital and Health Association, Yale University, the Association of American Medical Colleges and Pine Street Inn. In addition, Walsh served as a member of the Board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.Walsh received a master’s degree in public health and bachelor of arts degree in urban studies from Yale University.### Contact:&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Colin Milligan,&nbsp;<a href="mailto:cmilligan@aha.org">cmilligan@aha.org</a> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Sean Barry,&nbsp;<a href="mailto:mjohnson@aha.org">sbarry@aha.org</a>About the �� Association The �� Association (AHA) is a not-for-profit association of health care provider organizations and individuals that are committed to the health improvement of their communities. The AHA advocates on behalf of our nearly 5,000 member hospitals, health systems and other health care organizations, our clinician partners – including more than 270,000 affiliated physicians, 2 million nurses and other caregivers – and the 43,000 health care leaders who belong to our professional membership groups. Founded in 1898, the AHA provides insight and education for health care leaders and is a source of information on health care issues and trends. For more information, visit the AHA website at <a href="mailto:https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flink.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com%2Fls%2Fclick%3Fupn%3DOYJSCMTyBhNCCTfI0zdws3k4q717QwzY0FjT3KNOjeM-3D30Wi_kFmn947cPXeH4Nw5FKo9qWRARJUhwQXnY03SXbOJmd4fh-2FMf2fOpasllheBrYb-2F8tnjtjNDujBrG4uugreK5OWkDI227pG8YPlYGd-2Boz0WRezRdoSQJc-2FP-2FpAltWiLE9kt9x3HmGbLRtjchUG5OSWSpuaJFgpFFXxwau70bV6tmdrqTX-2B-2FRDv5xwMg40Fyd1APx1VM4ifKH4h2eOzlDcry7uQKshCU1dovxfUTOyodgxiLbBaaKnsNnrqF23DKgehZ73ML40Rz2yjjf9J0t0unVJLBFjZsGaG9-2FehMUphNcRXGiSmJCKtu4pxYtl-2FsmW6s7PZ01HWtQLCKeH5GYXFsHbnlfAyot6MC-2BAmMueYZdzgJKjvRFRBxIKaG9h2XXz&amp;data=05%7C01%7Ccmilligan%40aha.org%7C667737756df94a3a27ef08da26be4d33%7Cb9119340beb74e5e84b23cc18f7b36a6%7C0%7C0%7C637864896042610076%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=l7xn2Dz%2FpFpSwjKv%2B3k3Rub%2B%2F%2FEAiY8WCp%2B5vBpMTrI%3D&amp;reserved=0">www.aha.org</a>. Thu, 23 Jun 2022 10:04:55 -0500 Board Composition and Selection AHA announces new trustees for 2022 /news/headline/2021-08-05-aha-announces-new-trustees-2022 The AHA has elected <a href="/press-releases/2021-08-05-aha-names-new-trustees-board">six new members</a> to its Board of Trustees for three-year terms beginning Jan. 1. The incoming members are: Tina Freese Decker, president &amp; CEO of Spectrum Health System, Grand Rapids, Mich.; Dennis Pullin, president and CEO of Virtua Health, Marlton, N.J.; Anthony Slonim, M.D., president and CEO of Renown Health, Reno, Nev.; Mike Abrams, president and CEO of the Ohio Hospital Association; Heidi Duncan, M.D., a family medicine physician at Billings (Mont.) Clinic; and John (Jack) Lynch III, president and CEO of Main Line Health, Bryn Mawr, Pa. Phyllis Cowling, president and CEO of United Regional Health Care System, Wichita Falls, Texas, also was named to a full term on the board after receiving a midterm appointment last year.&nbsp; Thu, 05 Aug 2021 13:47:49 -0500 Board Composition and Selection AHA names six new trustees to the 2022 board /press-releases/2021-08-05-aha-names-new-trustees-board WASHINGTON (August 5, 2021) – The �� Association has elected six new members to its Board of Trustees for three-year terms beginning Jan. 1, 2022. The Board of Trustees is the highest policymaking body of the AHA and has ultimate authority for the governance and management of its directions and finances.&nbsp;In addition, Phyllis Cowling, president and CEO of United Regional Health Care System in Wichita Falls, Texas was reappointed to a full term as a member of the AHA Board of Trustees. Cowling was elected last year to fill a vacancy on the Board for one year, effective Jan. 1, 2021. More information about Cowling can be found <a href="/press-releases/2020-10-07-aha-names-new-trustee-board">HERE</a>.Incoming members of the AHA Board of Trustees include:Tina Freese Decker, MHA, MSIE, FACHE, President &amp; CEO of Spectrum Health System, an $8.3 billion not-for-profit health system that provides care and coverage, comprising 31,000+ team members, 14 hospitals (including Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital), a robust network of care facilities, teams of nationally recognized doctors and providers, and the nation’s third-largest provider-sponsored health plan, Priority Health, currently serving over 1.2 million members across the state of Michigan.Over her 19 years serving Spectrum Health in various strategic and operational roles, Freese Decker has developed a strong track record of forging collaborative community partnerships, executing effective strategy and inspiring high-performing talent and teams. She leads with a bold vision — personalized health made simple, affordable and exceptional — and is committed to building a health system that celebrates and reinforces diversity, equity and inclusion for team members, patients, families and members.Freese Decker is the current chair of the Michigan Health and Hospital Association, immediate past chair of the Economic Club of Grand Rapids, vice chair of The Right Place, and participates in additional local boards.&nbsp;Freese Decker’s awards include Modern Healthcare’s 2021 and 2019 Top 25 Women Leaders, Grand Rapids Business Journal's 50 Most Influential Women in West Michigan in 2020, Crain’s Detroit Business’ 2019 Health Care Heroes award and 2018 Most Notable Women in Health Care and Managed Healthcare Executive’s 10 Emerging Healthcare Industry Leaders 2018.She earned a Bachelor of Science in finance from Iowa State University and a Master of Health Administration and Master of Industrial Engineering from the University of Iowa.&nbsp;Dennis W. Pullin, FACHE, president and CEO of Virtua Health, a not-for-profit integrated health system in New Jersey, with five hospitals, 300 care sites and 15,000 colleagues offering a full continuum of primary, preventive, wellness, acute, and long-term care.Pullin came to Virtua in 2017 from the Washington, D.C./Baltimore, MD area where he was president of MedStar Harbor Hospital and senior vice president of MedStar Health. Prior to leading MedStar Harbor, he was senior vice president and chief operating officer at MedStar Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C.&nbsp;Pullin’s extensive background includes many executive leadership positions in hospitals, academic medical centers, physician group practices and private industry. He was vice president of operations and business development at St. Luke’s Episcopal Health System in Houston and vice president of acquisitions and development at Symbion Healthcare, Inc.A fellow and past regent of the American College of Healthcare Executives, Pullin serves on the New Jersey Hospital Association Board of Trustees. He is a past chair of the �� Association’s Governance Council for Metropolitan Hospitals and a past member of the Maryland Hospital Association’s Council on Legislative and Regulatory Policy. He is a current member of the Chamber of Commerce Southern New Jersey Board of Directors and the United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey Regional Board of Directors. In 2020 and 2018, Modern Healthcare recognized him as one of the nation’s Top 25 Minority Executives in Healthcare.&nbsp;Pullin earned a Bachelor of Arts at Texas Lutheran University and a Master of Science at Texas A&amp;M University.Anthony Slonim, MD, DrPH, FACHE, president and CEO of Renown Health, one of the nation's most innovative and progressive health systems based in Reno, Nev. He leads Renown's charitable mission of making a genuine difference in the community's health and well-being.The integrated health care system includes four hospitals, 100 sites for primary, urgent &nbsp;and specialty care; telehealth; an integrated, provider-sponsored health plan and accountable care organization serving more than 160,000 members across northern Nevada, with products including Medicare and Medicare Advantage. Most recently, Slonim and his team helped to integrate the University of Nevada’s School of Medicine into Renown Health and established a new Clinically Integrated Network. Renown's more than 7,000 employees and 1,500 physician-providers serve as the regional referral center for 100,000 square miles from &nbsp;Sacramento to Salt Lake City.&nbsp;Before joining Renown Health, Slonim served on the senior leadership teams for Barnabas Health in New Jersey, Carilion Clinic in Virginia and Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C.Slonim, who was also a registered nurse, got his medical degree from New York Medical College, served four years in the U.S. Public Service Commissioned Corps as a commander, and earned both his master's and doctoral degrees in public health and health policy &nbsp;from The George Washington University's Center for Health Policy Studies.&nbsp;Mike Abrams, president and CEO of the Ohio Hospital Association (OHA). As the united voice of Ohio’s hospital community, OHA leverages data and expertise to be the leader in influencing health policy, driving quality improvement initiatives and advocating for economic sustainability to serve a diverse membership.&nbsp;Abrams’ career started as a staffer in the Indiana statehouse, and since 1987, has centered around government affairs, health care and meeting the needs of members — first with the Indiana State Medical Association, then the Iowa Medical Society before moving to the Ohio Hospital Association.&nbsp;Abrams collaborates with leaders across various industries to connect members with innovative solutions and new perspectives. In 2018, he helped to create a group comprising presidents of 21 statewide associations to learn about pressing issues in each other’s industry sectors. The group ranges from the Bankers League, to the Farm Bureau to the Auto Dealers Association. He joined with the president of the Ohio Association of Community Colleges to hold a summit of college and hospital leaders to discuss a new workforce development partnership.Abrams earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and Master of Public Administration from Indiana University.Heidi Duncan, M.D., FAAFP, is a family medicine physician at Billings Clinic, Montana’s largest health system based in Billings, Montana. Billings Clinic is a physician-led, community-governed, integrated, not-for-profit health care organization with 15 affiliated Critical Access Hospitals serving residents of Montana, Wyoming and the western Dakotas.As a physician leader and policy leader, Dr. Duncan advocates for education and community health improvement, such as innovative ways of providing health care to historically marginalized communities that include American Indians, children and seniors.Dr. Duncan has worked at Billings Clinic since 1994, and in 2014, she added the role of Billings Clinic’s Physician Director of Health Policy to her clinical work. She shares health policy work in a dyad with the director of reimbursement and health policy. Together, they work at the grassroots, state and federal levels with other physician leaders, legislators and policy makers to inform them on policy issues related to practicing medicine in an integrated clinical system that includes rural physician practices and Critical Access Hospitals. Her policy work has included innovations in telemedicine and virtual visits; reaching consensus on Medicaid expansion in a conservative state; developing new residencies; and many more leading-edge issues. Dr. Duncan was recently elected to serve as a physician member of the Billings Clinic Board of Directors, has served as President of the Montana Academy of Family Physicians and has been a delegate to the American Academy of Family Physicians for many years. &nbsp;She received a Bachelor of Arts from Stanford University and her M.D. from the University of Washington School of Medicine. She is board certified in Family Medicine. Dr. Duncan is a delegate to the AHA Regional Policy Board 8 (RPB 8), and as an AHA Board member, she will chair this RPB.&nbsp;John J. (Jack) Lynch III, FACHE, president and CEO of Main Line Health since 2005, providing executive leadership to suburban Philadelphia’s most comprehensive not-for-profit health care system. Main Line Health is comprised of four of the region’s respected acute care hospitals — Lankenau Medical Center, Bryn Mawr Hospital, Paoli Hospital and Riddle Hospital —&nbsp;as well as one of the nation’s premier facilities for rehabilitative medicine, Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital; Mirmont Treatment Center, one of the leading addiction treatment programs in the Northeast; the Lankenau Institute for Medical Research; and the Home Care Network, which provides at-home nursing and hospice care throughout the five county region. &nbsp;During his tenure with Main Line Health, Lynch and his leadership team have been credited with strengthening the organization’s commitment to safety, quality and equity and enhancing the technology necessary to support significant advances in those areas. He has also fostered a period of expansion, including the addition of an acute care hospital and six health centers to better serve the needs of the Main Line and western suburban communities, and has cultivated an employee work environment that has garnered recognition from several independent rating organizations. &nbsp;Prior to joining Main Line Health, Lynch served nearly 20 years as an executive with the St. Luke’s Episcopal Health System in Houston, Texas, where he advanced to the position of executive vice president and chief operating officer for the system, as well as CEO of the system’s flagship facility, St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital.&nbsp;A former governor of the American College of Healthcare Executives, Lynch serves on the boards of the United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey, The Haverford School and The American Heart Association, where he is on the Eastern States Board and the Philadelphia Board. As an AHA Board member, he will chair RPB 2.Lynch received his undergraduate degree from the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania and his Master of Health Administration from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Mo. &nbsp;###Contact:&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Colin Milligan, <a href="mailto:cmilligan@aha.org">cmilligan@aha.org</a>, (202) 638-5491 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sean Barry, <a href="mailto:sbarry@aha.org">sbarry@aha.org</a>, (202) 626-2306 Thu, 05 Aug 2021 11:00:00 -0500 Board Composition and Selection AHA Board Names John Haupert Chair-Elect Designate /press-releases/2021-07-28-aha-board-names-john-haupert-chair-elect-designate WASHINGTON (July 28, 2021) – The �� Association (AHA) Board of Trustees has elected John Haupert, president and CEO of Grady Health System in Atlanta, as its Chair-elect Designate. Haupert will be the 2023 chair of the AHA, becoming the top-elected official of the national organization that represents America’s hospitals and health systems and works to advance health in America. Haupert began his tenure at Grady in October 2011. Grady is the primary Level I trauma center and burn center for the Atlanta metropolitan area. In addition, Grady is home to many nationally recognized clinical services including the Marcus Neuroscience and Stroke Center, the Correll Cardiac Center, the Georgia Cancer Center for Excellence, Hughes-Spalding Children’s Hospital and Grady EMS, one of the largest hospital-based EMS agencies in the country. Grady also serves as the primary training site for the Morehouse and Emory Schools of Medicine. His career in health care management began at Methodist Health System in Dallas in 1992, where he served for fourteen years in various roles, including president of one of the system’s hospitals and as executive vice president for corporate services and business development. In October 2006, Haupert left the Methodist Health System to become the chief operating officer at Parkland Health and Hospital System in Dallas. “My election as Chair-elect Designate is a tremendous honor. I am most appreciative of this important opportunity and I look forward to working with my fellow AHA members to address the issues hospitals face now and in the future,” said Haupert.&nbsp; Haupert currently serves as immediate past-chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Georgia Hospital Association. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce and is a member of the Rotary Club of Atlanta. He also serves as a member of the Board of Directors for The Atlanta Committee for Progress. &nbsp;In 2015, he was appointed by Governor Nathan Deal to serve as a member of the board of the Georgia Department of Public Health. &nbsp; Nationally, Haupert served on the Board of Trustees of the �� Association from 2018 to 2020 and on its executive committee in 2020. He is the current chair of the AHA’s Strategic Leadership Group for Urban Hospital Sustainability and a member of the AHA’s Institute for Diversity and Health Equity (IFDHE) Leadership Council. He is a former chair of the Board of Directors of America’s Essential Hospitals. In 2019, Haupert was named by The CEO Forum as one of the “10 CEOs Transforming Healthcare in America.” Also in 2019, he became the ninth Georgia hospital leader since 1978 to receive the Georgia Hospital Association Gold Honor Award. In addition, he received the Healthcare Legend Award from The Legendary Foundation in 2018, the Leadership Award from National Medical Fellowships in 2017, and the Grassroots Champion Award by The �� Association in 2016. &nbsp; Haupert is a native of Ft. Smith, Ark., and a graduate of Trinity University in San Antonio, where he earned a Master of Science Degree in Health Care Administration. He also received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Trinity. ### Contact:&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Marie Johnson, <a href="mjohnson@aha.org">mjohnson@aha.org</a> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Colin Milligan, <a href="cmilligan@aha.org">cmilligan@aha.org</a> &nbsp; Wed, 28 Jul 2021 09:16:19 -0500 Board Composition and Selection