Michael A. Novak, MSM, MBA, FACHE, Chapter President
Greetings Chapter Members, Fellows and Sponsors,
The challenging times in healthcare certainly continue. Covid-19 and its cadre of variants continue to lurk about. It’s time for Covid boosters already when it seems we just got our first sets of vaccine. Flu vaccines are basically past due and positivity from flu and RSV is on the rise. Couple this with continued supply chain pressures, high staff vacancy and higher travelling staff costs and there is little doubt that most hospital systems are facing losses this year.
Now more than ever, healthcare executive leaders are looking at these critical issues and striving to find ways to manage their systems through them. It’s so evident that leadership is critical in difficult times and healthcare leaders throughout the country are rising to meet this need – thinking outside the box, communicating openly and honestly with staff to let them know they are working very hard and are dearly appreciated. We try not to let our concerns show until we close our office doors behind us.
A great friend of mine once said “the difference between a good doctor and a great doctor is knowing when to ask for help.” I think of this often and realize that leadership is not so much about knowing the answer but knowing how one might find an answer – looking to others, looking outside our systems and even into other industries. Creativity, confidence and humility are these key components to trusted leadership.
The American College of Health Care Executives was founded in the belief that leaders need a place to network, exchange ideas, successes and failures. We meet annually in March in Chicago to hear from systems around the world and to catch up with colleagues to hear how things are going. It’s a critical moment for leadership and growth. Local chapters were formed to extend that aspect regionally, to collect ideas and promote greater understanding amongst ourselves at a frequency greater than once a year.
The Connecticut Chapter of Healthcare Executives (CTAHE) is that regional resource of leadership and it has been a very good year. This past year, our chapter was recognized as one of Chapter Excellence meeting three of the four stretch goals for ACHE. We also were recognized as a chapter for Sustained Excellence meaning that we have been a highly recognized chapter for a number of years. We also were recognized nationally for our leadership and accomplishments in our efforts for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
We have many great things planned for next year. We will have our annual Golf Tournament but are also focused on a number of “Socials” that will include face-to-face (F2F) credits. We hope that we can be a regional source of F2F credits as the challenges of travel remain among us. We look forward to seeing our membership at these events as we learn together, gather following for some exchanges of ideas, and maybe have a couple laughs. We will also be planning some chapter events for ACHE Congress in March – so stay tuned.
In closing, I commend all of our healthcare leaders that support our healthcare heroes daily to provide great care in challenging times. We hope that you can find a brief respite of joy with friends and family during this holiday season.
On behalf of your Board of the Connecticut Chapter of ACHE, we wish you all a joyous, healthy and safe holidays.
Warm Regards,
Mike