AHA resources focused on the board

Last year, the American Hospital Association challenged itself to answer this question: “How can we best support good governance in the changing health care environment and reach the widest audience possible?” As a result of extensive study and feedback from the field, the AHA has refocused its trustee education efforts on the emerging challenges in health care, as well as the good governance practices crucial to success and advancing health in every community in America.

The AHA this spring launched a new trustee resource: Trustee Insights. This quarterly update is a multimedia package that includes not only briefs on some of the hottest topics in health care but webinar and video content that can be used for boardroom education and discussion.

Trustee Insights will be produced quarterly, but new resources will be added regularly to trustees.aha.org. This new web resource pulls together resources from across the AHA and includes tools for good governance practices and thought leadership on what it means to be a high-performing board. Trustee Insights also is home to a rich repository of webinars for in-boardroom education.

In addition, the AHA is ensuring that each of its three flagship meetings — the AHA Annual Membership Meeting, the Leadership Summit and the Rural Health Care Leadership Conference — has a dedicated “Trustee Track” of programming.

At the Leadership Summit, July 27-29 in San Diego, the Trustee Track will connect the work of governance to the challenges of delivery system transformation. The track also will provide one-on-one opportunities for trustees to dive deeper into emerging trends and best practices with governance and health care experts. Through peer-to-peer learning forums, board members will gain practical ideas to help them foster improved health and outcomes for the communities they serve. 

The track’s flexible programming allows trustees to attend summit keynote sessions and engage with experts and peers. Topics include in-depth discussions of the board’s role in population health management, and how board members can act as stewards and catalysts to improve the patient experience of care. For more information and registration details, click here.

The AHA is enthusiastic about these changes and wants your feedback. If you have any questions or suggestions, please email trustees@aha.org.

Andy Stern (andystern@sunwestpr.com) is chair of the American Hospital Association Committee on Governance and a trustee of Medical City Dallas Hospital in Dallas.