2008 4th Quarter Newsletter: A Season for Change
We just had our employee forum at our hospital and the theme was a season for change. I cannot think of a more appropriate theme to talk about in our 4th Quarter newsletter. However I first need to apologize for completely missing our 3rd Quarter newsletter! I suppose that season of change came with a lot of activity which took my focus away. Hopefully all of you are surviving all of the change. We now have a new President Elect which will most certainly have an impact on us all. We are in a fast paced changing environment with multiple challenges on our industry and our nation. I encourage all of you to embrace those challenges.
The Austin Conference
The 44th Annual conference was a great success. I was happy to see so many of you at the Regional Breakfast. Region 9 had 55 registered participants, and a good portion of them made it to the Breakfast. Although we did not have any awards to give out at the breakfast, commitments were made to submit nominations for next year and to also submit for Chapter Recognition. I know for a fact that many of our Chapters are doing wonderful things and would easily meet the expectations for Chapter recognition.
Barbara Glanz, Alma Hughs and Christine Kane were all amazing keynote speakers. I also had the privilege of attending several outstanding sessions with speakers who often are keynotes at other conferences. For those of you who caught Liz Jazwiec’s session, it was definitely well worth attending.
Finally, I was impressed with ASHHRA’s efforts to go green and provide all the handouts for the various sessions on-line. For those of you who were unable to attend a specific session, but really wanted to get the materials, ASHHRA made it possible for all of us to almost be at two places at once!
2009 Annual Conference
Hopefully you have already received information on next year’s annual conference in Chicago. There is even a chance to register really early and save quite a bit. If you register by December 31 you can save up to $75.00. Pre-conference activities begin on Halloween and the conference. The conference begins on November 1st and ends on November 3rd. Please mark your calendar now so that you don’t miss this wonderful opportunity. For those of you, who may have difficulty financing the trip to Chicago, be sure to look out for the information on the Met-Life scholarships. This past year Region 9 did not have a scholarship recipient because at the last minute our recipients were unable to attend the conference. We want to be sure to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity for next year. I will look forward to multiple applications next year!
The ASHHRA Metrics Tool
If you haven’t checked out the Metrics Tool, that should be high on your to do list. There is an opportunity to get free benchmarks for your Board and your CEO. See how you stack up on some common metrics for free. Just click on the following link to get a free dashboard:https://ashhra.enetrix.com/ashdash/entry.jsp?db=prod
Mentorship Program
The ASHHRA Mentoring Program is designed to create a mentorship community for health care HR professionals to enhance and grow knowledge, skills, and abilities to excel in their career. Using the five competencies of the HR Leader Model, the program will become a resource for finding and developing talent to ultimately advance the growth of the health care HR profession.
The recommended time commitment for this program is to meet at least once a month for one year and then evaluate if more time is needed. For more information on the mentoring program click on the following link:http://www.ashhra.org/ashhra/learning/mentoring.html
Region 9 News
WSHHRA and OSHHRA (Washington State Healthcare Human Resources Association and the Oregon Healthcare Human Resources Association) worked collaboratively on a joint conference this fall. It was held in Vancouver, WA at the Heathman Lodge. Topics included HR Leadership, Using social network internet sites to screen applicants, difficult behaviors, Federal and State legal updates and Strategic exit interviewing. This combined for a total of 8.5 PHR, SPHR, GPHR recertification credits!
A few of us enjoyed a round of golf the day before the conference and all of us enjoyed a nice dinner outdoors while listening to great music. The event was so well received plans are already in the works for another combined conference in Fall of 2009. At the Region 9 Breakfast during the Annual ASHHRA Conference in Austin we also talked with someone from California who was interested in being invited, which would make it truly a Region 9 Conference.
WSHHRA is planning on having their Spring Conference on April 23rd and 24th at the Cedarbrook Hotel in Seatac, Washington, so save those dates.
We are pleased to announce the 2009 WSHHRA Board Members. A thank you goes out to everyone who participated by accepting a nomination - the races with multiple nominees were both very close! A high number of members voted, it’s nice to see so many members actively participate.
President - Kristen Fox, Kadlec Medical Center in Richland
President - Elect - Jolene Seda, Medical Associates of Yakima
Legislative Liaison - Geoff Roach, Forks Community Hospital
Secretary - Janeen Reding, Okanogan Douglas Hospital, Brewster
Treasurer - Marlo Willis, Kittitas Valley Community Hospital, Ellensburg
Website - Joy Lockerby, United Claims Management, Seattle
Past-President - Hydee Shrader, Central Washington Hospital, Wenatchee
Special thanks to the exiting Board Members: Connie Ray, Jack Powers, Mindy Portschy and Claudia Hawley. All three of them served for multiple years and provided great contributions while in office. Thank you for your willingness to volunteer – WSHHRA appreciates the time you devoted.
