I had the pleasure recently to spend time with the HFMA Massachusetts-Rhode Island (MA-RI) chapter’s past presidents. In attendance there were 12 past presidents who represented the chapter and who have served in many capacities going back to 1999 – 20 years of commitment. The MA-RI chapter is led by volunteers and continues its legacy of trying new and innovative ways to excel.
The purpose of this annual past presidents’ event is to choose the recipients of the Medal of Honor (MOH) and the Frances M. Hernan awards. The national Founders MOH was added in 1986 and recognizes an individual who has been actively involved with HFMA for at least three years after earning the Muncie Gold Award. (More information about Founders Awards available here or you can check out our past blog post here). The Frances M. Hernan award is unique to our chapter and is presented to a chapter member who has excelled in his or her work for the chapter and has made outstanding contributions to the fields of hospital financial management. The first Hernan award was given in 1981 in recognition of Frances M. Hernan, our chapter’s first president. A list of past winners of both awards is available here. This year’s winners will be honored at the annual Wine Dinner on May 9, 2019 at the Downtown Harvard Club.
During the event, I was struck by the continued and on-going interest in the professional organization and by the group’s desire to brain-storm about the future of the national organization, the local MA-RI chapter’s ongoing success and innovations, its mission and the importance of delivering the best educational meetings. The group’s desire to ensure that the chapter remain at the forefront of healthcare finance trends and policy changes, with the goal of supporting the healthcare finance community, was evident.
One of the many topics of discussion was how best to reach out to the regional financial and clinical leadership and how best to assist them in their understanding of the key metrics and financial data so that they can provide the “best patient care in the right setting, at the right time,” in order to propel our healthcare delivery system in a cost-conscious method. Assisting finance in being able to communicate with all senior leaders, including clinical leadership, and reducing the respective “industry language barriers” between finance and healthcare providers, is a common goal for all who attended the dinner.
I want to personally thank all of the past presidents for their leadership and ongoing commitment to the HFMA MA-RI chapter and for their PASSION.
Best regards,
Rose Rotty
President 2017-2018
