One year ago, March began with promising registration numbers for our largest event of the year, the Congress on Healthcare Leadership. We were monitoring the spread of COVID-19, while plans were proceeding for a successful event. As the world now knows, the three weeks leading up to what should have been the conference kickoff were some of the most tumultuous days we would see as healthcare leaders.
As we now prepare for the virtual 2021 Congress on Healthcare Leadership, it’s your tenacity, courage and innovation that have inspired our theme, “Reimagine.” We are struck by the dedication each of you has shown to care for patients and reimagine all that we do. We are changed forever.
The phrase “necessity is the mother of invention” appeared in 16th century Greek texts and is still highly relevant in today’s environment. This year, your resilience has brought to life many shining examples of how healthcare delivery is reimagined—from vaccine trials and the rapid adoption of digital health, to strategies around financial recovery and a greater focus to deliver on the promise of equity for all.
The COVID-19 vaccine development demonstrated our industry’s ability to adapt existing research and discoveries to rapidly create new solutions—a skill that will continue to prove valuable as the virus evolves. Our leadership expertise will now be called into service to manage the distribution of the vaccine as well as outreach and education for our workforce and the communities we serve.
The skyrocketing trajectory of digital health will also require our creativity and agility. Services, startups and apps that were previously considered disruptors have become essential. This technology is setting standards for new models of care delivery with patients and providers alike. Telemedicine, artificial intelligence and predictive analytics will continue to play a critical part in ensuring the health and safety of our employees, patients and communities.
Inside our board and leadership deliberations, we are reminded of our central roles and responsibilities to care for others, while we face the realities of our financial outlooks. And we’ve learned to be even leaner, realizing efficiencies that will guide us through times of uncertainty in the future. As leaders, we have the opportunity to influence sound decisions that balance investments for the future of patient-centered care and technology, along with fiscal responsibility.
The pandemic has presented yet more evidence of disparities in outcomes across all dimensions of race, age, income and those with chronic conditions. To be vigilant in driving toward equity in outcomes seems insufficient. We can and must bring about a renewed focus on social determinants of health, using the innovations and inventions of the last year and all the talent and determination we can muster to close the divide.
Across disciplines, we’ve seen strength, teamwork and caring at work in the face of hardship and grief. As we enter this new era together, know that for our small part, we remain committed to providing you the best of what our field has learned, and to helping you take hold of our collective wisdom and harness it to advance health. I hope you can join us later this month as we take an important step forward during our 2021 Congress on Healthcare Leadership, March 22-25. Even though we can’t be together in person, I look forward to seeing you there.
Deborah J. Bowen, FACHE, CAE, is president/CEO, American College of Healthcare Executives (dbowen@ache.org).