Three chapters share how they helped members continue to engage with each other during the pandemic.
In-Person to Virtual in Northern California
The inaugural California Association of Healthcare Leaders Congress was scheduled to be a two-day, in-person conference in Monterey, Calif. Amid the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, CAHL leadership charged the CAHLCon Planning Committee with reconfiguring the conference into a virtual event.
Realizing the difficulties of going from a live event to a virtual one, CAHL swung into action to craft a vision, strategy and project plan for the conference. Within five weeks of the directive to transform the event, CAHLCon Virtual launched July 30 as a series of educational and celebratory virtual events that included eight panel discussions, two “Learning From Leaders” events, and the annual “Meeting and Awards” celebration, held Sept. 24.
At the time of writing, the chapter was halfway through the virtual series and had coordinated more than 36 executives’ calendars and secured up to 212 registrants for a single event with an average attendance of 116 participants per event. Anonymous feedback surveys received to date show an average satisfaction score of 4.7 out of 5.0, while qualitative feedback has reflected that the chapter has succeeded in creating a feeling of connection among CAHL members.
Education Options in Wisconsin
The primary focus for the American College of Healthcare Executives—Wisconsin Chapter was maximizing opportunities for local members to earn ACHE Face-to-Face Education credits. The chapter hosted six virtual Face-to-Face education events within the fourth quarter of 2020. The chapter’s Career Development Academy hosted two webinars in September and December that covered mentoring and networking and being a relationship-driven leader. ACHE—WI also hosted two social events in November and December that addressed the topics of work-life balance and healthcare design. The chapter partnered with the Healthcare Financial Management Association’s Wisconsin chapter—WI HFMA—for the Women in Healthcare Leadership Conference. The full-day, virtual Nov. 6 event challenged women to be resilient, reinvigorate and recharge. During its Nov. 13 Annual Meeting, ACHE—WI celebrated the successes of 2020 and thanked its chapter volunteers.
Student Engagement in Central Florida
When travel restrictions made it impossible to visit healthcare administration programs in ACHE’s Higher Education Network in person, the American College of Healthcare Executives of Central Florida found a solution thanks to the creative energy of its Student Advisory Board. Instead of in person visits, the board proposed making outreach videos instead.
The board functions under the leadership of Chika Ozodiegwu and Ellice Mae Sanchez, ACHE Student Associates from the University of Central Florida, and it consists of nine students from various universities in the area.
After receiving board approval to fund the project, Sanchez proceeded with coordinating the effort from sourcing the video production all the way through final editing. Members of the advisory board submitted theme and script ideas and were cast for the production.
The students chose the theme “Unity, Opportunity and Innovation,” and began the videos with the opening line, “ACHE brings unity, opportunity and innovation to all students.” Voiceover narrations weave the theme throughout each video as group interactions play out in the background.
Senior leaders from the ACHECF board volunteered to be cast for scenes simulating networking. Because of filming limitations due to the pandemic, the networking scenarios were all filmed in small group settings. The senior executives in the videos took time away from work to attend the filming on the downtown UCF campus.
Three videos were presented to, and approved by, the ACHECF board and Ashley R. Vertuno, FACHE, Regent for Florida—Eastern. The Higher Education Chairman worked with the program chairmen of the assigned HEN institutions to gain support for presenting the videos to current and prospective healthcare administration students. Once support for the videos was established, the completed videos were delivered to the HEN institutions by way of a dedicated online drop box. The chapter estimates that this project directly reached around 1,500 eligible students, excluding any potential additional reach achieved through sharing the videos on social media.
In addition to the video project, the SAB created a Committee Council with nine additional students, each assigned to an ACHECF committee. The students are now producing a monthly Lunch & Learn series featuring regional senior executives that is specifically meant for students, and they are working on creating a student organization at the University of Central Florida. s
To find your chapter or search the chapter directory. To discuss your ideas for chapters, contact Jennifer L. Connelly, FACHE, CAE, vice president, Department of Regional Services, at (312) 424-9320 or jconnelly@ache.org.