Strategic Plan
ACHE follows a three-year strategic planning cycle, and 2023 is year 2. In this year, the goal is to confirm the direction of the Strategic Plan. The Board reviewed the vision, mission and values and the Strategic Plan, making no changes for 2024–2026. In 2024, ACHE will conduct a deep dive to gather and analyze information to inform the 2025–2027 plan. Regents will play an active role in this process.
Business Update
The Board reviewed and approved financial statements for the current period and accepted ACHE’s and the Foundation of ACHE’s consolidated 2022 financial audit. ACHE received an unmodified (clean) audit opinion with no internal control concerns reported.
ACHE membership is experiencing modest growth as of April 30, with new member recruitment being particularly strong. The rate of Members passing the Board of Governors Exam is down from the prior year; however, there is a healthy pipeline of Members eligible to take the Exam this year.
Tactics are underway to increase the number of ACHE Fellows and Fellow applicants. A digitally focused campaign will include a revamped web presence for the FACHE® credential, which includes video testimonials of Fellows and a robust email campaign to encourage targeted prospects to begin their FACHE journey.
The Board heard updates on the 2023 Congress on Healthcare Leadership and Virtual Leadership Symposium. This year was a record-breaking Congress, with a total attendance of 4,953. Overall satisfaction achieved a score of 4.57, which exceeds the 4.55 from 2022 and 4.29 in 2019. The Virtual Leadership Symposium held in May included 960 attendees, with an overall satisfaction score of 4.78. This exceeds the two prior Virtual Leadership Symposiums in the spring (4.67) and fall (4.56) of 2022.
An update was provided on Health Administration Press and initiatives to reinvent products, expand distribution channels and enhance marketing and sales strategies to deliver high-quality content to healthcare students, executives and organizations.
ACHE and the Foundation of ACHE Board of Governors Meeting Highlights
Strategic Imperatives
The Board had an in-depth discussion on the priorities established to elevate the reach and impact of ACHE in achieving the Strategic Plan directives.
Technology Acceleration Plan
In our role as Trusted Partner, ACHE will commit to deepening engagement with members and the healthcare community through education, networking and career services to inspire and cultivate leaders to advance health. In doing so, ACHE will accelerate the use of technology to proactively meet the challenges of a rapidly changing environment and create unparalleled digital experiences for leaders.
ACHE is on an aggressive path to make key decisions regarding upgrades to core technology platforms and digital presence. This includes decisions that will allow ACHE to upgrade our website and content management system.
DEI Next-Level Strategy
In our role as Catalyst, ACHE will commit to leading for safety and equity. ACHE continues to prioritize its diversity, equity and inclusion strategy to support leaders and organizations in achieving equity to advance health.
A suite of resources for learning and development is being designed to amplify the impact of individuals and organizations across our profession. This includes creating a DEI narrative to drive awareness of ACHE’s commitment to advancing DEI and health equity, and illustrate ACHE’s commitment and future vision for DEI in a way that inspires pride among ACHE members, engagement from prospective members and demonstrates the value of DEI.
Effort is also being directed at developing a DEI competencies assessment tool for individuals and related blueprint for C-suite leaders to effectively foster inclusive cultures and lead through a lens of equity.
As part of the Fund for Healthcare Leadership, Chair Delvecchio S. Finley, FACHE, and Chair-Elect William P. Santulli, FACHE, are leading the $1 Million Campaign for Healthcare Leaders of Tomorrow. This campaign highlights ACHE’s unique opportunity to help address the well-documented gap between the diversity of healthcare organization C-suites and the diversity of the communities they serve. This campaign also paves the way to a bolder, brighter future for our field by supporting new scholarships to support diverse leaders in acquiring the skills and training needed to advance and lead.
The board also was informed that Jackie P. Hunter, DC, ND, was named vice president, Diversity and Inclusion, Executive Office. In her role, Hunter will further ACHE’s strategic DEI efforts, and you can expect to hear more about her priorities going forward.
Strengthening the ACHE/Chapter Partnership
In our role as Connector, ACHE will commit to growing our professional community across the healthcare continuum by leveraging our partnerships with chapters and other organizations. Work continues to define an approach to evolve the ACHE/chapter partnership to provide meaningful membership experiences and advance the mission and vision of ACHE. After reviewing the current state of the partnership, the Board engaged in discussion about the future of how ACHE can support chapters. Best practices that ease the administrative burden on chapters were prioritized, and active consideration is being given to pilot approaches.
All in all, the Board noted it was a productive meeting and ACHE is well positioned for the future.