AzHHA’s 2010 Annual Membership Conference Is Aimed At Helping Members Prepare For Change

With the health care field on the brink of a major upheaval, the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association’s (AzHHA) 2010 Annual Membership Conference offers members information on what to expect in the future.

The theme, Bringing the Future into Focus, incorporates a mix of topics and speakers intended to appeal to a diverse hospital audience. Attendees will hear from leading economists, patient safety experts, health care visionaries and others.

LeAnn Swanson, vice president of education services for AzHHA, says the conference is the ideal venue to bring the new health care reality into full focus.
“Some of the best minds in the industry will be providing hard-hitting education and thought-provoking commentary,” she says. “This conference is intended for the entire hospital family, including the C-suite leadership team, hospital trustees, legal counsel, operations, quality, patient safety, human resources, and marketing officers.”

This year’s conference, Oct. 14-15 at The Buttes Resort in Tempe, kicks off with a keynote session featuring Lowell Catlett, Ph.D., regent’s professor, dean and chief administrative officer at New Mexico State University’s College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences. He will speak on the present and future of the economy.

Catlett notes that economic downturns are common — with 14 recessions during the past 80 years — and provide a means for society to re-balance what it deems to be important.

“Every recession leads to a spurt in new business starts, reformulation of business practices and new technological adaptations,” he says. “This current pause is no exception as we focus on what we value most. Get ready for phenomenal growth in health care, energy and lifestyle markets. For those willing to embrace the opportunities, the next decade will be successful beyond any in history.”

Immediately after Catlett’s presentation on Oct. 14, the general session will feature Ron Galloway, director of the documentary “Why Wal-Mart Works and Why That Makes Some People Crazy,” and the newly released “Rebooting Healthcare.” His topic, Wal-Mart and the Future of Healthcare, covers in-store health care clinics that offer everything from eyeglasses to flu shots to urgent care.

Galloway says the discount retailer aims to leverage its 4,000 stores into the largest force in American health care.

At the Oct. 15 breakfast meeting, sponsored by the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), Chris Van Gorder, president and CEO of Scripps Health in San Diego and ACHE 2010-2011 chairman, will offer a look at Scripps’ medical response team. Van Gorder will describe the team’s efforts in the Hurricane Katrina-ravaged Gulf of Mexico, San Diego after its massive wildfires and quake-stricken Haiti.

Concurrent breakout sessions will look at the key drivers of physician behavior and the natural tension that exists in doctor-hospital relationships; trends and technologies that are “re-forming” health care in unexpected and beneficial ways; and the notion of being in a health care bubble with a high potential for a correction over the next five years.

The closing session will feature John Nance, author of “Why Hospitals Should Fly,” which was named the 2009 book of the year by the ACHE. Based on his book, Nance offers some solutions to the patient safety and quality-care crises that resonate deeply with all health care audiences.

The conference also will feature AzHHA’s annual awards luncheon, and a president’s reception that will give attendees an opportunity to say goodbye to the organization’s longtime president and CEO, John Rivers, as he nears retirement. The reception also will serve to introduce AzHHA’s new leader, Laurie Liles.

Along with the conference, during the upcoming year AzHHA also will offer a series of webinars and other events of interest to members of the hospital and health care industry, as well as representatives of the business community, Swanson says. The emphasis will be on compliance-related topics, including rules and regulations of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and the Federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, also known as EMTALA.

To learn more about upcoming education opportunities from AzHHA and to register for conference events, visit www.azhha.org/educational_services and click on education events.

Arizona Business Magazine Sept/Oct 2010