Pamela R. Knecht, President, ACCORD LIMITED
Given the increased emphasis on board accountability and transparency, it is now even more important for both new and seasoned board members to understand their fiduciary duties and core responsibilities. This session will provide an update on those topics and explore recent research by The Governance Institute on recommended practices of high-performing boards.

Thomas C. Dolan, Ph.D., FACHE, CAE, President & CEO, American College of Healthcare Executives
Through research, The Governance Institute has isolated a series of essential structures and behaviors of high-performing hospital and health system boards. Dr. Dolan will discuss these strategies and how your organization can best explore their application in your situation.

Hugh Greeley, Independent Hospital/Medical Staff Consultant and Educator, & Chairman, Volunteers in Medicine Institute
This session will create deeper understanding of various medical staff issues including: medical staff leadership, developing leadership recruitment and training programs, compensation of staff leaders, managing performance problems, assuring that the staff structure is efficient and effective, and establishing great communication programs. Bring your challenges, opportunities, and dilemmas to this highly interactive session.

Thomas A. Atchison, Ed.D., President & Founder, Atchison Consulting Group, LLC
Corporate Culture simply states "This is what we stand for and this is how we behave." Culture is the organization's personality and defines every aspect of performance. High-performing healthcare hospitals and systems have a strong culture, and constantly communicate. In this session, Dr. Atchison will illustrate how leaders create a culture that aligns followers for the benefit of the patient.
Recommended Resources

Ethics & the Board: Pathways to Leadership Excellence in Healthcare (White Paper)
Driving for Quality: The Board Steps Up (E-Briefing Article)
Quality, Board Culture, & Dashboard Reporting (8-Minute DVD)

This session will provide an overview of the new Medicare payment policies related to “never events." It will identify the events included in the policy and describe the implications for hospitals, caregivers, and patients.
Recommended Resources:
Quality: 2006 Signature Publication
Great Boards Ask Tough Questions: What to Expect from Management on Quality (BoardRoom Press Article)
Medical Errors and Patient Safety: Perspectives in Quality of Care (8-Minute DVD)

As physicians, nurses, pharmacists, radiation technicians, billers, and coders are all predicting significant reductions in their numbers, the demands for healthcare services are soaring. This session will discuss the projections for staff shortages, the implications of these projections, and successful solutions. Dr. Curran will explore the implications of Magnet Hospital, Top 100, The Baldrige Award, and general approaches to becoming an employer of choice in your marketplace.

The medical staff has evolved from a fairly collegial collection of professionals interested in doing their part to promote and improve care to a sometimes fractured collection of physicians. Many of these physicians are disinterested in the organized medical staff or no longer practice in the hospital at all. A relatively small number still hunger for the "good old days." During this session, Mr. Greeley will concentrate on the state of the staff and its likely future structure, function, and outcome.

This highly interactive session will build on the experience and needs of the participants. The session will target a few critical topics and expand, challenge, create and attempt to solve the issues most relevant to the attendees. Critical analysis of what works and doesn't work will be shared. Attendees will gain enhanced understanding of personal leadership style strengths and opportunities.

Measurement of quality service and communication to the public is playing and will play a determinant of success in the future. Increasingly, payors, government, and third party companies are looking at ways to differentiate hospitals and providers based on quality criteria. Dr. Klasko will present the results of his studies and findings as to what board members and senior leaders can do now to prepare for this very different future where quality is assumed and measured.
Recommended Resources:
Preparing for Pay-for-Performance: A Primer for Healthcare CEOs & Boards (White Paper)
Determining the Value & Return on Investment of Quality & Safety Initiatives for Hospital Boards (Special Publication)
Quality & the Medical Staff: Connecting the Dots (8-Minute DVD)

It is January 9, 2019. You will have an opportunity to analyze your organization’s future role in quality, service, and technology and, more importantly, to determine what you can do right now and in the immediate future to guarantee that the future your organization faces is an optimistic one.

As more baby boomers reach retirement age, a significant shortage of executive talent has emerged. Leadership vacancies may even affect your hospital’s bond rating. In this session, Mr. Dye will focus on one of the more important tasks a board faces: preparing for leadership vacancies.

This session will begin with a brief discussion of legal liabilities associated with the credentialing function. The credentialing challenges faced by boards, medical staffs, and hospital management are becoming more and more complex, thus requiring both greater knowledge and professionalism in their handling. This session might be considered an abbreviated “master's” course for those charged with this job.

Directly and indirectly, hospitals have been impacted by recent economic events. Mr. Kaufman will summarize these critical issues and detail the impacts on hospital operations and planning.
Recommended Resources:
Focus on Finance: 10 Critical Issues for Hospital Leadership (2008 Signature Publication)
Raising the Stakes: New Challenges & Opportunities in Quality, Transparency, & Finance (2006 Chairperson & CEO Conference Report)
Bond Ratings & Governance: A Fresh Perspective (8-Minute DVD)

Another presidential election delivers hopeful proposals for reforming healthcare, but the gap between rhetoric and reality has never been wider. This unbiased inquiry contrasts the politicians’ oversimplifications with the real problems and prospects for change. Dr. Bauer will show hospital leaders where and how to look for internal solutions that can lay the foundations for survival and growth in difficult times.
Recommended Resources:
Synergy: CEOs & Board Chairs Working Together Strategically (2007 Chairperson & CEO Conference Report)
The Impact of Quality of Care on Financial Performance (E-Briefing Article)
Health Policy Issues (8-Minute DVD)

Growth and scale are highly correlated to hospital financial performance and the creation of capital capacity. Most hospital organizations today need to embrace a "planning culture" to create organic growth. Mr. Kaufman will outline the relationships of growth and scale, and detail the key elements of planning that support market and financial success.

Trustees, senior executives, and medical leaders are constantly confronted with the need to make decisions about the future of fast changing clinical services—but they do not know which advances will be utilized and reimbursed enough to justify investing in them. This presentation will provide a practical framework for evaluating the clinical and economic viability of new approaches to care in the context of an organization’s strategies and circumstances.

Conflicts are the most common reason non-profit boards run into trouble. The way boards address conflict of interest is of critical importance for both legal compliance and reputational reasons. Mr. Peregrine will present guidelines for effective practice concerning conflict-of-interest issues, including applicable public policy considerations, legal principles, and practical applications of conflict-of-interest oversight and management.
Recommended Resources:
Conflicts of Interest & the Non-Profit Board: Guidelines for Effective Practice (White Paper)
Policies & Guidelines: Conflict of Interest Questionnaire (Template)
A New Look at Conflict of Interest (8-Minute DVD)

Healthcare CEOs and trustees continue to play a critical role in healthcare philanthropy. In this session, Dr. McGinly will present the roles and responsibilities of trustees and CEOs, as well as the CEO’s function for effective, ever-increasing philanthropy. He will share key elements to advance hospital philanthropy programs, including the importance of establishing standards for healthcare philanthropy.
Recommended Resources:

New Directions for Healthcare Leadership (2008 Chairperson & CEO Conference Report)
Modern Philanthropy: New Approaches to Raising Funds & Friends (White Paper)
Philanthropy & Fundraising Strategies (8-Minute DVD)