In addition to offering rich educational opportunities, CHI is the annual meeting where we elect officers, assess the work of the past year, and look to the future. Yesterday, the House of Delegates met and seated a new Board Chair to help steer NACHC through the challenges and opportunities ahead.
Newly elected and re-elected NACHC Board positions
In handing over the gavel to Michael Holmes, outgoing Board Chair Lathran Woodard praised Holmes as “one of NACHC’s strongest and most visionary leaders at both the state and national levels.” Holmes, CEO of Scenic Rivers Health Services in Minnesota, has long been part of the health center movement. He pledged to help NACHC build on our five decades of progress and take advantage of opportunities to expand and strengthen the health center movement.
“The nation has come to see the strength and value of a health system focused on reducing disparities – improving population health – and addressing neglected and costly health problems in our communities,” said Holmes.
In addition to a new board chair, congratulations are in order for those members who won elections or were re-elected to NACHC Board positions. These include:
- Board Chair-Elect: Paloma Hernandez, President and CEO, Urban Health Plan, Inc., Bronx, NY
- Speaker of the House: Henry Taylor, Executive Director, Mile Square Health Center, Chicago, IL
- Treasurer: John Santistevan, CEO, Salud Family Health Centers, Ft. Lipton, CO
- Clinician Representative to the NACHC Board of Directors: Felix Valbuena, MD, CEO, Community Health & Social Service Center (CHASS), Detroit, MI
- Health Center Board Member Representative to the NACHC Board of Directors: Virginia “Ginger” Fuata, Board Member, Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center, Waianae, HI
Michael C. Bush: Leadership and building a truly inclusive workplace
Our keynote speaker, Michael C. Bush, CEO of Great Place to Work, talked about what his organization’s research reveals about the qualities of inclusive leaders and organizations. Bush focused on how to create a high-trust culture and, noted that, above all, employees want to be treated fairly and equitably.
Bush also emphasized that the data his organization has collected show that diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI), and belonging drive innovation. And that employees crave a sense of belonging; they need to know they matter, they’re needed, and they’re cared for.
Bush’s experience and insights underscore the importance of a genuine commitment to diversity and inclusion for health care organizations.
Power Through Partnership Award: RCHN Foundation
NACHC presented the RCHN Foundation and RCHN President and CEO Feygele Jacobs with this year’s Power Through Partnership award, celebrating the Foundation’s dedication to community health. Over the past 15 years, the Foundation has provided funds to:
- Expand Medicaid coverage and increase Affordable Care Act health insurance enrollment
- Mentor young people interested in health center careers through internships
- Improve population health
- Provide emergency relief
- Preserve the history of the Health Center Movement
- And support research through the Geiger-Gibson/RCHN Collaborative History
In addition, earlier this year, the RCHN Foundation gave NACHC a major grant to launch our new Center for Community Health Innovation. This new Center will prepare health centers for the future — building on our commitment to health equity and access. The Center will promote innovation leading to new models of patient care and new approaches to address issues such as workforce recruitment and retention, value-based payment, hospital collaboration, and others.