A new year,new opportunities for growth

Reflecting back on my 20 years in risk management, I wonder at times how I got this far. In my first risk position, to my great fortune, my boss Melinda felt it important that I attend the American Society for Healthcare Risk Management (ASHRM) Annual Conference. Flying out of San Francisco in 1996 after the conference ended, I was in awe of the wealth of information available to me through this venue. I was grateful for those in our industry willing to share their expertise and engage me in conversation at an event where I didn't know a soul. I was hooked, and have missed just a few Annual Conferences since then.     

Working together,staying focused on our goals

When I was elected president of ASHRM for 2009, I accepted the honor as an opportunity to help ASHRM reach new heights. My goal is to support the objectives and goals consistent with the mission, values, and strategic direction of this organization and to do that with integrity through service, teamwork, and innovation. This is a challenging year for all of us individually, which by extension makes it a challenge for ASHRM. Staying focused on my goal will be difficult, but my intention is to do just that.     

A dream come true: Being President of ASHRM

During our 33rd Annual Conference of the American Society for Healthcare Risk Management, I had the absolute honor and privilege to thank our 2013 ASHRM board and staff along with the ASHRM membership. On behalf of the membership I extended heartfelt thanks for a job well done to our retiring board members, friends, and colleagues: Faye Shepherd, Ellen Grady‐Venditti, Michael Midgley, and Immediate Past President Mary Anne Hilliard. Together, we welcomed 2014 ASHRM board members and witnessed the oath of office to Hala Helm, David Sine, and Sherrill Peters, along with President‐Elect Ellen Grady‐Venditti and our 2014 President Jacque Mitchell.     

Taking the correct approach

Welcome to ASHRM's 27th year! We have started this year off with a fresh new look through the introduction of a new logo and publications format, as you can see from this edition of the Journal, and from the information published in the January/February edition of the Forum newsletter. This is the product of a lot of effort on the part of the ASHRM staff over the past year, and I hope you will join me in letting them know how much we appreciate their efforts to update and maintain ASHRM's positive image as a professional association.     

The journey and Journal get better every year

As I enter into my presidency, I have been reflecting on the past and when I first learned of ASHRM and everything the society offered. I think of all the past presidents and how much I admired their knowledge and dedication to the profession of healthcare risk management.     

Gaining momentum in the long, uphill battle to "get to zero"

I am truly privileged to be addressing you for the first time in the Journal of Healthcare Risk Management. I'm looking forward to getting to know you and working with you. I want to learn more about all the great ways that each of you has been making a difference in keeping our patients safe and building trust in our healthcare systems. As you know, the ASHRM Board is completely committed to finding solutions through the empowerment of our members. We believe in you. In that spirit, we are coming up with new ways to fund research and make critical connections that will fuel ideas.     

“Risk management” is a verb

To optimally demonstrate the value of risk management, our actions must show the benefits. The American Society for Healthcare Risk Management (ASHRM) board needs to provide support through tools and resources. ASHRM members must show through their actions the value of risk management. And ASHRM members need to show the organization where actions and activities should be focused in the future. Actions show the value of enterprise risk management.     

Keep that magic going in 2015!

Greetings and welcome to ASHRM's 35th anniversary year! As I begin my term as president, I acknowledge and appreciate the richness and depth of our organization's history and value the wisdom of our many members and volunteers who have been actively involved in ASHRM from the beginning, as well as those of us who haven't been around that long!     

ASHRM code of Ethics

In May, the ASHRM Code of Ethics was mailed to all members. Following is a reprint of the Code of Ethics, as well as the letter from ASHRM president Ellen L. Barton, J.D., CPCU, DASHRM, that introduced the code.     

Professional collaboration to achieve FASHRM and DFASHRM recognition

Members of the American Society for Healthcare Risk Management (ASHRM) are undeniably talented. They also share a spirit of volunteerism. Two ASHRM committees are fostering further member collaboration to provide individual growth, enhance educational offerings for members, and strengthen the organization's journal. Though 26% of ASHRM members have attained the CPHRM credential, only 2.5% of ASHRM members have attained a fellow designation. Primary barriers to attaining a fellow designation are the requirements for continuing education and contributions to the risk management field. The organization's Journal Editorial Review Board, in concert with its Annual Conference & Exhibition Committee, encourages members to explore opportunities to write for the Journal, speak at the annual conference, and attain one of the organization's professional designations. In addition, the Barton Certificate Program in Healthcare Risk Management promotes professional development with sessions taught on this topic for new and experienced risk managers.     

ASHRM Board and ERM, “Walking the Walk”

The ASHRM 2015 Board of Directors applied ERM to our Strategic Plan to identify any internal or external threats to the plan by asking a simple question: What could go wrong?     

Our ASHRM journey continues: ERM for our patients' safety

First and foremost, as your 2013 ASHRM president, I'd like to thank you for all of the significant accomplishments you've helped ASHRM attain this year. And I'll be forever grateful for your support and making my personal and professional dream come true—to serve as your president. Advocating on behalf of all healthcare risk managers and furthering the quest of Getting to Zero for our patients' safety through Enterprise Risk Management, or ERM, has been an honor, because everyone is a risk manager!     

Meeting your needs,now and in the future

President Obama has repeatedly said that healthcare reform is not a luxury that can be postponed but a necessity that cannot wait. Healthcare change is all around us, and ASHRM is continually working to assist its members with opportunities to demonstrate their value and leadership within their respective organizations.     

Spreading the word about the unique and valuable role of healthcare risk managers

Here I am three‐quarters through my year as president of ASHRM and I am still pinching myself that I am where I am! How has your year been? It has been a tough year for everyone in healthcare. With the Affordable Care Act demands on healthcare and the public, concerns about funding, quality initiatives, and overall potential loss of revenue, it's a wonder we are still in healthcare. But would you be doing anything different? I don't think so. I love that I can help make a difference by assisting staff with a difficult patient or situation or help a patient with a care concern that they are totally frustrated with or explain to a fellow risk manager what I would do in the situation they are dealing with. Although we feel like we are being pulled into new healthcare territories for our insight and recommendations, it is an indication of the value we bring to our organizations. We will get through this and there will be more challenges, but as risk management professionals, we can help solve problems and create value in the upcoming changes in healthcare.     

Leading the way to professional success

One of the goals contained in the ASHRM Strategic Plan for 2007–2009 is to develop the risk management professional in a changing healthcare environment. The goal is tremendously important to all of us.     

Jacob and the preacher: Conversations in context,part II—Jacob talks back

Freeman and the Preacher showed me the story Freeman wrote about the first time me and the Preacher met. I thought it was kind of neat, but there was some things I thought was different. So Freeman said I should tell you the same story from my point of view. I told it to him, actually, and he put it on paper because I still ain't too good at this writing thing, but he and the Preacher are teaching me how to write. I think I'll get better as time goes on. The Preacher, he says I have what's called a “natural ability.” Me. I don't know about that. Anyway, I told my side to Freeman and he wrote it. I read it and I think it's okay, you know. It ain't exactly what I said, but he said it has to be this way so other people can understand it. Like he had to take out some of the language so people don't get turned off. He's okay. I don't think he'll mess with me. Anyway, he said maybe you'd be interested and maybe you wouldn't. Sort of like life, eh? So here it is, Jacob and the Preacher from Jacob's point of view. I ain't as good at this as Freeman or the Preacher, so I just told the story. The talk that the Preacher said happened was real and everything, so I thought I would just tell you what was going on for me when the talk was going on. Freeman said that's what you wanted to know anyway. I guess you know that when me and the Preacher first met, I didn't know all this was going on inside of me. It's only since he has been helping me to be “in touch with myself” that I know that there is always all kinds of stuff going on inside. I'm still not real sure I like knowing this but he says it gets to be less of a problem with time. He says I'll read this in a few years and be surprised by how much I know. Sometimes I wonder, why bother, but he says I'll understand later. Maybe. Anyway, here it is. I would be interested in knowing whether you think it is okay. Like I said, I told it to Freeman and he wrote it out like this.     

The risk management professional and medication safety

ASHRM is committed to the future development of the healthcare risk management profession. A key contribution to this commitment is the creation of a student version of ASHRM's best‐selling Risk Management Handbook for Healthcare Organizations. The Student Edition was released this spring. It is now being made available to universities and colleges to incorporate into their degree programs.     

Analysis of ASHRM membership survey on healthcare captives

This article explores the emergence of captives as a vehicle for managing healthcare risks. In 2006, the American Society for Healthcare Risk Management (ASHRM) surveyed a segment of its membership with experience and interest in alternative risk financing about the role of healthcare captives. This article summarizes the findings and generally assesses the responses for opportunities to educate risk managers more fully on the role captives can play in managing risks.     

Hospital and physician professional liability trends and industry topics

This article summarizes the findings published in the Aon/ASHRM Hospital and Physician Professional Liability Benchmark Analysis, October 2014. The report analyzes aggregated data from hospital systems and physician groups across the United States that self‐insure their professional liability exposures. Risk managers use the information to identify, measure, and better understand the risks that may affect their organizations.     

Engaging ‘levers’ to guage success

In 2007, as part of its annual strategic planning process, the ASHRM board was fortunate to have the assistance of Rick Foster, an internationally known management consultant and author. Those of you who have participated in the AHA's Patient Safety Leadership Fellowship program have had the opportunity to work with Rick as he showed you what your Myers Briggs personality assessment results really mean, and how to understand different behavioral tendencies predicted by those assessments.