A Message from Your Chapter President – First Quarter 2025
ACHE of MA begins 2025 with a strong position and positive outlook, continuing the momentum we gained in 2024. I want to thank Dr. Ali Raja, our Past President, for his leadership over the past 2 years, and all the members of our high-performing, diverse Board of Directors for their commitment to advancing this chapter and this profession for the benefit of all our members. Over the past year, our collective efforts have accomplished:
- Expanding our membership base across healthcare sectors including a growing number of clinician leaders, with over 150 new members joining.
- Hosting 24 dynamic education and networking events, delivering valuable In-Person, Virtual Interactive and Qualifying ACHE Education credits.
- Advancing our leadership diversity goals through targeted Board development and integrating new Early Careerist Network leadership roles on each Chapter Committee.
- Assisting 9 members to their FACHE Board Certification credential.
- Increasing financial support through a 30% increase in sponsors.
- Delivering a dynamic and highly successful Annual Summit at Gillette Stadium, with 200 attendees, nationally recognized keynote speakers, engaging panelists and interactive breakout discussions.
My presidency formally commenced at the Chapter’s Annual Business Meeting and Awards ceremony on December 16. We celebrated these achievements and honored the 2024 DEI Torchbearer Award recipient, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, alongside our members, partners, and sponsors. It was an evening of deserved celebration. It was also a moment to pause and reflect on our purpose, as the news of the tragic murder of United Healthcare’s CEO, Brian Thompson, and the public outcry of what’s wrong with the U.S. healthcare system was fresh in all our minds and remains so even now. If there was ever a time to be mindful of the moment – as healthcare executives – it is now.
The ACHE of MA Board of Directors carried this acknowledgment into our ‘strategic action meeting’ held in the first week of the new year, where we took time to reflect on the current state of healthcare and the challenges we face as leaders in our organizations, in our communities and in our profession. We reaffirmed the importance of the Chapter’s purpose—now more critical than ever, to support you – our members – in navigating amidst all these challenges so you can best support the staff and caregivers in your organizations, and in turn can best position your organizations to thrive for the ultimate benefit of what we’re all about – caring for patients. Our chapter is represented by professionals in every sector of the healthcare industry. No matter what part you or your organization plays, the “why” is all about healing and helping people thrive.
For our organizations to not lose their way, it starts with us as leaders not losing our way. The Board’s efforts toward accomplishing this focused on 3 E’s: Elevate. Engage. Execute.
- Elevate the role of healthcare executives. We are called to deliver, support and enable the delivery of patient-centered, ethical and equitable care. We must share our voice, speak up, and lead through both actions and words.
- Engage chapter members. As a Chapter Board, it is our job to listen to you, support you, and leverage your voices and talents to take our chapter to even higher heights. There are 920 (and counting!) dedicated professionals in this chapter. We want to make sure we’re reaching everyone.
- Execute our plans. Every chapter is required by ACHE to have a multi-year plan, and our plan is solid. Now it all comes down to execution. This is where collective effort comes in and creates an exciting opportunity to leverage the strength in our individual members. We look forward to joining our efforts together with your ideas!
I am excited to share the plans we have for 2025. As I mentioned, we are building off the momentum of 2024, and thanks to the creativity and energy of our Committee Chairs and the rest of the Board, here’s just a little bit of what you can expect:
Communication and Member Engagement
We want to make engagement with our Chapter members more accessible through streamlined communications and interactive channels. Our soon-to-be launched and redesigned website will facilitate this engagement, providing a dynamic platform where members can connect and learn from one another; and we will continue our regular social media engagement through our LinkedIn page. If you haven’t yet connected with us there, take a moment to visit and follow. We will also be conducting virtual town hall meetings throughout the year to keep you informed and updated and simply provide an opportunity for dialogue.
Partnerships and Collaborations
We will be leveraging new strategic partnerships and collaborations, to develop and deliver engaging programming and professional development opportunities. First, we are grateful for our chapter sponsors and event sponsors. Their support makes what we do possible. Throughout the year you’ll be able to hear from different sponsors through our Sponsor Webinars and gain valuable insights on key industry topics they’re involved in. Also, we have partnered with ECG Management Consultants for our acclaimed Conversations with Healthcare Champions series. This exciting partnership will enhance our ability to bring timely and relevant content and national speakers to a local level. We are blessed in the Commonwealth to have many like-minded healthcare professional organizations, and we will continue to work together to collaborate with them on jointly developed programming. This includes with our valuable chapter sponsor and longstanding collaborator, Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association, with whom we have co-sponsored a variety of different programs and will continue to. We also look forward to working with the Greater Boston Chapter of NAHSE, particularly for our annual DEI conference and panel discussion series in Q3. We have also begun conversations with neighboring ACHE chapters in Rhode Island, Connecticut and Northern New England to discuss ways we can bring our collective efforts together for the benefit of ACHE members throughout New England.
The Value of Membership and the Fellow Credential
Being plugged into the ACHE of MA Chapter is how you get the most out of your ACHE membership throughout the year. From our Chapter Member Needs Survey, we know you want to maximize your ability to earn ACHE credits, have meaningful networking opportunities, and access events in convenient locations at reasonable costs. With our Annual Programming Framework, we aim to continue doing this and do even more in 2025. We have a dynamic community with our Early Careerist Network, led by Jeff Blackwell, and will be hosting a blend of professional education and networking events designed with your interests in mind. We also have a uniquely strong Higher Education Network and look forward to interacting with all our students and their academic programs to facilitate the development of the next generation of healthcare leaders. And finally, over the past year we have seen Board Certified Fellows stepping into leadership roles across multiple health systems in Massachusetts, and we will continue to highlight the importance and relevance of this professional credential and will support our members in attaining this prestigious status. We currently have 120 Fellows in the Chapter with over 300 other members who are eligible to advance to Fellow. The community and depth of talent we have is strong!
I have been an ACHE member continuously, and proudly, for over 20 years – beginning as a student member – and have served in various leadership roles in a variety of organizations. My career as a healthcare leader has been inextricably linked with ACHE, and specifically the ACHE of MA Chapter. The relationships I’ve built within and outside of the chapter are the reason I am who I am today. You’ve likely heard that you get out of things what you put into them, and this has been true in my professional life and in my ACHE member experience. Giving back and getting involved has definitely given back to me. I am humbled and excited to take on the responsibility of leading the Chapter through the incredible opportunities that lie ahead, and with all of you in support. I look forward to connecting with members, offering insights I have learned along the way, and learning how we as a Chapter can best meet your needs in a responsive and relevant way.
Our first Town Hall for members in 2025 will be held next week on January 27 at 12:00 Noon – 1:00PM ET. I look forward to connecting with you all and sharing more about what we have in store!
-Jack
President, ACHE of MA