Message from your ACHE Regent
Spring 2026

Dear ACHE of MA Members,

While the New England weather may not feel like it, spring is here and with it comes the celebrations of school graduations, residency/fellowship matches, and the launch of careers for many across the healthcare landscape.

When I reflect on my transition from the classroom to career, one thing that surprised me was the sudden void in key learning opportunities post-graduation. In school, I took for granted the access to professors, seminars, databases, and other events to grow and develop myself. Thankfully, I found that ACHE helped fill this educational need over the years as ACHE’s core value of life-long learning is forefront in the in-person, virtual, and self-paced online learnings they offer.

As healthcare leaders, it is important for us to continue to learn and develop new skills to meet the demands of our changing world. I encourage you to take time over the upcoming months to invest in yourself and take advantage of the great educational opportunities at the national and local levels. For reference, I’ve noted a few upcoming events below with links for quick review.

A small list of upcoming events:

National

• In-Person Education
  • June 14–Oct 20: 2026 Executive Program
  • July 27–29: Boston Cluster
  • 10–12: Denver Cluster
  • 9–11: Scottsdale Cluster
  • 14–16: Fort Lauderdale Cluster
  • March 22-24: 2027 Congress on Healthcare Leadership in Nashville
• Virtual Interactive Education
  • June 30–July 23: Leading Strategic Change

Local

• ACHE of MA offers a variety of in-person and virtual events. Be sure to check out the link below for information on all upcoming dates.
  • ACHE of MA Events & Education
  • Oct 16: Annual Healthcare Summit—No Final Buzzer: Leading in Healthcare When the Game Never Stops
    • Join us at Gillette Stadium for our main educational event of the year with our keynote, Chris Herren

Specifically, I want to highlight any of the four Clusters offered each year. I attended my first Cluster last fall in Orlando and would highly recommend them. Each seminar is smaller than Congress and allows you to explore a specific topic in more depth. For example, the Boston Cluster in July offers six seminar tracks each lasting 1.5 days. This is a great way to obtain 12 ACHE In-Person Education credits per seminar, for a total of 24 ACHE In-Person Education credits if you attend 2 seminars over the 3 days. For those needing credits quickly for their FACHE application or renewal, make sure to sign up for the Boston Cluster in a few weeks.

And don’t forget, if you’re on your FACHE journey, the Board of Governors exam fee waiver ends June 30, 2026. Members who submit a Fellow application between March 1 and June 30 are eligible to receive a one-time waiver ($225 value) pending approval of the application.

I hope to see many of you at upcoming events and please reach out if I can be of further help.

Best,
Jeff

Jeffrey M. Blackwell, FACHE
Regent (Interim) for Massachusetts
jeffrey.blackwell@umassmemorial.org