Erin Steward, vice president of field engagement at the MHA kicks off the MHA Human Resources Member Forum.
The MHA hosted a human resources member forum April 26 at the MHA Headquarters in Okemos and virtually with about 200 leaders participating. Moderators Patrick Irwin, vice president, human resources, South Market, Henry Ford Hospital and Mary Rosser, MA, SHRM-SCP, chief human resources officer, Trinity Health Saint Mary’s, led discussion related to challenges and tactics for enhancing workforce safety and pipeline. Many member hospital employees shared their experiences and the forum concluded with a keynote presentation delivered by Mary Sand, Ph.D., Sand Consulting, LLC. The forum was generously sponsored by Coverys and Salary.com.
Members with questions about Member Forums may contact Erin Steward the MHA.
MHA CEO Brian Peters, Alfreda Rooks, Kristen Matlack, Lisa McDowell and Karlen Sandall.
As individuals and families across the state and country continue to face food insecurity, Michigan’s hospitals, health systems and community leaders are engaged in creating collaborative solutions. MHA CEO Brian Peters joined fellow food security champions March 24 at the Come to the Table: Ending Hunger in America by 2030 event, hosted by Trinity Health.
The event, which took place at St. Joseph Mercy in Ypsilanti, gathered representatives from healthcare, agriculture, education, veteran’s affairs, housing and various other sectors to discuss key topics related to food insecurity. Peters kicked off a series of panels moderating a discussion on nutrition insecurity in healthcare. Panelists included:
Alfreda Rooks, MPA, director of community health services for Michigan Medicine – UM Health.
Kristen Matlack, community health advocacy initiative manager at MetroHealth System’s Institute for HOPE.
Lisa McDowell, clinical nutrition and lifestyle medicine at Trinity Health.
Karlen Sandall, digital health worker manager at OSF Healthcare.
Additional panelists covered hunger across the age spectrum, bridging the gap between hunger and nutrition and ways to take a bipartisan approach to addressing food insecurity. Attendees were given the opportunity to ask questions and exchange ideas in a town hall-style discussion that followed.
The event included virtual remarks from U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry; U.S. Representative Marcy Kaptur; Secretary Vilsack, Department of Agriculture; Secretary Becerra, Department of Health and Human Services.
The gathering concluded with an exclusive tour of The Farm at Trinity Health Ann Arbor, one of Michigan’s oldest hospital-based farms in the country. The five-acre space, which includes a hub for growing and distributing food along with an outdoor classroom, is a regional program that connects thousands of people annually to nutritious, local food.
Additional onsite speakers included: Stephanie Cihon, director of grants and public policy at ProMedica; Alonzo Lewis, president at Trinity Health Ann Arbor; Gary Cates, chief philanthropy and chief government relations officer at ProMedica; Stacy Dean, deputy under secretary, food, nutrition and consumer services at the USDA; Barbara Petee, president of the Root Cause Coalition, and many others.
In 2022, the MHA and its member hospitals and health systems contributed a combined total of $45,000 toward the Michigan Harvest Gathering in an effort to combat food insecurity throughout the state. The annual campaign is organized by the Food Bank Council of Michigan – those interested in getting involved or learning more can visit mha.org.
The MHA will host an in-person Human Resources Member Forum at the MHA Headquarters in Okemos from 8:30 a.m. to noon April 26, with a virtual option available as well.
The forum is structured as a round table with human resources and MHA leaders moderating a discussion among attendees around the Great Resignation of the healthcare workforce and ideas and solutions to combat workforce challenges.
Speakers for the forum include Michigan human resources leaders Patrick Irwin, vice president, human resources, South Market, Henry Ford Hospital; and Mary Rosser, MA, SHRM-SCP, chief human resources officer, Trinity Health Saint Mary’s; and Mary Sand, Ph.D., Sand Consulting, LLC.
Irwin and Rosser will first explore topics related to workforce safety and pipeline development, such as approaches to invite employees at all levels to help plan the future workforce, developing strategies for diverse candidate pools, boosting the capacity to prevent and curtail violence against staff and implementing wellbeing programs. The forum will conclude with a keynote presentation from Sand on human resources professionals identifying their blind spots.
The forum is free of charge and open only to MHA member organizations. Registration for both in-person and virtual attendees will close April 19.
Members with questions about membership or registration should contact Brenda Carr at the MHA.
The MHA will host an in-person Human Resources Member Forum at the MHA Headquarters in Okemos from 8:30 a.m. to noon April 26, with a virtual option available as well.
The forum is structured as a round table with human resources and MHA leaders moderating a discussion among attendees around the Great Resignation of the healthcare workforce and ideas and solutions to combat workforce challenges.
Speakers for the forum include Michigan human resources leaders Patrick Irwin, vice president, human resources, South Market, Henry Ford Hospital; and Mary Rosser, MA, SHRM-SCP, chief human resources officer, Trinity Health Saint Mary’s; and Mary Sand, Ph.D., Sand Consulting, LLC.
Irwin and Rosser will first explore topics related to workforce safety and pipeline development, such as approaches to invite employees at all levels to help plan the future workforce, developing strategies for diverse candidate pools, boosting the capacity to prevent and curtail violence against staff and implementing wellbeing programs. The forum will conclude with a keynote presentation from Sand on human resources professionals identifying their blind spots.
The forum is free of charge and open only to MHA member organizations. Registration for both in-person and virtual attendees will close April 19.
Members with questions about membership or registration should contact Brenda Carr at the MHA.
The Oct. 20 Crain’s 2022 Healthcare Leadership Summit featured speakers from the MHA and member hospitals in a series of panels on policy issues, labor force solutions and technology integration.
MHA EVP Laura Appel spoke on a policy panel that covered what role government can play in affordability, equity & improving care.
Rising costs, uncertain governmental policies, workforce challenges, behavioral health and equity issues have put hospitals and health systems in a compromising position. The summit aimed to connect industry experts to collaborate on solutions and share best practices to tackle these issues.
Laura Appel, executive vice president of government relations and public policy at the MHA, spoke on a panel that covered solutions to the labor challenges and measures that reduce pressure on healthcare institutions throughout the state.
“There are no quick, easy fixes,” Appel noted. “Public health is a way for us to get people in a better place in the aggregate – we cannot solve diabetes, for example, with healthcare alone. We’ve got to do the policy work that it takes to push back and reduce rates [of illness], as opposed to just stopping the upward trends.”
Leaders from MHA-member hospitals and health systems were also featured in breakout sessions that covered workforce challenges and technological solutions to improve efficiency and safety. Panelists included:
Kimberly Keaton Williams, vice president of talent acquisition and development and chief diversity officer at McLaren Health Care.
Shana Lewis, vice president of talent acquisition and workforce development programs at Trinity Health.
Lisa Ouellette, interim chief human resources officer at Corewell Health.
Robert Riney, president & CEO of Henry Ford Health.
The event also featured keynote speaker Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, vice president and chief health equity officer at CVS Health, who spoke about attainable solutions for addressing inequities and improving health outcomes for underserved, vulnerable communities.
Adam Carlson provides testimony before the House Appropriations Committee.
Hospital leaders from around the state testified Dec. 1 before the House Appropriations Committee, chaired by Rep. Thomas Albert (R-Lowell). They discussed the current challenges Michigan’s hospitals face as they near the statewide record for COVID-19 hospitalizations while having more COVID-19 patients in the ICU than at any point during either of the last two surges.
Those providing testimony were Michael McKenna, MD, chief medical officer, McLaren Health Care; Ane McNeil, chief human resources officer, Trinity Health; Chad Tuttle, senior vice president of hospital and post-acute operations, Spectrum Health West Michigan; and Adam Carlson, senior vice president of advocacy, MHA.
“We are seeing high numbers of patients with other medical conditions requiring care. Collectively, the statewide average ICU occupancy exceeds 85%. This combination is straining or exceeding the capacity of emergency departments and hospitals across the state,” said Carlson.
In addition to the latest hospital data on COVID-19 hospitalizations and ICU admissions, the group provided evidence that the best defense against the virus continues to be vaccination. “Vaccines have been a very effective mechanism at preventing the illness. Without vaccination we would be in a situation five times worse.” said McKenna. Monoclonal antibodies were presented as the next best option, which help reduce the severity of the illness and prevent hospitalizations.
Recruitment and retention of personnel was another major issue discussed during the committee hearing. Across the state, resilient and dedicated healthcare workers in hospitals stand ready to care for emergency medical needs, but the reality is most hospitals throughout the state have more patients in their emergency departments than they do available rooms and staff to care for them. “Today, we are in a healthcare giver crisis. The risk is limiting our services that we make available to our community,” said McNeil.
Support from the state or federal government is vital, as staffing costs continue to far exceed budget expectations with no signs of slowing down. The MHA will continue to work with elected officials to advocate on behalf of Michigan hospitals and health systems for funding and support to end the pandemic. Members with questions should contact Adam Carlson at the MHA.
