Fall 2009 Letter from President Brad Jones

Dear Colleague,

Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to serve you as your WSSHE 2009 President.
It has been and continues to be a very exciting and rewarding experience for me both personally and professionally. This is truly a great organization that I am proud to be a part.
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I’m also proud to say that today WSSHE has grown to a membership of more than 450 members.

I want to congratulate WSSHE's own Stephen Grose on his election as our new ASHE Region 10 Representative beginning in January of 2010. I am certain that Steve will do a fantastic job in this new position. I would also like to thank those that worked with Steve during his campaign, especially the WSSHE board, Art Kjos, Lucy Stockton, Dick Moeller and Mike Severns. Steve also serves as Chairman of the WSSHE Advocacy committee.

It amazes me how this organization continues to look toward the future to provide its members with the tools and resources that will help each of us grow personally and professionally. I do know that WSSHE has enabled my growth and continues to be my source for advocacy and representation, codes and standards compliance, information and personal & professional growth.

During the last year, the Board of Directors and I have worked at providing you with excellent educational opportunities, advocacy regarding critical issues and networking opportunities that you need to help you grow in order to improve health care in our communities.

A few of my goals include:

• • To spread the word about “WSSHE” and look for ways to bring all that WSSHE has to offer to every health care facility in Washington. As the leading source for networking, leadership, training and technical information, we need to make sure that we are doing all we can to offer our help and assistance to improve healthcare regarding safety, reduction of costs and better patient outcomes.
   
• • To ensure that the future leaders of WSSHE are prepared to serve our membership and the Environment of Care. We achieve this by past and present WSSHE leaders mentoring our members that wish to be future leaders. We will also promote ASHE and the programs & services they offer.
   
• • To focus on the needs of our members. The Board and I will continue to monitor the satisfaction of those that have invested in WSSHE membership and educational programs. We must always strive to make the WSSHE experience the best it can be for our members.
   
• • To provide Semi-Annual Symposiums and Annual Conferences to members that are regarded as highly valuable events to obtain relevant information and to remain current in their fields. WSSHE strives to keep our Member’s current on the latest issues such as Codes & Standards, a shifting economy, environmental sustainability, new technologies, cost reduction, customer service and much more.

WSSHE cannot make these stressful factors go away but we can help to relieve some of the pressures WSSHE members endure by serving as a community of professionals to address each challenge with expert knowledge, shared experiences and educational opportunities that allow our members to deal confidently with these concerns.

As I look forward, I am excited by the commitment of our members, volunteers, Board of Directors and AMI. It is rewarding to see how we all unite and work as one to address the issues that impact the health care environment and the patients and the communities that we serve.

Please remember that WSSHE exists for and because of you and we are available to provide you with the support that you need.

Please feel free to contact any WSSHE board member or me. Board member contact information is located on the WSSHE website at www.WSSHE.org

The WSSHE Annual Conference is less than a month away and I hope you have made your reservations. This is more than a first class educational opportunity…it is an opportunity to network with those in your field and seek information related to all areas of health care. WSSHE is always at the forefront to provide information on the important issues. I am really excited about the 2009 Conference and Technical Exhibition that will be held in Yakima October 13-16, 2009. The education committee has really outdone themselves this year.

The theme for this year’s conference, “The Healthcare Gauntlet; Reducing Cost While Improving Care,” is a most appropriate theme given the current economic climate.

The conference and the educational tracks developed by our WSSHE Education Committee will provide timely information and the educational content will prove to be second to none. As our theme indicates, costs savings and customer service are at the forefront of our members concerns this year and we hope to assist our members to deal with these challenges by providing the best presenters/speakers in those areas.

Please take a moment to review the conference agenda also located on the WSSHE web site and please make every effort to join us at the conference in Yakima.

If any members need financial assistance please contact your Chapter President or me and we will make every to offer financial assistance to attend the conference.

I look forward to seeing you all in Yakima  – WSSHE Rocks !!!


Brad
President, Washington State Society for Healthcare Engineering