Welcome to the Spring Edition of Newscast, where Hope “Springs” Eternal! I have heard that term mentioned each Spring while listening to NY Mets broadcasts. I decided to look up the term in Google to see if it means what I thought it did. Per Google, “It is human nature to always to find fresh cause for optimism.” Those who know me well know I am always optimistic and this year my optimism is paying off. We are having a great Chapter year and the Mets are off to a 5-1 start, are in first place in the National League East, and they are on their way home for their home opener so I vote to just end the season now! I predict our Chapter will win several Yeager Awards this year and the NY Mets will finish in first place when the season is over, and they will eventually win their third World Series title. Coincidently we celebrated our 60th Annual Institute and the Mets are celebrating their 50th anniversary year of winning their first championship against the Baltimore Orioles in 1969. How’s that for optimism…

It is hard to believe that this is the fourth and last edition of Newscast during my presidency. As I reflect on my term as Chapter President I can look back and be proud of this year’s educational and networking events. I am thankful for the collaboration that went on throughout the Chapter year. We put together many great webinars this past Spring: Telemedicine, Revenue Integrity, and a very successful four-part webinar series geared toward physicians and medical group practices.

The 60th Joseph A. Levi Annual Institute, lead by Cathy Ekbom, James Linhart, Andrew Weingartner, Wendy Leo, and VP Of Education, Donna Skura, and the entire committee of volunteers, was a smashing success. Some of the high points of the two-day schedule included hearing from HFMA National’s Chair, Kevin F. Brennan, on his visions of building a better healthcare system for the future. Michael Dowling, President and CEO, Northwell Health, presented a riveting keynote address. There was a great one-on-one discussion between Alan Murray, CEO, Anthem Blue Cross, and David Evangelista, Past President of the Chapter. There were several successful Panel Discussions, including our classic CFO and CEO Panel led by HFMA National CEO, Joseph Fifer, and HFMA National Chair, Kevin Brennan, respectively. Our C-Suite Panel sessions highlighted the obstacles and challenges they are facing brought on by the changes in payor markets, complicated financing regulations, and patient access issues. We heard many discussion around challenges and new opportunities.

We heard from motivational speaker, Brent Gleeson, Retired Navy Seal. Brent shared his personal journey and experiences as a Navy Seal. Another great moment was the Legislative Panel discussion, led by Bill Allison, Past President of Metro NY, and included panelists Ken Raske, Kevin Dahill, and Courtney Burke. We ended the AI with our last Panel on Telehealth, with speakers from Northwell Health, NY-Presbyterian, NYP/Weill Cornell Medical Center and Globex Health. We are very pleased the two-day Annual Institute event brought into focus the complexity of the healthcare industry and the challenges we face every day. Our sessions highlighted the importance of having timely information for our membership.

Our Chapter hosted our second annual Women in Leadership Conference with a keynote from Ellen Zane, sharing her pearls of wisdom. Ellen is a nationally renowned health care leader who retired as President and Chief Executive Officer of Tufts Medical Center and the Floating Hospital for Children in late 2011. She was the first woman to run the hospital in its 221-year history. There was panel discussion, “Pathway to Leadership ~ A Candid Discussion on the Climb to the Top.” We heard from Dress for Success, there was a motivational speaker, and a Blockchange presentation. The session was well-attended with many men in attendance, including yours truly. We have two more live sessions planned in April: the ICR Roadshow and our last Chapter educational event of the year, which is a collaborative effort planned by the Revenue Cycle/Managed Care and Information Technology Committees entitled Responding to Challenges – Insurance Violations & Value Based Purchasing.

The Chapter will be in excellent hands going forward, and will be led by incoming President, Diane McCarthy, Donna Skura as President Elect, Sean Smith as VP of Education, Catherine Ekbom as Treasurer, and Tracey Roland as Secretary. They are a dedicated group of leaders who will be supported by an equally dedicated Board of Directors, Chairs and Co-Chairs, committee members, mentees, and other volunteers. I encourage you, our members, to become more involved and consider joining a committee. I promise it will be a gratifying experience.

I would like to thank everyone, including the Executive Board, the Board, our dedicated past Presidents, our Regional Executive, the Committee Chairs, the Newscast Committee, and all of its volunteer members for all that you have done this Chapter year! I also want to thank all of our corporate sponsors for your generous and continued support. It is because of the dedication and efforts of all of you that we have successfully met our Chapter goals this past year.