Thank you all for having the confidence in me and selecting me to serve as your chapter president for the 2019-2020 year. It is truly a great honor. I am also honored to have such an outstanding dedicated and hardworking team of Officers, Board of Directors, Executive Board Members, Committee Chairs and Co-Chairs.

First, I would like to congratulate our Immediate Past President, Mario Di Figlia. Under his leadership, the chapter had a great year, earning three National Yerger Awards, as well as a Bronze Award of Excellence in Education. Congratulations also to Kiran Batheja, Metro NY Past President who served as Regional Executive this year. Under his leadership our chapter shared in four Region 2 Yerger awards. Marioand Kiran served the Chapter and its members proudly. Congratulations to you both on an outstanding year! You have set the bar high and we hope to keep the success going.

This year’s National Chair, Michael Allen, has chosen “Dare You to Move” as his theme. With many changes on the horizon in our industry our new national theme is perfect for this New Year. When I first heard the phrase I was a little confused by it and how it relates to healthcare finance. But then Michael explained that he was challenging us to go outside our comfort zone.

Our industry is evolving in so many different ways, weare constantly challenged to keep moving. In order to succeed we need to constantly challenge the way we think about how we do business, and to find different and innovative ideas to accomplish that. We need to constantly move and change with the times in order to not only survive, but succeed.

HFMA is no different. The needs and expectations of our members are constantly changing, and we need to move and change the way we conduct chapter business as well in order to provide our members with what they are seekingin their membership.

The Metro NY Chapter promises to work to be innovative this year to make sure our seminars and events are relevant and beneficial to you. And in keeping with the “Dare You to Move’ theme, we have heard from our members about offering programs in areas outside of the usual venues. To that end we are actively working on finding venues in Queens, Brooklyn, Eastern Suffolk County, and New York City. Also, we realize that it’s difficult to get out of the office for a full day, so we plan on offering half day sessions as well, to minimize the time out of the office while still providing the education, information, and networking opportunities you want. Stay tuned for more information on that!

Our chapter’s pinnacle event, The Joseph A. Levi 61st Annual Institute will be taking place on March 12th and 13th at the Uniondale Marriott. The committee has paid close attention to the suggestions and comments offered by last year’s attendees and is working to make this hugely successful event an even better experience for all.

Our brand new website is up and running, and if you haven’t taken a peek lately I urge you to do so. A special thank you to Andrew Weingartner and Alyson Belz for taking on the challenge and breathing new life into our old website.

Let’s not forget our chapter’s Special Events committee who work hard to offer exciting social and networking opportunities. We will keep some of the old favorites, like the Annual Golf Outing taking place on September 10th, at the North Hempstead Country Club. Our Annual Past President Dinner Dance Honoring Immediate Past President Mario Di Figlia and all other past presidents will take place on September 28th at the North Hempstead Country Club. Some new types of events are being planned as well. Check back to our website soon for the Save the Date and flyers for these special events and more.

On a special note, we are forever grateful to our Corporate Sponsors and volunteers as they have a pivotal role in our success. Through their generosity our Corporate Sponsors afford us the opportunity to educate our members and our community. Many of our Corporate Sponsors participate on our educational committees and serve as committee chairs and co-chairs. We thank them for their generosity and continued support of the Metro NY Chapter.

I want to thank our volunteers, the current Executive Board, the Board of Directors, and all program chairs and co-chairs. Without their dedication, energy, knowledge, and time commitment, this chapter would cease to exist. They truly are the driving force behind this Chapter. I will have the pleasure of working closely with all of them this year and ask all of you to consider volunteering and joining a committee. Volunteering has a positive impact on you, your colleagues, and the members who reap the fruits of our efforts.

As your President, I want to make sure that your membership needs are being met. If there is anything I can do to improve our Chapter, please let me know. If you would like to become more involved in the Chapter by participating on a committee, please let me know.

I look forward to a successful year and the opportunity to serve you.