I think most of us will be happy to see the arrival of Spring on Friday, March 20!  I know I will be.  After last month’s column where I was discussing Kentucky’s weather, we were hit with a second major snow storm on March 4-5. The Governor issued a state of emergency that lasted two days. Snow accumulation records were broken and if you happened to be watching the Weather Channel or national news, you probably heard about the hundreds of folks stranded on the interstates across the Commonwealth.   Here at NCHN headquarters we had approximately 17 inches of snow!  So, yes, so glad to see the longer days and warmer weather. Yesterday it reached 75 degrees. Nice!

I’ve heard the statement, from several parts of the country, “If you don’t like the weather (fill in the blank), just wait a day or two and it will change!” Managing a network is sometimes like dealing with changing weather. However, through your NCHN membership you have access to a number of tools and strategies to support you as you manage the challenges and changes facing your network. 

For those of you that participated on the Informational Calls yesterday, you heard about two new programs available to help you support the healthcare delivery efforts of your members.  The first call was offered by the National Rural Accountable Care Consortium and discussed “Pathway to Sustainability.” Doug Pollock, Regional Executive Director with NationalRuralACO shared information regarding HHS Secretary Burwell’s historical announcement of a CMS goal of having 30% of all Medicare provider payments be in alternative payment models that are tied to how well providers care for their patients, instead of how much care they provide, by 2016!  And the second part of this goal is to have that percentage increase to 50% by 2018!  A second goal is for virtually all Medicare fee-for-service payments to be tied to quality and value, at least 85% in 2016; and 90% in 2018.  How could this be possible? CMS has 114 million dollars in grant funds available to assist rural communities make the transition to this new payment model. Mr. Pollock, summed up the announcement as follows, “Getting paid for population health is the key to your sustainability; community health systems are perfectly poised for success in population health programs; and ACOs are a good transitional program to optimize your delivery system for population health payment models – and if you join now CMS will pay for it.”

The second call was with Nancy Maher, Program Analyst, Office of Rural Health, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Dr. Maher provided an update on the Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act of 2014 (VACAA) and spotlighted the Veterans Choice Program.  This is a new program designed to assist the 22 million veterans living in the United States, of which 5.3 million or approximately 24% live in rural areas, more easily access health care closer to home. The “Veterans Choice Fund” has 10 billion dollars available to pay for non-VA provided care. The program sunsets in three (3) years or when the Veterans Choice Fund is exhausted. Network leaders that participated on the call reported already have some veterans enrolled in the program in their network services area. It was helpful that those members already involved in the program shared their experience with others on the call. Networks are  assisting veterans obtain care closer to home.  Additional information about the Veterans Choice Program can be accessed here. And for more information on how to become a Choice provider, click here.

The next NCHN Informational Call is scheduled for June 15 @ 2:00 PM ET.  If you have any suggestions for topics or speakers, please let me know. 

The Call for Nominations for NCHN Directors was distributed last week!  We are looking for a few great network leaders to step up and serve your Association. Directors elected during this year’s election process will serve for three years, May 1, 2015 – April 30, 2018. If you have questions about eligibility requirements to serve as a Director or just questions in general, please feel free to email me or give me  a call to discuss.  Letters of interest are due by Friday, March 27 @ 12:00 PM ET.  The ballot for elections will be distributed in mid-April.

Enjoy the warmer weather and longer days. Take time for yourself - take a walk, take in a spring sporting event, or just sit and listen to the birds sing.  

Rebecca J. Davis, Ph.D.
Executive Director

Welcome to winter. Wait, this is mid-February and we should be thinking about spring! But for most of the country as well, as here in Hardinsburg, Kentucky, we are in the middle of record snow falls, unusually low temperatures, forecast for even lower temperatures for the reminder of the week, and lots of shoveling in our future!  Kind of reminds me of the network world – we think we are moving along and things are going smoothly and suddenly things change. Sometimes we have planned and are prepared for changes, but sometimes they catch us by surprise. 

Last week on the ER Call for Network Leaders, Dr. Mary Kay Chess discussed Creativity & Innovation in new and growing networks,a very timely topic for the changing roles of health networks in today’s health care delivery system.  Do you have the creativity and innovative spirit to refocus your network if faced with major changes? Have you thought about “innovation” and what it may mean to your organization?  According to Dr. Chess and Oxford Dictionary, innovation is to make changes in something established, especially by introducing new methods, ideas, or products. 

You will have the opportunity to participate in an exciting time for NCHN, as 2015 is an important milestone for your Association! NCHN will be celebrating its 20^th birthday this year!  I am happy to have been a part of such a growing, creative, and innovative organization since July 2006! I wonder if the founding members of NCHN, thought about what the Association would look like in 20 years? If they thought about what changes the organization would face and how creative and innovative the Directors and Officers, along with the membership would be to ensure the continuation of the Association?

During the recent move from Colorado to Kentucky, I had the opportunity to review files and rediscovered a folder that contained historical documents of the Association. Also, I looked for and found a slide presentation, “Celebrating 10 Years of Success with a Lot of Hard Work and Total Commitment!,”  that Steve Ward, NCHN’s first president had prepared and sent me in the fall of 2006. Steve wanted to capture and share the history of the Association, but more importantly, he wanted the network leaders meeting in Nashville that fall to celebrate 10 years of working together to improve healthcare delivery in rural America.

According to Steve’s presentation, “Once upon a time … in the late 1980s hospital groups such as HCA, VHA, Quorum, and LHS were forming consolidated spheres of influence in the marketplace. Smaller hospitals such as community hospitals, rural health districts, private hospitals found themselves on the outside looking in.”  Survival instinct takes over and Jan Bastian, Montana Health Network was featured as the leader of the pack! 

As Steve continues to tell the NCHN story, “A new species forms! They are islands in the middle of somewhere!”  Independent hospital networks begin to form – (and as you read the listing of those 10 hospital networks that were forming or were already formed in the 1980s, I know that you will be pleasantly surprised and glad to see some names you recognize that have given and continue to give so much to your Association over the years!) :

• Great Plains Health Alliance, NY, John Osse;
• Health Community Alliance, NY, Patricia Kota;
• *Health Future, OR, John Meenahan;
• **Montana Health Network, MT, Jan Bastian;
• Northern Lake Health Consortium, MN, Terry Hill;  
• **Northland Healthcare Alliance, ND, Tim Cox;
• **Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative, WI, Tim Size;
• *Sunflower Health Network, KS, Sheryl Dority;
• *Synernet, Inc., ME,  Bus Davis; and
• *Western Healthcare Alliance, CO, Steve Ward.

*Continual NCHN membership; **Founding NCHN leader and still serving as network leader to their organizations! 

The Beginnings of NCHN (according to Steve Ward’s presentation):

• Those brave pioneers had never met each other and I still don’t know how they found each other! (Amazing, but also shows the creativity and innovation of health network leaders!)
• The fact is, we needed support as we were the new breed of hospital network directors. We  had to turn inward.
• We met informally the first time in Minnesota in a Hilton Suite for two days behind locked doors.
• The only rules, No Board Members allowed.
• After all… we were going to speak about them behind their backs.
• These directors continued to meet in concurrence with the NRHA (National Rural Health Association) meetings. There was much discussions of becoming a sub-group of NRHA.
• Additional Directors of Health Alliances met in Chicago in 1995. At that meeting the decision was made that we should not be confused with or thought of as a political lobbying group.
• In the Summer of 1995 By-laws for the organization were developed by a group of network Executive Directors led by Steve Ward.
• On December 4, 1995, thirteen (13) network leaders met for the first official meeting of the National Cooperative of Health Networks (NCHN).
• On December 5, 1995 the following network leaders signed the Certificate of Incorporation of the National Cooperative of Health Networks Association:
  • Janet Bastian, MT
  • Timothy C. Cox, ND
  • Sheryl Dority, KS
  • Lynn Edmonds, NY
  • Cecil Gray, MO
  • Jeff Houck, OH
  • Patricia Kota, NY
  • John Osse, SD  

• The first officers were also elected and were as follows:
  • President – Stephen Ward, Western Healthcare Alliance, CO
  • Vice-President – Scott Parisella, Coastal Carolinas Health Alliance, NC
  • Secretary/Treasurer – Janet Bastian, Montana Health Network, MT
  • Officer-at-Large – Paul (Buzz) Davis, Synernet, Inc., ME

Twenty years later it is so very humbling, as well as exciting to see that all five organizations that provided the first leaders of NCHN are still organizational members of the Association! These founding members have continued to be creative, visionary leaders of the Association! 

So now we ask you, as members, to give to NCHN!  We are beginning to plan for a huge birthday celebration at our 2015 Annual Educational Conference, which will be held September 1-2 in Portland, OR. We are looking for members to volunteer to serve on both the Conference Planning Committee and a special 20 Years Celebration Committee.  If you are interested in helping plan, coordinate, and provide on-site assistance at the 2015 Conference, please let me know. 

History of NCHN will continue in March’s column. Until then, if you have any early documents, pictures, and/or members of early NCHN events, please share them with us.  Christy will be collecting member stories of their involvement with NCHN over the past 20 years.  We encourage you to share yours today!  

Rebecca J. Davis, Ph.D.
Executive Director

NCHN is off to a great start! The 2015 NCHN Leadership Summit is finishing up today in Clearwater Beach, FL (photos from Monday are here). It has been a wonderful event, full of networking, meeting new colleagues, sharing of ideas, challenges and strategies.  Jordan Tenenbaum, VP, Allevant developed by Mayo Clinic & Select Medical, kicked off the Summit with a motivational discussion, 6 Ideas of Brave Leadership: You are a Brave Rural Health Leader.  

Jordan was certainly describing NCHN members, as we know you are a group of brave leaders.  NCHN is here to support and strengthen your leadership development.  During the first day of the Leadership Summit, Network Leaders have been busy networking, sharing their experiences, talking about projects and network activities, and getting to know their colleagues.  Dr. Mary Kay Chess kicked off the 2015 Leadership Learning Community Program on Monday afternoon with a workshop on Key Milestones. The 60 participants enjoyed getting out in the Florida sunshine for the first part of Dr. Chess’ workshop and participating in some fun activities around exploring leadership.  The outside activities ended with a scavenger hunt.  The networking continued Monday night with a Taste of Florida Buffet on the beach and in addition to the delicious buffet, we were treated to a gorgeous sunset. 

Tuesday morning, participants will continue the second part of the Key Milestones workshop and end the Summit with an update from the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy. The 36 HRSA Rural Health Network Development grantees, representing three HRSA programs have had the opportunity to interact with each other, as well as experienced NCHN members.  I suspect each one of them will go home energized, with at least three new peers to connect with over the next few months, and will become braver in the leadership of their network.  I look forward to hearing about the great work that will be occurring in networks across the country and am excited that NCHN serves as the connector to so many networks across the country. Welcome to 2015, we have blasted off this week for an exciting 2015!  Next big NCHN event is the 2015 Rural Health Summit, which will be our Annual Educational Conference, September 1-2 in Portland, OR.  Be sure to mark that date and watch for registration and hotel details in the near future.  

Rebecca J. Davis, Ph.D.
Executive Director

The holidays, including the upcoming New Year are exciting times!  For many of you, it may be the end of the fiscal year for your network. As you prepare for annual reporting to your board and members, I bet you are also thinking about what you want to do differently in 2015.  No matter your reporting period, we all make resolutions of things we want to do differently, better, or more of in the new calendar year. While thinking about your reporting and resolutions, I hope that you make a resolution to take time to sit a spell, rest a bit during this hectic time of the year, and reflect on 2014. 

This is my favorite chair to just sit and think! We have had this chair since around 1988. It came out of a barn in Nancy, KY and was in horrible condition. It is such a comfortable chair! Over the years, it has been reupholstered twice. One thing that makes it special. That is that I have a little stool that was Michael’s grandmother’s. We had that stool reupholstered the last time with the same fabric.  By taking two older, non-related items and giving them both a face-lift, they became a pair and gave us a comfortable place to sit.  Great place for thinking and planning for 2015. I hope each one of you have your own “thinking chair.” Please take the time to share a picture with us.

And talk about exciting, hectic times!  It is the same here at NCHN’s headquarters. We are preparing for a major change, with a move from Montrose, Colorado back to Hardinsburg, Kentucky. Weather permitting, I will be driving in my little red car - with Ms. Millie - back to Kentucky during the last week of 2014. NCHN headquarters will reopen after the first of the year at its former location in Hardinsburg, KY.  New year resolutions for me include getting the office set up and organized,  hosting an exciting and fun Leadership Summit in Clearwater Beach, Florida next month, and continuing to provide support and resources to you and your network.

As we enter the holiday season, we recognize and appreciate how busy everyone is at this time of the year. To encourage you to stop and take care of yourself during over the next hectic weeks, our “Network Leadership Chair” for November is my new exercise ball chair!  I ordered it online and it arrived on Friday. After assembling the chair base on Saturday morning, I noticed that the instructions said to inflate the exercise ball only to 80% and wait 24 hours to inflate to 100%. Being anxious to try it out, I didn’t want to wait 24 hours for that 100%, but my husband insisted.  Sunday morning he decided that it really wasn’t inflated to 80%, so he added more air and said I had to wait another 24 hour before we took it to 100%.  As I typed this article, he inflated it to the 100% and finished the assembly, but told me to wait until Tuesday morning before I tried it out! 

As Network Leaders, sometimes we think we should immediately be at 100% with new projects, services, or activities.  However, with this little project, I decided to follow the instructions and my husband’s encouragement and wait a few hours before jumping on the new chair.  And while preparing the article, I found out that Christy has the exact same chair, except with a black ball.  Since she has more experience in using the chair, if you have any questions, ask her, not me! 

NCHN is happy to announce a new program, “Executive Round Table,” or as we are calling it “ER for Network Leaders.”  Dr. Mary Kay Chess will be kicking off the new program on Tuesday, November 25 @ 11:00 AM ET, click here for more details.  We are excited to launch this new service and look forward to the monthly lively discussions and especially the sharing!  We all can learn so much from our peers.  I encourage you to look at this time as “me” time, even maybe get yourself an exercise ball chair and join the calls.  Or, as I’ve heard some members used to do on the Coffee/Tea Chats, walk on your treadmill while participating on the calls. 

On Monday, NCHN hosted a TA call on the new HRSA Rural Health Network Development Planning Grant Guidance.  Thanks so much to Amber Berrian, Project Officer for the Planning Program for taking the time to hold the discussion for NCHN members.  For those of you that missed the call, a recording is available (details were included in the Save the Date).  Also, Amber will be offering another TA call on the guidance on December 3.  Some components of the new Guidance included an increase in the funding level from $85,000 to $100,000.  The purpose of the Network Development Planning Grant program is to encourage the development of integrated healthcare networks.  The application deadline is January 9, 2015 with an estimated start date of June 1, 2015.  The project is for one year. One question that was asked about the program, was if existing networks could apply.  This is discussed on Page 6 of the FOA, “…existing networks that seek to expand services or expand their service area are not eligible to apply. Existing networks that are proposing to collaborate with at least two (2) outside organizations that they have not worked with before under a formal relationship are eligible to apply.”  I encourage NCHN members that are interested in exploring potential new projects, with new members, that have questions to contact Amber.  I also encourage members that will be submitting applications, to do so early!  Do not wait until January 9 to submit your application. 

After the 2014 holiday season has ended, a great way to start 2015 would be attending the NCHN Leadership Summit, “Brave Leadership – Maximizing your Network’s Potential” will be held in Clearwater Beach, Florida, January 19-20, 2015.  This is the premier leadership event for health network leaders.  And, I stress, we want the Network Leader to attend, not network staff, not network members, not project managers, not CFOs, but the person that has the responsibility for the day to day management and operation of the network organization.  We will provide additional information, including a near final agenda in the next eNews issue. However, registration is open and hotel reservations are being accepted.  I encourage you to register early and make those hotel reservations today!  The NCHN lodging rate is available January 17-22, based on availability of the hotel. 

 

Rebecca J. Davis, Ph.D.
Executive Director

So, I’m standing here at my desk, thinking about what to write for this month’s article, when I realize that no one sent me a network “chair story” since Mary Ann Watson’s response to the first article. This made me start wondering, if maybe a better article would be “Why do we need chairs?” Are we all sitting too much? I have received requests from NCHN members asking if I had any recommendations on treadmill workstations, etc. I had looked for such options, but decided that I would never be able to walk on a treadmill and type on the computer at the same time. If any of you have found such a model and it works for you, please share! I’m sure others would be interested. 

According to an article I found on the Mayo Clinic website, researchers have linked sitting for long periods of time to a number of health concerns, such as obesity and metabolic syndrome. They report that too much siting also seems to increase the risk of death from cardiovascular disease and cancer.  I recommend you take a few minutes to read the article, as they talk about how much time we all spend sitting at our desks and in our vehicles! 

I started thinking, how much time during a normal work day do Network Leaders spend in their chairs and/or vehicles?  I bet we all think probably not a lot – we are always on the move, meeting with our members, facilitating meetings, participating in calls, reaching out to potential new partners and the list goes on and on – but in reality, I bet we all sit a lot more than we realize. I know I do!  And I decided to do something about it recently. 

My adventure to find a way to stand more during the work day started at Office Depot. I purchased a rolling laptop cart, but it had to be assembled.  When my husband got around to looking at it, he said he thought they had a better option at his office.  A quick field trip to his office lead me to juststand.org. I needed something that would accommodate my laptop computer, a second screen, keyboard and mouse and have all these items connected, along with the printer and Internet cable. The rolling cart would have only allowed me to work on the laptop, while it was disconnected from my router. The employees in his office had these great workstations that had everything connected together. The product allowed them to easily move from sitting in their chair to standing and working effectively at their desk. 

I purchase an Ergotron WorkFit-S, Dual Monitor Sit-Stand Workstation. We assembled and attached the work station to my antique oak desk. But, atlas, the laptop didn’t have a home!  Follow-up to Amazon, netted an adaptor for the workstation that allows my laptop to set upon a perch that keeps it even with the second monitor. The overall fit to the antique desk is not perfect, but now I try to stand up more and sit less!  I’m hoping that this change in my daily work environment will help reverse some of the medical factors I already have that are related to sitting too much.  

Also, I'm thinking it will give my desk chair a break, as I noticed that it was kind of starting to slump to one side! This reminded me of a guy I worked with many years ago –he had sit in his chair for so long that it had distinctly conformed to his bottom!  Others in the office would never bother his chair, as it didn’t feel right to anyone but him.  Sometimes in networks that “conformed” condition can occur.  If you retain a program and never make adjustments, update for the times, or evaluation – it may take on that feeling that it only works for certain members! 

As we move from fall into the early winter months – let me know if you decide to try standing up more during the work day.  If you find products that work for you, please share with me, so that we can share across NCHN.  As Network Leaders, we should all be looking for ways to improve workplace productivity, which also improving our own health status and that of our members.  Please join me in standing up on the job!  And definitely send us photos of you doing so!  

Rebecca J. Davis, Ph.D.
Executive Director

Chairs, Chairs, Chairs – we all use them every day!  Did anyone besides Mary Ann Watson, Tennessee Rural Partners, think about the chairs in your network?  Mary Ann said that she was going to propose a “chair inventory” around their network!  I am curious to see if anyone else conducted a “chair inventory.”  Did you find any programs in need of discarding, re-branding and/or reviving, or maybe even ready to be passed off to another organization to manage?  Tell us about your chair inventory. If you didn’t see Mary Ann’s response to my article last month, you can read it here. 

I must confess, I bought another chair. My plan with this series on Chairs and how they relate to Network Leadership was to start with the first chair I purchased, way back in the early 1970s!  But then I bought this chair and thought, hmmm, maybe it makes more sense to start here and work backwards. 

So, please meet my newest chair! See? It is a nice sturdy vintage oak rocker! Did I need it? No, but it was one of those deals that was just too good to pass up!  I was at a live auction a couple of Saturdays ago and this chair, made by Grand Rapids Bookcase & Chair Company came up for sale.  It reminded me of “mission oak” furniture and another similar, (non-rocker) chair I had bought in Virginia a few years ago. (And yes, I still have that chair.) So, when no one would bid on this rocker, I started it at $5.00. The auctioneer promptly got a $10.00 bid, but then no more bids seemed forthcoming.  Could this antique oak rocker really sell for just $10.00?  I just couldn’t image such a criminal thing happening to the chair, so I bid $15.00, thinking now someone else will surely see the value in this chair and continue bidding.  Seems that no one else saw the value of the chair and I would become its new owner. 

So, fast forward to later in the morning when Michael, my husband came back to check on me and how things were going and I introduced him to our new chair.  First question, “Do we need this chair?”  Of course not, but could I let it go for just a mere $10.00? I don’t think so!  Do not worry, we will find a use for it or a new home. So far, it is still sitting just inside our front door. I haven’t found a home for it in our house and I'm still thinking about what I am going to do with this chair?!

This chair will represent “Durability” in our leadership series.  It is durable, sturdy, heavy, well-constructed, dependable, and was very cost effective! Do you find yourself considering potential new programs or services for your network that seem like such a great value that you can’t pass them up?  I bet you do. But will your members appreciate your great savings?  Will they participate in the program or purchase the service from the network?  Do you need a program or product that is similar to one you already have? Maybe you even have a few similar programs or products that members are not taking advantage of or currently using. If so, could a new program spark some interest? 

Sometimes it just takes a little bit of a different look to get someone’s attention. Sometimes it can be something that your members are already familiar with, but maybe not used.  Sometimes we just have to try another style of bringing services, products, or items to our members.  In this eNews you will read about a new project that NCHN just released, our “Tools and Strategies for Managing Health Networks” website.  We are so excited about this resource and thank all the members over the years that have answered questions, submitted examples and templates, and provided resources and support to their peers!  Now you can find those items in one place. 

Why don’t you pull up a chair and take a few minute and review the new site?  And while you are doing so, let us know what you think.  We would love some feedback on the website - what’s missing, what’s great, what would make it more usable, anything you can tell us to make the site the best resource for health networks – tell us. 

Let us hear from you!  Tell us about your newest “chair” (program).  I’m sure other network leaders would like to know what their peers are doing and this is a great platform to share!  Especially those of you that have received a recent HRSA grant. Tell us about the new program or service you will be launching.

And, by the way, would anyone be interested in a good vintage oak rocker?  I have one looking for a home! 

Rebecca J. Davis, Ph.D.
Executive Director

August. Summer vacations are coming to an end, kids are getting ready, or have already, started back to school, mornings feel cooler, afternoons are hot, and we start thinking about fall activities.  Does your network have an ebb and flow cycle? Do you offer certain activities or conduct certain functions in the fall? Why don’t you share with your peers across the country some of the fall activities of your network?  We would love to hear from you, just send a short description of the activity/event to me or Christy and we will feature them in future issues of the e-News! 

NCHN has traditionally held our Leadership Summit in the fall.  This year we are changing it to January 2015 and are in the final stages of deciding on a location.  We are looking for someplace warm in January and possibility with a beach!  So, watch for more details in the September e-News. 

This month, we also welcome a new member, Washington Rural Health Collaborative. Holly Greenwood is the Executive Director. We welcome her and the network to NCHN.  

I am going to start a series, Chairs of Network Leadership. If I put it here, then I’m committed to doing it! Last week, I purchased an antique wicker chair at the Hospices parking lot sale here in Montrose. In telling Christy about the purchase, I made the comment that we were really “chair poor” meaning that we had a lot of chairs. That got me to thinking about how many chairs I actually do have, and on my preliminary count I was close to 60 chairs.  Now, by chairs, I’m talking about a single chair, including recliners, rocking chairs, dining room chairs, lounge chairs, outdoor chairs, etc.  I am going to take an inventory and address this potential chair issue I may have uncovered!  Christy suggested I start a blog about my chairs, as I told her most every chair had a story.  So, then I started thinking, why and how have I ended up with so many chairs in my life?  What do they or could they reveal about me?  Maybe not a thing, just that I have a compulsion of purchasing chairs?  I will admit in this “thinking about writing about a chair series” rambling that I decided that I should probably begin to address the chair issue. So, the next day I took a chair and donated it to Hospices.  I told the lady that I decided I needed to take one out, since I had brought a new one home the day before.  She said that worked for them! 

So, I challenge you this next month, as we begin to move into fall, think about “chairs” you may have in your network.  Do you seem to collect the same type of
programs and services? When you start a new program, do you consider using it as a replacement to a similar program or service? Or do you just keep adding new programs and allowing older ones that may not be as effective or useful to hang around?  Have you taken inventory of what your network offers recently and analyzed the offerings to determine if they are the best fits for your members.  Will the programs and services change and develop as the needs of your members change?  Have you counted your chairs lately?    

Rebecca J. Davis, Ph.D.
Executive Director

July. Here we are in the middle of summer!  Are you stopping to enjoy the season, stopping to smell the flowers, have you been to or plan to visit a state or national park, had a picnic, visited friends, been swimming, hiking, or any other summertime activity that would be great to help you recharge your batteries? 

Yesterday, as I was working on my article, I decided to unplug from the Internet.  I actually took the computer to the back porch, thinking I could give the “girls” (pictured right: Hattie, Lacey, and Millie) some extra time in the back yard shade and also get some work done. I have thought about doing this several times, but just never followed through on that thought.

It was later in the afternoon and around 91 degrees.  As I got all set up to work, I was thinking, “Man, it is a lot cooler in the office with the swamp cooler running than it is out here in this heat!”  But, soon I was distracted by what was going on around me.  Our “girls,” which many of you may know are our two dogs, Hattie and Lacey, have now expanded to three girls.  We are dog sitting Ms. Millie, our son Logan’s dog.  Millie has been with us since Memorial Day weekend.  She spent about a year and half with us back in 2010-2011, so the “girls” had been together before, but we have been going through a bit of an adjustment period. 

Millie has a lot of energy and likes to run and play.  Hattie and Lacey have grown to 139 pounds each, and they seem to like to just lay in the shade and watch Millie’s activities.  Today, Hattie decided that she might also like to play - just a little bit - so the game consisted of Millie running and jumping at Hattie, Hattie making a half-hearted effort to engage with Millie, which led to either some dog-play biting activities between the two dogs, or Millie taking her daily running fit around the yard. That girl is a zoomer!  She will run as fast as she can from one side of the yard to the other and during each lap she will take a jump at Hattie, almost like, "Hey, catch me if you can!"  Then she ends the run by racing to the little evergreen bush, jumping underneath it, and digging like she is onto gold! 

Sometimes I think network leaders are a lot like that – running around trying to meet the needs of their members, tempting network members to become more engaged, searching for services or products, or developing them to assist their members. 

Also, while sitting on the back porch, I was buzzed by a hummingbird. I guess it thought my red head might be a food spot.  That would have never happened if I had stayed in the office.  I also got to listen to a dove that seems to live around the back yard.  Today, it had a lot of singing to do. And I listened to Lacey, our barker.  I really think Lacey would explode if she couldn’t bark – she barked at the dove, she barked at the kids we could hear walking in the alley, she barked at the cars that went by, she barked at the sky. Do you have a barker in your network?  Someone that always needs attention and may be overshadowing the voices and needs of your other members?

I’m sure to the folks that happened on the other side of our 8 foot privacy fence they wondered what kind of strange animals live on the other side. 

Barking Lacey and a woman constantly saying, “Lacey, no bark, Lacey, no bark … Good Lacey.”   “Millie, no dig, aww... good Millie.”   As I reflected on the day, I realized that Lacey commanded the majority of my attention. Millie came in second when she became too excited during the dog-biting playing activities and each time she dove under the bush and started digging!  And sweet Hattie, she was just kind of there... I knew she was there, but she really didn’t demand any attention until right before I decided to retreat to the coolness of the office.  It seemed that Lacey and Hattie had changed positions. Lacey was laying in the shade looking around and Hattie had taken up the barking duties!  Did they just do this, or did Hattie decide she wanted some of my attention? 

I thought about you, the NCHN members. We don’t get to see you on a regular basis.  Do we accommodate your needs?  Do we give you enough attention?  Do we focus on the ones we hear from the most – and we do love hearing from the members!  Or do we just react to the dive boomer – like I reacted to that hummingbird? 

Everyone is busy and here at NCHN, we want to be busy doing the correct activities, finding and engaging the best partners, providing outstanding programming that meets your needs.  So, as you take time to enjoy the summer days, also take a few minutes to think about NCHN, your organization, and let us know if there is something that we could be doing to support you!  We love to accommodate our members!   

Rebecca J. Davis, Ph.D.
Executive Director

  

We are now in St. Louis for the 2014 NCHN Annual Educational Conference.  It is an exciting time for NCHN members!  We are kicking off a new fiscal year (May 1) and I welcome the opportunity to give the membership an overview of the accomplishments of your Association for 2013 and peek at some plans for 2014.  Without the continued support of our dedicated members these activities and projects would not have been possible.  Thanks to each member that stepped forth during 2013 to serve on committees, participate on Coffee/Tea Chats, respond to list serve questions, answer emails and generously provide support to your peers.

The Board of Directors and Officers continually seek feedback from you and meet on a regular basis to discuss and explore programming that meets the needs of our diverse membership.

During 2013-2014, NCHN provided the following programming and services that were designed to support health network leaders and network organizations:

• 2013 Membership Summary: We ended 2013 with 52 network members, which resulted in a retention rate of 78% of 2012-2013 membership (46/59).  We welcomed five (5) new members during 2013. The membership represented twenty-nine (29) states. In the Associate Member Category we had four (4) individual Associate Members and four (4) organizational Associate Members. The NCHN total membership as of April 30, 2014 was sixty (60) members across all categories.
• Leadership Development: The 2013 Leadership Summit was held in October in Austin, TX with ten (10) very dedicated network leaders, representing nine (9) states! The group formed the 2013 Leadership Learning Community and have been meeting by conference call since October.  They will have their final face-to-face meeting here at the 2014 Conference.
• Executive Coaching Program continued with a team of NCHN members available to provide Executive Coaching to both NCHN members and to the HRSA Rural Health Network Development Grantees.  
• Informational & Technical Assistance Calls were provided on a regular basis, addressing such topics Rural Veterans in NCHN Communities; Updates from NRHA; National Rural ACO; and Understanding the New Health Insurance Marketplace and What They Mean for Providers and Patients.  We are always open to topics for these calls. 
• Coffee/Tea Chats were held monthly. The one-hour, once a month call is the opportunity for network leaders to connect with their peers to discuss whatever is on their minds.
• Listserv: Twelve (12) questions/requests were posed to the Listserv. Forty-three (43) responses were received for the posting; along with fifteen (15) documents shared.
• Electronic Presence: Twenty-five (25) eNews were developed and distributed to both NCHN membership and a Friend/Associate List.  The membership average open rate for the year was 32.5%; and the friend’s list average open rate was 25.9%. Social Media efforts included 44 tweets on Twitter; 65 followers. Facebook does not have yearly data available, but we have 105 likes! The NCHN website received 5,181 unique visits with a total of 24,438 page views. The website had 43.2% returning visitors and 56.8% new visitors.
• 2014 Network Leader Salary & Benefit Survey was conducted in April – May and the final report is being prepared.  Forty-four networks responded.  This was an increase of six (6) participants over the 2012 survey. The final report will be distributed later this month to those members that participated.
• Business Partners Program is under transformation.  NCHN contracted with Larry Bedell to assume management of our program.  Larry’s target is to secure ten (10) Platinum Level Sponsors.  Please check the website for our continuing Business Partners and support their program and services, while watching for updates on the new Platinum Level Sponsors.  Thanks to EMTS for their continued partnership and attendance at the conference.

The Officers, Directors and NCHN staff encourage you to take advantage of your membership benefits in 2014 - 2015 and look forward to working with you to support your leadership development and the success of your network!  Some of the upcoming events and activities in 2014-2015 include – continuation of the sharing that starts with the Innovation Circles at the conference; 2015 Leadership  Summit, release of NCHN’s Core Elements of Successful Networks, continued electronic presence, monthly Coffee/Tea Chats, listserv option for posting questions and sharing information; new website with tools and strategies for successful networks, and in September 2015, a co-located conference with NOSORH and 3RNet in Portland, OR.