The Georgia Scroll
January 1998
President’s Message
From Pat H. Hamby, FHFMA
"Hats Off to Healthcare Professionals" was the theme of our Fall Institute in Savannah. And, "HATS OFF" to the more than 250 attendees who expanded their knowledge level through the educational sessions arranged by Cathy Dougherty and the Educational Team. Great networking opportunities, which included the Riverboat Cruise on Wednesday evening, casino and the hat contest on Thursday evening, were arranged by Bill Eikost and the Logistics Team. "HATS OFF" to you folks for a great job!
"HATS OFF" to Tom Morris and the CPAR Team for the tremendous job they have done this year in providing CPAR educational training and testing to a record 670 people! The last exam was given on Wednesday prior to the start of our Fall Institute. For all of the organizations and managers who have supported this fantastic training program for people in your business office, "HATS OFF" to you! This is an incredible program which provides your staff with knowledge necessary to function in the healthcare patient accounting arena today. For those of you who have not encouraged your staff to go through this training and sit for the comprehensive exam, please consider it for the 1998-99 year. Your facility will reap the benefits of having better-trained and educated staff!
There are so many people who have already made a difference in this HFMA year. Rather than list them all in this column, I will highlight a few now and will highlight others in later editions of the SCROLL. "HATS OFF" to Judy Starkey and the Newsletter Team for an exceptional newsletter; to Marci Thomas, Joanne Waters and the Managed Care Team for the tremendous new managed care curriculum they have pulled together for the 1997-98 year (new brochures are out!); to Sam Chambers and the WebPage Team for an incredible WebPage (if you haven’t dialed in, I think you will be pleased with the product they have developed – http://www.mindspring.com/~gahfma/index.htm); to Bob Cross and the HotLine Team for the phenomenal job they do in keeping our HotLine updated ( 404-250-7507 or 1-800-388-4154); to Tim Pollard; Dennis Milligan and the CFO Forum Team as well as to Tim Richie and the Corporate Compliance Team for the exceptional Corporate Compliance Seminar they put together in September; to Ann Chandler and the DataBase Committee for gathering and submitting members’ Founder’s Award information to the National Office; to Pat Tewalt, Susan Singleton and the Registration Committee for the outstanding job they do in making sure the registration process runs smoothly; to Diane Dunaway and the PFS Forum Team for the exceptional Lunch-n-Learn educational sessions they are providing to members across the state. The list goes on and on – but, for sake of space, I’ll save the additional recognition for a later time!
At our Fall Institute, our luncheon speaker, Mr. Bryon Townsend, talked about "Making Good Things Happen – Life is an Adventure". He espoused that things don’t just happen by accident – there is always a purpose. Mr. Townsend pointed out Coach Bear Bryant’s three-point philosophy of a winning team – 1) have a love for the game; 2) have a plan for everything; and 3) always play as a team. There is strength when you pull together to make good things happen and caring about each other is the key!
Barbara Smith, Northside Hospital – Macon, at our Spring Institute talked about the importance of having a professional mentor in our lives. She further discussed how much this role can mean both to the mentor and to the person being mentored. And, in the book, "Friendship Factory", the author also talks about the significance of having people who encourage us; care for us; cheer for us; celebrate with us in a victory; and genuinely make life fun — providing positive reinforcement. In the 1970’s and 1980’s Peter Drucker and others touted "in search of excellence" as a means of dealing with the work environment. In today’s environment, however, we are dealing more with "in search of survival ‘versus’ in search of excellence". What better way to assist us in this survival mode than having an association of healthcare professionals who care for one another and are willing to act as mentors one to another!
In keeping with our theme for the year – "Education: The Cornerstone for Success" – let’s utilize and internalize Coach Bryant’s philosophy – regardless of whether you are an Alabama fan! Love the Association of which we are a member; embrace the that education is a plan which can advance our careers; and finally, pull together as a team of dedicated healthcare professionals who are willing to serve as a mentor to others!
We’re mid-way into the 1997-98 HFMA year! Our successes thus far have been a result of members pulling together as a team. Let’s go into the last half of our year even more enthusiastic and more excited about making this the best year – whether personal or professional! It’s almost impossible not to be successful if you are excited about whatever it is you are doing – and, conversely, it’s almost impossible to succeed if you aren’t excited about it!
We all have talents and abilities. And, not one of us can do it ALL. We must be willing to work together – expand our mental inventory to make good things happen for our Association, our Chapter, our peers, and ourselves!
"HATS OFF TO EACH OF YOU
FOR CHOOSING TO WORK AND EXCEL
IN SUCH A DYNAMIC PROFESSION!!"