What an honor and privilege it is to serve as your president for 2013!

As we begin 2013, I have reflected on how much my ASHHRA membership has meant to me over the years. I have been so blessed to have learned so many valuable lessons from all of you. Building relationships with colleagues, attending conferences, participating in learning sessions, and being a mentor and volunteering has made me a stronger human resource (HR) health care professional and enhanced my ability to serve my health system and help me prepare for the future.

Today, we are all facing the most challenging times in the history of health care. These challenges carry with them uncertainty while offering us the possibility to shape the future of HR in health care. I want us as members of ASHHRA to focus on the possibility for 2013.

ASHHRA will play a vital part in preparing us for the possibility and shape us as health care HR professionals and the organizations in which we serve.

I am always drawn to the Anatomy of an HR Leader and our HR Leadership Competencies. In 2013, I believe our greatest possibilities for success will be through the competency of People Strategies... leading with our hearts. As we all know, our people are the most valuable asset of ASHHRA and our organizations.

When we capture the hearts and minds of our people, we will create the possibility of a culture that values and respects the need to attract, develop, and retain a diverse membership and workforce. In doing so, we will be able to meet the needs of patients, employees, and members.

I believe we can create possibility by also modeling inclusion in ASHHRA, as well as in our organizations... why I have selected Strength Through Inclusion as the theme for 2013.

One way we can create possibility is to take advantage of the wonderful array of resources as ASHHRA members. Stephanie Drake, our executive director and her fabulous team: Sharon Allen, Ursula Pawlowski, Shirley Armistead, Ferdinand Libunao, Jamie Macander, and Emily Meskill are here to ensure you have the best membership experience possible.

We are also privileged to have a talented team of volunteer leaders in our board and committee chairs. The 2013 Board includes the following: Maureen O’Keeffe, Irma Pye, Jim Frain, Amy Barry, Nicole Morin-Scribner, Paul Morlock, Marit Brock, John Ostrom, Deborah Rubens, Kristen Fox, and Tedd Marefka. The Committee Chairs for 2013 include the following: Learning & Educational Development Committee: Amy Crabbe; Annual Conference Committee: Barry Lindeman; and Advocacy Committee: Mike Paruta. I look forward to working will each of them in the coming year.

Many thanks to those members of the board whose term ended this year: Bob Walters, whose leadership, empathic approach, and musical talents will be greatly missed; Joe Micucci, who was ever vigilant to keep us fiscally responsible while providing a photographic history of ASHHRA; Karmen Reid, whose calm, insightful approach was such a gift; Michael Robinson, who brought us the CEO view and strategic vision; and Tom McCawley, with his sense of humor, helped us not to take ourselves too seriously!

Thanks also to Irma Pye for a wonderful 2012. Irma was an inspiration to us all. The board and I are fortunate to be able to continue to learn from and work with Irma in 2013.

I am looking forward to our journey as we begin 2013; I invite you to join me to embrace our future of possibilities, thoughtfully and inclusively.

Strength Through Inclusion,

Grace Blair Moffitt
ASHHRA 2013 President
Vice President, Human Resources
Cone Health
Greensboro, N.C.

 

When: Thursday, January 17, 2013, 1 p.m. ET (12 p.m. CT, 11: a.m. MT, 10 a.m. PT)
What: 90-minute webinar

Click here to register.

We invite you to participate in this timely webinar that will cover the increasing number of cutting-edge National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decisions, particularly those impacting non-union employers. For example, are you aware that the NLRB just recently issued a number of rulings involving the procedures that an employer must follow in conducting internal investigations, the validity of employer policies regarding off-duty employees, and decisions with respect to the legality of various employer communication policies regulating employee conduct in the workplace, including social media policies?

Roger King of Jones Day and Jim Trivisonno of IRI Consultants will explore the NLRB’s recent decisions significantly impacting obligations of unionized employers with respect to complying with union information requests and continuing the terms and conditions of employment after a collective bargaining agreement has expired. Be prepared for the upcoming year as the Board, along with other regulatory agencies including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor (DOL), and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), are expected to pursue an activist agenda in 2013. After attending this webinar, you will be skilled in employee communication policies and strategies to enhance employer compliance efforts and to minimize litigation and unionization risks.