Dear ASHHRA Colleagues,

Happy Pride Month, everyone! During Pride Month, people come together to show their support for the LGBTQ+ community. June also marks the beginning of summer and hurricane season.

With its first tropical storm this past weekend, my home state of Florida has already seen some early activity. Around this time last year, we were encouraging people to get their vaccinations. Although times have changed since then, the message remains the same. Due to recent spikes in various states, we continue to encourage people to get their vaccinations and practice social distancing.

I attended a presentation about the economy's future and the workforce's drastic changes as a result of the pandemic earlier this month. The message was clear: we must encourage our young professionals to see how important the field of healthcare is in order to keep the pipeline flowing. We must continue to build the profession from the ground up, and we must encourage our clinical and non-clinical allies to do so as well. The transformation begins with us, and it is critical that we remain physically and mentally prepared for the next steps. Next week, ASHHRA is hosting a webinar on HR Self-Care. I strongly encourage everyone to attend this webinar to learn about the importance of self-care and how to develop organizational strategies that support it.

I also encourage you to stay connected with your fellow ASHHRA members by asking your questions or responding with your insights in ASHHRA Exchange (Exchange.ASHHRA.org). You can access it anytime and you can even respond to post directly from the email notifications (no need to log in to the platform). The insights shared in the discussions are truly helpful.

Thank you all for everything you do on a daily basis, and I hope to see you all in in person for ASHHRA23 in Charlotte, North Carolina, April 23–25 next year!

Carl McDonald, MSHRM, PHR, SHRM-CP
ASHHRA President

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