Dear ASHHRA Colleagues,
Our Pittsburgh conference is behind us, and the holidays are fast approaching. For those of you who attended our conference and got to see Aneesh Chopra, Jeff Glasbrenner, The Water Coolers and all our other presenters, I hope you enjoyed it and found the experience valuable. The Annual Conference Committee along with the ASHHRA staff did a great job putting together this year’s conference.

ASHHRA has announced its new board members and officers for 2019. Joining the board are Emily Endert, director of human resources at Covenant Woods in Mechanicsville, Va., and Marie Stehmer, senior director of human resources at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center in Eugene, Ore. Sarah Fredrickson, director of workforce insights at Mayo Clinic, will serve as president; Willis Tisdale, director of human resources at Shriners Hospitals for Children in Greenville, S.C., as vice president; and Deborah Hanratty, human resources manager at Pyramid Peak Corporation in Gilbert, Ariz., as treasurer. 

Looking to get certified in health care HR? ASHHRA members who apply will be considered to receive a voucher for the full CHHR exam fee (a $295 value!). Applicants must be active ASHHRA members and meet the exam eligibility requirements. The application for this scholarship closes Friday, Nov. 9, 2018.

AHA News
The AHA and Federation of American Hospitals have urged the National Labor Relations Board to consider hospital electronic communication systems as a virtual “patient care area,” and to reestablish a previous NLRB standard that would lawfully permit hospital employers to limit employees’ use of these systems to communicate about union organizing and other National Labor Relations Act Section 7 protected activities. 

AHA News
A new study conducted for the AHA by KNG Health Consulting LLC found that Medicare patients who receive care in a hospital outpatient department are more likely to be poorer and have more severe chronic conditions than Medicare patients treated in an independent physician office.

AHA News
Vision, compassion, outreach and persistence. These four powerful attributes, brought to bear by HSHS St. John’s Hospital and Memorial Medical Center on behalf of the surrounding Enos Park neighborhood in Springfield, Ill., have resulted in remarkable improvements for its residents since the launch of a collaborative community health initiative three years ago. 

Patient Engagement HIT
The job market for physician assistants is booming as more organizations hire them to fill patient care access gaps.

Harvard Business Review
Although equal numbers of men and women now graduate from medical school, only a small fraction of female physicians become medical leaders. This is despite women comprising 80 percent of the health care workforce.

Forbes
After restructuring to meet evolving market demands in the rapidly changing graphics and health care industries, Belgium-based digital image company Agfa-Gevaert turned to SAP SuccessFactors to transform human resources.

Millennials' preferences for fast service, connectivity and price transparency are upending the time-honored model of office-based primary care.

Kellogg Insight
When patients arrive at the hospital for a surgery, they probably don’t think about what goes into scheduling the operating room where the procedure will happen. A new tool could drive savings of 20 percent while still keeping surgeons happy.

HealthLeaders Media
A pilot program gives nurses the support to change their health habits, so they can better care for patients. 

NPR
A former health insurance executive has made it her mission to bring down high health care costs. She's demanding a better deal for employers — and the workers whose care they pay for.

Spending by private payers has grown at a faster clip, with growth hitting 7.4 percent compared to 2.3 percent for public payer spending.

The Department of Justice has said it will approve the CVS-Aetna merger after Aetna divested its Medicare Part D business.