President's Message - Ruth Sullivan

Dear Fellow SHCA Members and healthcare professionals,

Welcome to the Society for Healthcare Consumer Advocacy (SHCA) website.  This website represents 900 patient advocates across the U.S. who continue to be the voice of the patient in today's hospitals.  As a personal membership group of the American Hospital Association (AHA), this website keeps our members informed of the latest information regarding patient advocacy.

Our 2009 conference will be held from April 22-24, 2009 in Reno, Nevada.  The Program Planning Committee, under the leadership of Chair Kate Percifield and Co-Chair Kevin Kasnick, is working diligently to plan a conference that will exceed your expectations.  Please continue to visit the conference webpage as details regarding content continue to unfold.  We have "Raised the Stakes" for a great learning and networking experience.

Our Board of Directors and Executive Committee meet regularly to advance our 2008-09 strategic goals and our focus on offering more value to our members.  The highlight of the year has been the launching of the first of many SHCA webinars.  We have heard from our members regarding how difficult and costly it can be to attend site meetings and conferences.  Therefore, SHCA is developing continual educational content in a series of desktop learning opportunities.  Our Member Value Committee specifically is generating a bank of topics and programs for your professional development.  Your Member Needs Assessment survey responses regarding webinars have been collected and shared with the committee to make sure the programming in 2009 is reflective of the needs you shared.  Details are included in monthly member e-blasts and webinars are available to non-members via the SHCA education events calendar of the website. 

APEx recognition is now available year round for application.  Consider APEx as a professional goal this year.  Our SHCA Patient Advocate Advanced Practice, Certified (PAAPC) designation program is receiving applications from our members of two or more years who meet designation criteria.  Our Professional Development Committee is working on chapter growth, support, and identifying tools to help keep our chapters strong.  Please review our website monthly for new and exciting developments in the field of patient advocacy.

In closing, these are very active and exciting times for SHCA and the profession of Patient Advocacy.  On behalf of the SHCA Board of Directors, we hope to see you in Reno and welcome your calls or e-mails.

Sincerely,

Ruth Sullivan, MS, RNC, PAAPC, FSHCA
2008 SHCA President