July 2023 Newsletter

Posted July 5, 2023

Presidents Message

Late last month I was in Nashville for a healthcare conference. Yes, the photo is of me with The Voice Season 17 (2019) winner Jake Hoot. When not sampling the amazing country music emanating from Broadway Honky Tonks or at the Grand Ole Opry, the healthcare conference education sessions often sounded like the sad country songs of yesteryear. One troubling song is the break-up of many Hospital CEO’s from their workplace.

According to a recent Becker’s article, companies announced 789 CEO exits in the first five months of 2023. An eye-popping 10% of these exits, or 80 in total, occurred in hospitals. The date was a June 22 report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, an executive coaching firm that examines CEO turnover in the U.S. on a monthly basis.

Why is 10% in hospitals an alarming number? Well, the 80 CEO exit-stage-right moves within hospitals from January through May of 2023 is an increase of 70% from the 47 CEO exits recorded in the same period of 2022. The startling Hospital CEO exit number marks the third-highest year-to-date total across all 29 industries & sectors measured.

So, what is the culprit driving so many Hospital CEO’s to grab a parachute and jump?

“Hospital systems are struggling in a number of areas post-pandemic. Talent shortages, retention, and wages for staff are an issue, while the cost of care is rising. Many systems are struggling to operate, and new leadership is needed to attempt to turn things around,” Andrew Challenger, the workplace expert & Senior Vice President of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said in the report published by Becker’s.

The internal pressures of having to deliver quality healthcare with dwindling margins brought on by many financial demands have driven many of the seasoned CEO’s the reason to grab the retirement reins to ride off into the sunset. It doesn’t get more country than that.

“It is certainly significant that so many CEOs are leaving, especially since the last time we saw numbers this high was just prior to COVID-19 lockdowns. Certainly, companies are dealing with some uncertainty heading into the second half of the year surrounding recession concerns, disruptive technology, and high interest rates,” Mr. Challenger told Becker’s.

Many hospitals are already having issues competing for top talent in all departments. As one Hospital CFO said, “How can I compete with Buc-ee’s, who pays their Car Wash Manager $125,000?”

These are tough questions in need of innovative answers. Hospitals are already embracing what Artificial Intelligence (AI) has to offer in an effort to control costs, both with best practices and streamlining the workforce. While AAHAM does not have all the answers, this healthcare organization does provide a platform for bright minds to come together to start the discussions necessary to address the coming issues. ~Chuck

Mark your calendars!

Update information includes:

Self-Pay Bad-Debt Regulations
CFPB
TCPA
Credit Bureaus

Speakers:
Jeremy Nixon, VP, 3rd Party & Business Intelligence
Jeremy has over 17 years of experience in the accounts receivable management industry. He spent a decade of that experience in an analytics role creating and managing collection strategies and reports that measured the effectiveness of leading and lagging indicators. Jeremy is experienced in creating collection strategies to include voice, SMS, and email methods that help determine the best customer experience.

Sydney Heacox, Risk & Compliance Manager
Sydney is the compliance and risk manager and has been with Frost-Arnett since 2016. She attended the University of California, Santa Barbara for her bachelor’s degree in history, and graduated from the University of Illinois College of Law with her JD. In her free time, she is a hobbyist potter, enjoys traveling, and spending time with her two rescue dogs.

2024-2025 AAHAM National Elections

Nominations for our National AAHAM 2024-2025 slate of officers will be declared open as of June 15th. We will be reaching out to all members to submit nominations for the following offices: President, 1st Vice President, 2nd Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer.

Nominations open on June 15th and will be accepted until July 7th.

When nominating an individual, please think about your colleagues whom you feel will uphold our mission and best lead our organization in 2024-2025. Additional information regarding the nominating and voting process will be forthcoming.

It would be best to obtain approval from the person you wish to nominate, although we will verify their interest prior to adding their name to the ballot. You may also nominate yourself.

All candidates must be National Members in good standing and hold a CRCE to be eligible. All nominations will be submitted through the AAHAM website.

The Bill Spare National AAHAM Recognition Award

The Bill Spare National AAHAM Recognition Award is presented to a National AAHAM member to acknowledge and honor significant, commendable, and long-standing contributions to AAHAM.

The award is named in honor of Bill Spare, CRCE, who served as the National AAHAM President from 1996-1998. Bill demonstrated integrity and leadership in every role he served within the organization and provided support and encouragement for so many of its members.

You may submit your nomination by clicking here.

The Nomination Deadline is July 31, 2021.

Board Member Spotlight: Ross Kurtz

Meet Ross, Director of Support Services at Parallon. He gets satisfaction from work by building tools resulting in accurate and efficient workflows for his teams. He says that healthcare administration can be complex and, in some places, antiquated. For Ross, work satisfaction is derived from a focus on continual service improvement for their customers, automating monotonous tasks, and developing employees. Ross says that he is always a student, pragmatic, and generally reserved and is a husband and father of two tenacious boys.

His favorite quote is “We have the power to hold no opinion about a thing and to not let it upset our state of mind – for things have no natural power to shape our judgments.” ~ Marcus Aurelius

AAHAM Government Relations Monthly Town Hall Discussions

You are invited to join us on the AAHAM Government Relations Committee’s quarterly calls. What happens in Washington usually starts back home in your state. Join us in discussions on what is happening in Washington and share what is happening across the country at the state level. These calls are also an opportunity to gain grassroots blueprints to utilize in your own chapters.

The 2023 calls will be quarterly, on the 4th Thursday of the month at 4:30 PM EST. The next call is tentatively scheduled for July 27, 2023. Call dates may be subject to change.

Registration is required, there is no fee to attend, and you can earn 2 AAHAM CEUs.

Certification

Why earn an AAHAM certification? AAHAM certification is an investment in your personal growth and your professional future. For over forty years, AAHAM’s elite certification program has set the standard of excellence in patient financial services and the revenue cycle.

It doesn’t matter whether you are new to the healthcare revenue cycle or are a seasoned veteran, our family of AAHAM certification examinations offer a complete career ladder beginning with the Certified Revenue Cycle Specialist and culminating with the Certified Revenue Cycle Executive. We have a certification that will help advance your career. Plus, the learning doesn’t stop once you have obtained certification. Our certifications are maintained through a continuous education process. This ensures you stay abreast of the important changes and updates that continually occur in our rapidly changing healthcare environment.

Programs are also available on our website.

Call for Committee Chairs

Our chapter is still looking for those interested in chairing committees. Chairs and co-chair spots for our committees are now open. Please reach out to Chuck at (843) 325-2447 or cacquito@sacfirm.com if interested. He will be more than happy to discuss the possibilities with you. If looking to make a mark and improve your resume, AAHAM leadership positions are a fast track to achieving those goals.

AAHAM Job Board

If you are interested in listing a job ad on AAHAM’s Job Board, you can submit a request here.

Volunteer Opportunities

Learn more about our chapter’s leadership positions and volunteer opportunities by reaching out to Chuck at cacquisto@sacfirm.com. After all, Tennessee is the Volunteer State.

Our Mission

To be the premier professional organization in healthcare administrative services. Through a national organization and local chapters, we provide quality member services and leadership in the areas of education, communication, representation, professional standards and certification.

Stay Connected

Be sure to bookmark our Chapter page and check back often for updates!

Chuck Acquisto