Greetings! This year is off to a stormy start as turbulent weather, including record rainfall, has had significant impacts on California’s residents. These back-to-back downpours resulted in power outages, falling rocks and debris, some flooding and hazardous driving conditions throughout the region. Fortunately, by most accounts Southern California’s hospitals experienced only minimal operational disruptions.
The persistent threat of inclement weather, however, was just an added concern for our hospital leaders as they continue contending with a high volume of patients, the circulation of respiratory illnesses, and a backlog of patients seeking care in emergency departments, among many other challenges. Let’s count our blessings that skies have cleared for the moment and the looming storm threat has dissipated, removing at least the environmental worry from everyone’s minds.
A new year also means new leadership on HASC’s Board of Directors and an opportunity to thank our outgoing Chair, Joe Avelino, for his steadfast leadership during his tenure. Joe has overseen tremendous strides in our journey to rebuild a better health care environment for our communities. The HASC team and board are grateful for his invaluable dedication and contributions.
This Saturday, we have the honor of formally electing our 2023 Board Chair, Lori Morgan, MD. For those unacquainted with Dr. Morgan, she has served as president and CEO of Huntington Hospital since 2017. She has nearly 30 years of health care and health care administration experience, with a focus on developing programs that support patient care, strengthening physician relationships and enhancing financial performance. Dr. Morgan has been an extremely valued voice as a HASC board member and has demonstrated unparalleled commitment to our hospitals and communities. We look forward to her guidance in the year ahead.
In the coming months, Dr. Morgan and the HASC board and staff will work to tackle challenges related to our strategic objectives. In collaboration with the board, HASC embarks on an annual process to identify critical barriers that hinder the delivery of high-quality care and to develop an action plan. This year, HASC will focus on the following areas:
- Behavioral health
- Emergency Medical System (EMS)
- Workforce/workplace safety
- Public health
- Local Medi-Cal managed care plans
- Local advocacy
- Homelessness
HASC looks forward to making considerable headway in these areas and collaborating with our members to ease both emerging and longstanding burdens that obstruct your mission to serve your communities.
Take care and stay safe.
George G.