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In pursuit of its longstanding vision of a “society of healthy communities where all individuals reach their highest potential for health,” the American Hospital Association supports hospitals, health systems and related organizations in engaging in strategic initiatives that together create a path toward advancing health in America.

How well boards govern is influenced by a number of factors, among them, the knowledge and skills board members bring to their work.

New board members need more than a briefing on their organization — and the role they play in it

Some 66 percent of U.S. hospitals are now part of health systems, according to 2016 survey data from the American Hospital Association. As systems continue to grow in scope and complexity, their governance often follows suit.

As health care organizations become more complex and diverse, their governance requires individuals with a range of knowledge, skills and behaviors that can address the needs and challenges of these evolving enterprises.

It would be hard to disagree with the notion that board development is essential to effective trusteeship. Anyone who has sat on the board of a hospital or health system knows that health care is recognized as one of the most complex sectors.

Throughout my years of serving on boards, I typically have done so as an outside trustee, someone who brings knowledge about health care issues in general and about governance in particular, to the board table. Boards composed primarily of community members, as hospital boards traditionally have been, often incorporate outside trustees within their membership to bring a fresh, external perspective into board discussions.

As health care organizations become more complex and diverse, their governance requires individuals with a range of knowledge, skills and behaviors that can address the needs and challenges of these evolving enterprises. As their organizations mature, effective boards update how their members are selected, often moving away from informal, relationship based board composition to a more intentional, competency-based process.

This year’s Thought Leader Forum was an opportunity to engage in executive dialogue around the topic of change leadership with a panel of top executives whose organizations have recently undergone significant changes, such as care model transformation, unconventional affiliations, large-scale acquisition, new service strategy, and infrastructure or organizational changes. We will discuss how they executed and managed change; key lessons learned; and how culture, engagement, brand, and systems factored into the changes.

Innovation can fuel the organizational agility necessary to achieve breakthrough levels of value and performance in health care. This Workbook describes a four-step process that health system boards and leaders can use to develop a sustainable innovation capability. Drawing techniques and perspectives from health care and other fields, the approach facilitates organization-specific solutions.

From time to time as provided in the bylaws, the Board may designate the Vice Chairperson as a Chair-Elect. In such cases, the Chair-Elect’s responsibilities go beyond the usual role of a Vice Chair to lead the board in the Chairperson’s absence. The responsibilities of a Chair Elect include...

The American Hospital Association (AHA) Board of Trustees, in 2015, created a task force to address these challenges and examine ways in which hospitals can help ensure access to health care services in vulnerable communities. The task force considered a number of integrated, comprehensive strategies to reform health care delivery and payment. Their report sets forth a menu of options from which communities may select based on their unique needs, support structures and preferences.

This report discusses the complex challenges involved in community health improvement and makes the case for why health systems should take a substantial role in the multi-sector collaboration needed to achieve significant impact.

Lessons Learned from Foster G. McGaw Prize Recipients Community Partnership Profiles - Advances in Health Care Governance Series

Hospitals’ and health systems’ accountability and commitment to their communities are not only for the care provided within the organizations’ walls, but also for improving the overall health of the communities they serve. Many are acting on that commitment by striving to achieve the goals of the Triple Aim.

CEOs need to target and develop physicians to play leading roles in health care transformation. Perhaps the greatest challenge health care organizations face over the next decade is physician engagement. As integration and value-driven care continue to advance, physician leaders will be increasingly called upon to meet the demands of a changing landscape.

By Steven T. Sullivan As health care transforms, boards are tying executive compensation to long-term performance Many hospital and health system boards and their leadership teams are at an interesting juncture where each is heavily reliant on the other for strategic support and execution. They have a shared goal of successfully moving their organizations forward at a time when the field is in an overwhelming state of transition.

Boards and CEOs must constructively address the succession imperative. Succession planning for the CEO and other senior leadership positions is critical to organizational continuity and stability, especially in a transforming healthcare field.

Boards can play a key role in guiding, supporting young health system leaders

A decade ago, BoardSource, an organization supporting nonprofit boards, developed a well known list of aspirational principles of governance. For us they still ring true: “mission driven,” “ethos of transparency,” “compliance with integrity.”