California Association of Healthcare Leaders – 2023 Annual Self-Assessment
Note: Numbers cited in the CAHL Self-Assessment are from an annual report shared with ACHE and are accurate as of November 2023. See CAHL By the Numbers for full-year 2023 metrics.
As an independent chapter of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), the California Association of Healthcare Leaders (CAHL) represents healthcare executives, leaders, managers, and staff residing in the northern and central regions of California. CAHL’s geography covers 50 of California’s 58 counties and extends as far south as Kern County and San Luis Obispo and all the way north to the Oregon border. Our Board of Directors comprises volunteers who leverage their varied experiences and knowledge, donating their time to advance CAHL’s mission to support our members so they may improve health for communities in which they serve, as well as develop and advance their careers within the healthcare management profession. Having completed 2023 on a strong note, I would like to reflect on the year and speak to several notable highlights that exemplify the products and services CAHL’s 2023 volunteers delivered through exceptional teamwork, collaboration, networking, and professionalism.
Throughout the year the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Committee continued our focus on diversity and inclusion by developing a chapter member survey which identified key initiatives for consideration and execution by the committee. The committee held two virtual networking events, wrote two articles for the CAHL Newsletter, created the first Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Regent’s Award for the chapter, and held a virtual face-to-face event: DEI Implementation and Traction. Additionally, JEDI updated the DEI Toolkit to include a conceptual framework, as well as celebrated individual and collective accomplishments. We sustained the committee’s goal to keep JEDI values infused in all CAHL work during the year.
The Higher Education Network (HEN) Committee continued our partnership with nine colleges and universities in our region to connect with their undergraduate and graduate healthcare management programs to promote student membership and involvement with CAHL. School visits were coordinated with the University of California, San Francisco, the University of Phoenix, and the University of San Francisco which permitted healthcare leaders to speak on a variety of topics regarding leadership during and after COVID, career paths, and healthcare work experience. HEN also hosted a fellowship panel in which former fellows spoke about the value of a healthcare administration fellowship and the committee maintains the Student Resource Library in connection with CareerEdge. Our chapter recognizes the importance of early careerists and continued the tradition of funding scholarships to students pursuing their degree in healthcare administration. CAHL’s Board of Directors awarded $1,000 for the graduate student scholarship and $500 for the undergraduate scholarship, as well as approved a student chair to join our board meetings to further strengthen the relationship between our chapter and the schools.
HEN also co-sponsored a 2023 Statewide College Bowl that was held on April 21, 2023, at Concordia University through collaboration between the three ACHE chapters in California: CAHL, ACHE of Southern California, and San Diego Organization of Healthcare Leaders. CAHL funded the event with $3,000 to support student team prizes. California State University, Chico had two undergraduate teams compete in the event. The Chico State teams took home both first and second place prizes for the undergraduate case study competition. The College Bowl included a total of 99 attendees, 6.5 education hours, and two networking hours.
The CAHL Mentorship Committee continued our focus of supporting the professional development, lifelong learning, and growth of members and successfully completed its Spring and Fall Formal Programs with a cohort of 46 mentors and mentees ranging from early careerists to senior executives. In 2023, the Mentorship Committee Chair and Vice Chair also supported other ACHE chapters nationally to launch their own mentorship programs, which is a testament to the strength, value, and success of our Mentorship Program and Committee!
Our Advancement Committee charge is supporting member advancement to board certification in healthcare management and Fellow. The committee hosted two Board of Governors Exam Review and Preparation Series offerings in 2023 which included educational sessions to help prepare our members to advance within ACHE. These sessions were held virtually in collaboration with the San Diego Organization of Healthcare Leaders. Fees paid to attend this series are being held in a fund to reimburse members who have taken the Board of Governors Exam. The spring program resulted in 7.5 program hours with a range of 31-44 attendees per session; the fall program resulted in 7.5 program hours with a range of 33-47 attendees per session. CAHL advanced 25 new Fellows last year and achieved an overall count of 249 Fellows in our chapter; 47 members re-certified their Fellow credential. Approximately one-third of our members are eligible to achieve Fellow status, but only 16% of our members currently hold the FACHE credential; we have the opportunity to increase the number of Fellows across our chapter.
Both the California Valley and Coastal California Local Programming Councils fulfilled the important role of taking lead on organizing CAHL’s events last year, both in-person and virtual, and in collaboration with other chapter committees. Highlights of our chapter programing include a total of 29 educational events with 915 attendees for an aggregate of 35 educational hours and a total of 16 networking events with 581 attendees for an aggregate of 20.5 networking hours. Other significant events in 2023 included a joint networking reception at ACHE Congress on Healthcare Leadership, organized and co-hosted by the three California ACHE chapters. We also hosted our Annual Meeting and Awards Ceremony in-person with over 175 people in attendance; ACHE Chair Delvecchio S. Finley, FACHE was our keynote speaker. Lastly, we held our 2024 CAHL Board of Directors Orientation the last Saturday in October, and we met in-person for the Board of Directors Strategic and Operational Planning Session the first Saturday in December.
Member and Volunteer Growth Committee has an essential role in our chapter: welcoming the newest members to CAHL and responding to the needs of current and potential chapter volunteers. At 1,581 members as of November 30th, CAHL has grown our roster since 2022 by 56 additional members, which is four members shy of the 2021 high of 1,585 members. Our member retention rate is 79.3%, nearly one percentage point higher than last year (78.7% in 2022). The committee built a robust New Membership Orientation Program and had 264 new members join our chapter as of late November. During 2023, 79% of our members were active and 114 of them volunteered time to support CAHL activities. While 2023 has been a great year for CAHL, our current membership reflects only a fraction of leaders in healthcare organizations across our geography and membership growth will remain focus in the years ahead.
As of early December 2023, CAHL had $127,459.63 total assets in reserve. The chapter’s financial performance increased favorably by $13,699.19 from 2022 due to a combination of activities including corporate sponsorship, programming events, and cost utilization. The Executive Committee updated the CAHL Bylaws to reflect current and future practices, as well as operational and logistical needs; CAHL membership approved these updates last June. The Communications Committee continues to excel at connecting the CAHL chapter with our external partners and our members and non-members alike. 2023 was the first full year of the refreshed CAHL Newsletter format and frequency, which also included board officers rotating director insights articles throughout the year, as well as increasing member and volunteer spotlight content.
Lastly, as testament to our members and their commitment to our profession and ACHE, various CAHL members participated in the following national committees throughout 2023:
- Nominating Committee
- Programs, Products, and Services Committee
- Physician Executives Community Committee
- ACHE.org Editorial Board
- Asian Healthcare Leaders Community Committee
- Membership Committee
- Early Careerist Committee
- Journal of Healthcare Management Editorial Board
- Higher Education Committee
- Article of the Year Committee
- Book of the Year Award Committee
- AUPA/HAP Editorial Board for Undergraduate Studies
In conclusion, 2023 was an exciting, rewarding, and thought-provoking year. Our chapter finished the year strong and well prepared for 2024; the 2024 “officer triad” (i.e., CAHL’s President, President Elect, and Immediate-Past President) began meeting last fall to collaborate and position the CAHL Board of Directors and chapter for maximum engagement and success!
