Dear Colleagues,
Thank you for supporting me as CAHL’s President during this past year. As I make the transition to serve as CAHL’s Past President, it fills me with pride to see all the great work done on behalf of and in conjunction with our Board of Directors, Committee leaders, and other members throughout the year.
Now, looking forward to 2023, I want to invite you to share the various outreach efforts that you and your teams are doing to support the community. We’d like to celebrate them and make others aware of how they can join you in your good work.
Our CAHL members are committed to serving community needs, and I’ve seen countless ways that our members have reached out to those in need in diverse ways.
Every year when there are fires raging throughout California, I’ve seen fundraisers, clothing drives, and numerous other efforts to help those impacted by the horrific fires that have killed hundreds of people and destroyed thousands of homes and businesses. Our CAHL members, through their organizations, have shown compassion and empathy for those in need.
In many of our communities, CAHL members serve people experiencing homelessness by collecting toiletries, blankets, and other items to help them be more comfortable. Others have served meals at shelters.
These acts of kindness demonstrate an important part of who we are as CAHL members. When I started working in California six years ago, I learned about so many new and different ways to reach out to the community through our CAHL membership. Their demonstrations of empathy and compassion in every interaction make me proud to be part of this membership association. We are not only here to take care of patients, but we are also here to create a space for our community to feel safe, welcome, and respected.
Reaching out to others – whether it’s in our health care facilities or in the community – will continue to be an important part of our engagement as leaders, particularly as recognition grows of the impact of social determinants of health on overall individual and community well-being.
If you or your colleagues have a project or initiative in the community, please share with us what you’re doing. We want to support and communicate these important efforts with our membership and celebrate the awesome work done by our CAHL members. And if we can participate in those efforts and share in those experiences, that would be a great opportunity for us to connect with you and allow us to explore new possibilities to volunteer.
If you have a community initiative to share, please reach out to CAHLcommunications@gmail.com with the subject line “SDOH Story.”
Wishing you a 2023 filled with hope and promise.
Best Regards,
Michael
Michael O’Connell, MHA, FACMPE, FACHE
Past President, California Association of Healthcare Leader
Email: michael.oconnell1981@gmail.com
Mobile: 650-421-3463