HFMA’s Florida Chapter hosted a Professional Development & Innovator Workshop on Sept. 18, the first day of its 2022 Fall Conference at the Margaritaville Resort in Hollywood, Florida. This wasn’t the Chapter’s first professional development workshop. It was, however, different from those previously offered.
A shift in focus
That difference was due to the Chapter’s decision to rebrand early careerists as innovators to reflect the impact individuals can have on the industry at any stage of their career.
“We believed focusing exclusively on early careerists as we’ve done in the past excludes others who also could benefit from a professional development workshop,” said Jonathan Levine, Chapter president and regional vice president of business development for Med-Metrix in Miami, Florida. “So we broadened the event to include students still in school as well as those who may have been in their careers for some time but are looking for advancement.”
To that end, the Chapter developed a program where speakers representing a variety of perspectives coached attendees on how to advance their careers and/or grow within the healthcare space. Topics included a guide to innovating the future, tips and tricks related to recruiting and hiring, the current healthcare job opportunities landscape and how to build a personal brand. Speakers represented providers, universities and business partners.
A successful collaborative effort
The change in focus proved successful, with more than 75 students and innovators attending this year’s workshop. Total registration for the full conference was 278. According to Levine, feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, and even more organizations and local universities have committed to participate next year.
Buy-in from the Chapter’s board of directors and education committee members also was crucial.
“We believe our greatest key to success is the team we have curating our education and planning events,” said Levine. “This allowed us to take some great ideas, run with them and make them a reality.”
Instrumental to the collaborative effort were Jason Driskell, FHFMA, MBA, executive director of revenue cycle for Tallahassee (Florida) Memorial HealthCare and the Chapter’s director of forums and professional development, and Anthony Felipe, CRCR, senior vice president of client success for MyCare Finance, Inc., in Coral Springs, Florida, and the Chapter’s program chair/statewide education. Other team members included Melissa Huerta and Brenna Thomson with Trinity Health and Natacha Caballero and Kassandra Lage with the University of Miami Health System. Levine also noted that HFMA National and the Chapter’s Provider Advisory Council were critical in creating a meaningful day of education and mentorship.
A plan for the future
Going forward, the Florida Chapter intends to continue offering the refocused workshop both annually at its statewide fall conference and as a more intimate local one-day educational event.
“We also plan to work with local high schools and universities to help spread the word on how to begin and/or grow within a healthcare career journey,” said Levine. “And we’ll be working with our Region 5 family to bring these successes to others in the region and beyond.”
