Just over 500 chapter and regional volunteers attended HFMA’s 2024 Leadership Training Conference, which took place April 21-23 in Orlando, Fla. Attendees participated in role-specific training sessions, exchanged ideas with colleagues from around the country and developed chapter plans for the upcoming fiscal year.
General session speakers included HFMA President and CEO Ann Jordan, National Chair Dennis Dahlen, Chair-elect Marc Scher and special keynote speaker Adam “Smiley” Poswolsky, who discussed the importance of creating a culture of belonging.
A highlight of the event was a special luncheon on April 22, where the 2024 Success Awards were presented. The awards recognize chapters and regions that achieve positive outcomes through HFMA’s Chapter Success Plan. Chapters and regions could submit applications both as individuals and in collaboration with other groups. Following are the 2024 recipients in each of the three categories.
Best Value: The Tennessee Chapter was the individual chapter winner, and the multi-region award went to Regions 10 and 11.
Best Engagement: The Arizona Chapter was the individual chapter winner, and the multi-chapter award went to the Lone Star and Oklahoma Chapters. Region 10 was the individual region winner, and Regions 10 and 11 received the multi-region award.
Innovation: There was a four-way tie in the individual chapter category, with the Southwestern Ohio, Georgia, Hawaii and Greater Heartland Chapters taking home the honors. The regional winner was Region 10.
Regions 10 and 11 creatively engaged providers before and during the 2024 Western Region Symposium to return attendance to pre-COVID levels.The Tennessee Chapter swapped out a stale conference with free roadshows throughout the state, achieving its highest-ever satisfaction scores and largest net revenue.The Lone Star and Oklahoma Chapters collaborated to successfully reinstitute the Red River Conference, which hadn’t taken place since 2019.Regions 10 and 11 collaborated to align both regions around the same incentives and operating structure to ensure a cohesive partnership.The Arizona Chapter improved membership engagement by significantly increasing certifications earned in fiscal year 2024 and exceeding the national certification percentage.The Georgia Chapter developed a strategy to respond to member feedback, requesting more engagement opportunities for providers and business partners.To connect with its Chapter communities, the Hawaii Chapter launched a new approach that included a new member campaign, a family event and social media posts.The Greater Heartland Chapter introduced a member engagement booth at its seasonal conferences to promote the volunteer community experience.Region 10 hosted free monthly lunch-and-learn webinars, offering a wider variety of speakers and reaching more members than previous individual chapter webinars.The Southwestern Ohio Chapter launched two new events to increase member participation: A book club series and a full-day denials bootcamp.Region 10 hosted a virtual rural health symposium, where half the attendees were providers often unable to attend in-person chapter events.
About the Author
Crystal Milazzo
is a senior editor and writer at HFMA, based in Beaverton, Oregon.
