Perspective: Trustees – A Key Ingredient in Innovation

It’s no secret that health care is changing – rapidly. And how hospitals and health systems respond to the challenges of today will determine how well they can seize the opportunities of tomorrow. Helping the field navigate this transformation is a key AHA priority. And a driving reason behind the development of our agenda for innovation and transformation and the creation of the AHA Center for Health Innovation.

One critical – and sometimes overlooked – ingredient to successful innovation and transformation: trustees. Effectively responding to the forces shaping, and sometimes disrupting, the health care field requires an engaged, nimble and prepared board. It also requires strong partnership between the board and senior leadership.

AHA’s Trustee Services is helping to prepare boards to govern effectively in this time of change. Its suite of multimedia resources includes information on today’s hottest topics – from the potential disruptors confronting the field, to understanding the social determinants of health, to the new technologies around the corner seeking to change medical practice and the patient experience of care. These are all produced with easy-to-digest takeaways and talking points tailored specifically for trustees and their executive partners. And many of these resources come directly from some of the top authorities in the field like Michael Peregrine and Kenneth Kaufman on disruption and governance expert Jamie Orlikoff.

I encourage you to visit our website – trustees.aha.org – to browse our extensive library of free resources. There, you can also sign yourself or your entire board up for our free, bimonthly newsletter, Trustee Insights, to have our latest resources delivered straight to your inbox. And please watch for more innovation-focused offerings for both health care leaders and trustees as we roll out the AHA Center for Health Innovation this fall.