The SHSMD annual conference has had the theme of "Connections" for many years and this year carries extra meaning and importance of being able to see one another, be physically present and continue to learn from one another. Much time was spent online connecting with each other virtually and with being able to attend in-person with the conference, it was apparent attendees were excited, present, optimistic and adaptive.
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| Attendees pose at SHSMD Connections |
New member networking reception at SHSMD Connections |
Lisa Crockett, SHSMD Board member and conference committee track leader shared as she came across excitement via social feeds, “The theme that I'm taking away is togetherness! Conference attendees, exhibitors, and attendees are thankful and appreciative for being able to gather together in-person for a conference. Even behind the masks, the smiles are evident.”
2022 president-elect for the SHSMD Board, Alan Shoebridge, shared: “A secondary theme that emerged during the conference was refocusing on the patient experience as we slowly come out of the pandemic. Many of our attendees and presenters were talking about doubling down on making the patient experience better. That was exciting to me because responding to COVID-19 has made it so difficult to be proactive and think strategically about enhancements. I think we're turning a corner and that will help us regain the momentum many of us were building prior to 2020 when the pandemic hit.”
2021 SHSMD Connections recently took place, September 19-21, in San Antonio, Texas. Although the conference had a strict mask mandate, it was apparent that attendees felt comfortable, excited and hopeful to spend these three days in learning and collaboration as they attended keynote, concurrent, workshops, and Thought Leader Forum, toured a 60+ company exhibit hall where additional theater presentations and Pathway to Prizes were held, and engaged in networking while masking and social distancing at events like yoga held each morning, the new member & first-time attendee kickoff and the member networking mixer.
We heard some great takeaways from the SHSMD board that shared with us their reflections and lessons learned. Social media posts using #SHSMD2021, and the conference mobile app’s social feed was filled with group photos and many 'thank you' messages for a well received conference.
A Few Key Reflections and Lessons Learned...
- Every system is perfectly designed to get the results it gets, however leadership paying attention to the barriers of upstream will go a long way.
- “You can’t help a thousand people you have to just start with one.”
- “Our hybrid workforce creates new challenges that no one is really trained to work in, everyone can benefit from sincere coaching and engagement.”
- One trait of organizations with effective strategy execution is that they incorporate financial rewards for successful implementation in staffs’ personal development plans.
- We’re data rich but information poor. The role of AI will exponentially grow as we move from predictive analytics to prescriptive analytics.
- “Plan the work to work quickly and efficiently.”
- “Gen X rocks!”
- “When you are your authentic self, you have no competition.”
- Upstream thinking helps you prevent problems instead of react to them. Upstream victories are written in data with invisible heroes.
- “Your customers and staff are either ecstatic, static, or vulnerable.” If they are either of the last two, you are at great risk of losing them.
- Sometimes no personalization is better than incorrect personalization. Really delivering on omnichannel experience. Asking permission, verifying, etc is important.
- Three questions managers might find useful in understanding their teams’ state of mind: “What has been most difficult these past months?” “What accomplishments are you most proud of?” and “What do you hope leadership really understands about what we’ve been through/are going through?"
- Organizations now have the opportunity to embed flexibility and efficient decision-making as standard operating behaviors for the betterment of patient care and experience.
- Health systems with long-running innovation arms were able to find new advantages during the pandemic given that they had an existing base of experience with digital health technologies, home health care, and virtual visits.
- Partnerships have never been more critical, especially as organizations discover that they won’t be able to own everything themselves.
- “Why is it so hard for us to understand that we are all human beings? We all have to work together to survive (about D&I).”
- “As we get back to a post-covid environment we have to learn how to manage shifts. It’s a new future and it’s not going to be the same anymore. Change it and lead it. We are a country of movement.”
- True organizational commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion requires more than hiring a DEI team. Health system should look at all organizational policies to make sure those aren’t unintentionally reinforcing inequitable processes or outcomes. For health care providers in particular, the business case for DEI is easy to make, because inequities can lead directly to bad patient outcomes.
- “You can’t help a thousand people you have to just start with one.”
CATCH WHAT YOU MISSED!
Sign up for the SHSMD Connections Virtual Conference October 19-21 for access to new content and all 30+ concurrent session recordings for you and your team. Below are just a few of the top sessions you will get access to:
- Humanizing Social Media for Meaningful Connections that Matter
- Reaching the Hispanic Community with Health Care Messaging
- Senior Loyalty Engagement in Post Pandemic Times
- How the Nation's Most Recognized Systems Spend Their Marketing Dollars...and Why It Matters to You
- Challenges and Successes: Entering a Competitive Market
- You’re Solving the Wrong Problem: It’s Not Your Strategy Falling Short, It’s Your Strategy Execution