With 67 years of experience bringing healthcare and professionals together, the South Florida Hospital & Healthcare Association (SFHHA) begins the new year in a changing, complicated healthcare environment.
At the helm of the organization is Mark Bryan, CEO of Delray Medical Center, a Tenet Healthcare Corp. facility, who will serve in a two-year term as the new CEO of SFHHA.Bryan has worked as CEO of Tenet hospitals for 11 years, including a stint as CEO of Good Samaritan Medical Center in West Palm Beach and as vice president of operations for the Dallas-based hospital company’s (NYSE:THC) Florida region.
“As we go through the year, adapting and adjusting to providing services under the new Affordable Care Act (ACA) will be our biggest challenge,” Bryan said. “It’s a real change in how we take care of our patients. While we will have a largely insured population, reimbursement per patient will go down.”
The goal of the SFHHA is to improve the quality of healthcare within Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties through advocacy and education, while building a strong network for providers. With more than 160 member companies, SFHHA provides access to signature events such as the Annual Healthcare Summit, a two-day educational conference and tradeshow, quarterly networking events and informative seminars. In addition, members can make an impact on the South Florida community’s healthcare industry by serving on one of 10 committees.
Membership categories include hospitals and systems, healthcare providers and payers, ancillary service companies and affiliated organizations. Members benefit from:
• Affiliation with the only hospital association in South Florida that addresses the region’s unique needs
• Timely, accurate information about industry changes
• Networking opportunities with experts in the field
• Professional education
• Increased access to healthcare leaders
• Career enhancement
• Job opportunities
“When tri-county healthcare issues arise, it is important for SFHHA to speak for its members to elected officials, media and the business community,” said Bryan. “That way, we don’t need 100 different messages.”
Bryan says two healthcare challenges unique to South Florida are the rising number of undocumented immigrants who present for primary care in emergency rooms, as well as continuing deep cuts to Medicaid reimbursements.
“Many of our member institutions experienced Medicaid cuts of more than 20 percent last July, while the demand for services has not declined,” he said. “This has created some really dramatic financial burdens on hospitals with large Medicaid populations.”
SFHHA begins 2013 with a revised five-year strategic plan developed after the planning committee reviewed the organization’s vision, mission and core values. As a result, Bryan says there will be a renewed focus on education, which is critical in the changing healthcare landscape.
“Our education programs have been really outstanding,” said Bryan. “They give our members an avenue to receive information about new laws, regulations and other aspects of healthcare operations. This year, we hope to expand the frequency of our extremely successful Annual Summit and offer something similar each quarter.”
As the new SFHHA CEO, Bryan says he will focus on making sure that the organization’s financial viability remains intact.
“We have excellent leadership and are well respected in the industry,” he said. “During the coming year, I’d like to see expansion of our membership to improve the financial health of the organization,” he said. “We also want to make sure we are responding to the needs of our membership so we can enhance the value of SFHHA as an organization.”