President's Welcome - Rick Lash

Welcome!

I hope you are looking forward to this new HFMA year as much as I am. It will likely be a challenging year for all of us, not only in our professional lives, but in our HFMA lives as well. With challenge comes the opportunity for change and improvement. It is an exciting time to be in healthcare finance.

With the start of the new HFMA year comes a new Executive Committee. These individuals are long-time Chapter members who have given back to the Chapter year after year after year. We have several new Directors on our Board. The Board Members are your future Chapter Officers. We continue to have outstanding leadership in our Chapter Committees Chairs and Chapter Coordinators. Please know that these women and men are extremely committed to our chapter, and their ability to be innovative whenever possible is amazing. A list of your Chapter Officers and Board of Directors will be found on the Board of Directors page. A roster of your Committee Chairs and Coordinators will be found on the Committees page.

Education continues to be a number one priority. We are planning our three Chapter Educational Programs. The first (half-day) program is on August 20, 2009 and will be held at the Embassy Suites in Arcadia. The second (half-day) program is scheduled for November 19, 2009. We are in the process of finalizing the location. The third (all-day) program will be held on March 18, 2010 at the Center for Healthy Communities in downtown Los Angeles. What a great venue that is. We have scheduled a number of Education Outreach (formerly known as “Geographic”) programs. This year we plan to offer a number of “webinars” in an effort to provide additional education. We will share more information with you as it becomes available.

In addition to our Chapter Educational Programs, a number of your Chapter leaders are actively involved in planning the Annual Fall Conference and the Region XI Symposium. Those of you who have attended these conferences know the high caliber of both the speakers and the educational material presented. I will continue to encourage you to take advantage of these superior programs.

Certification in HFMA remains a high priority for our Chapter. You will be hearing more about this during the year, both from me and from our Certification Chairperson. We will continue to share the advantages that certification may bring.

Another priority for us is Membership. Not only do we want to retain you, our existing members, and keep you happy, we want to increase in number. Please spread the word to colleagues and friends. Let them know what being a member of HFMA means to you.

Over the years I have met numerous Chapter members. This year I want to meet more of you, and I especially want to meet all new members. It is people like you who make our Chapter great.

As we embark upon a new year, I encourage all of you to take advantage of being a member of the Southern California Chapter of HFMA. We have much to offer.

I look forward to seeing you.

Rick M. Lash
President
HFMA, Southern California Chapter