Aloha Hawai'i-Pacific Chapter,

The Hawaii-Pacific Chapter of ACHE Education Committee would like to thank our members for their continued support and dedication to our chapter and this association. We had hoped to be able to offer an in-person educational experience this year, but Covid-19 had other plans. We are grateful that the National organization has provided quality virtual F2F and QEC programs throughout the year. One such new virtual course is the Health System Simulation program, presented in partnership with the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health. This 3-day course offers an “immersive experience that provides participants with the opportunity to experience the challenges of executive leadership and strategic decision-making.” This course is designed for healthcare executives interested in an intensive, team-based, experiential program drawing from real-life scenarios. For more information and to sign up for the course go to www.ache.org.

Our local chapter was also able to take advantage of virtual F2F programming by offering our second leadership seminar. In March 2021, we provided 6 hours of F2F credits focused on Conversations about Leadership. The three 1.5-hour sessions were held virtually with speakers from our local and military healthcare systems. We discussed effective crisis management, the importance of telehealth, and how diversity, equity and inclusion play vital roles in healthcare. The education committee hopes to continue this leadership bootcamp in 2023 with an in-person event. If you or anyone you know would like to participate in this event in the future, please contact Kristen at hawaii@achemail.net.

The board also held another collaboration with the ACHE Choice program starting 11/30. We hosted Dr. Michael Frisina, PhD, who spoke on “Professional Burnout in Healthcare: Lead your Organization to Wellness.” This session was held virtually, with two-hour sessions on three days. It provided 6 hours of F2F credit as well as Continuing Medical and Nursing Education credits. Dr. Frisina discussed the various aspects of burnout and work, with participants tasked to develop a plan to reverse and prevent burnout. We were fortunate to have this amazing and engaging speaker provide this timely topic to our ACHE members.

Our final education event of the year took place during our annual meeting on December 14th. We were pleased to offer a one-hour virtual F2F session from Craig Deao. Mr. Deao discussed “Finding Silver Linings, Experimentation, Innovation, Opportunity.” This session highlighted the amazing opportunities for innovations our healthcare organizations experienced and executed during this pandemic. It was a pleasure to offer this uplifting discussion about how we have persevered during the last two years. 

On behalf of the Hawai’i-Pacific Chapter of ACHE Education Committee, I want to give a heartfelt Mahalo to the board, our sponsors, and our entire membership. We would not be able to continue providing these events without everyone’s support. Our 2021 education committee included Jennifer Espiritu, Emily Denson and Tausilia Amoa. They have done an outstanding job given the restrictions for in-person meetings and juggling their full-time jobs. I deeply appreciate your support and amazing ideas and I look forward to a phenomenal 2022.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Kristen at kcroom80@gmail.com.