Increased financial resources, patient safety, pandemic response, recruitment and retention tools to address the Upstate healthcare workforce crisis – these initiatives are the priorities at the root of IHA’s data-driven advocacy as we continue to represent the unified voice of and support for Upstate New York’s hospitals and health systems and the dedicated workers that are employed by them.
IHA’s newsletter features highlights and updates on our advocacy efforts, programs & initiatives, United Iroquois Shared Services (UISS) group purchasing updates, as well as what’s happening inside IHA. We want to take a moment to fill you in on all the association is doing thus far in 2022.
Since the last IHA newsletter the advocacy team has been hard at work anticipating the needs of IHA members and advocating for the resources and operational flexibility necessary for hospitals and health systems in upstate and rural New York to continue to serve their communities under difficult circumstances. As you all know this has not been easy.
Kevin Kerwin
Deputy Vice President of Advocacy
and Government Relations
First, we continued our push back on the State’s original vaccine mandate and tracked related litigation while urging flexibility in the mandate’s enforcement. All of this while the state was re-orienting to a new Governor and a new Health Commissioner.
IHA reached a total of 288 media placements in 2021 surrounding our grants, CaringGene® awards, and workforce shortage advocacy efforts. IHA appeared in some widely acclaimed media outlets, such as the Syracuse Post Standard, The Gazette, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times, among many other various media outlets. We hope to increase our exposure as we continue into 2022.
During the first quarter of 2022, the IHA WIO team has been working hard to bring several new programs to fruition as well as continue and improve upon existing programs. IHA WIO has focused on initiatives that seek to aid the ongoing staffing shortages, educate the existing workforce and provide creative solutions to problems that affect the health of rural New Yorkers.
In early December, the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation announced that IHA had been awarded two grants for the 2022 funding cycle. In addition, the Home Care Association of NYS (HCANYS) was awarded two grants in which IHA will play a significant role. The Mother Cabrini Health Foundation is a private, nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve the health and well-being of New Yorkers, bolster the health outcomes of vulnerable communities, eliminate barriers to care, and bridge gaps in health services.
In the first quarter of 2022, the UISS team has been focused on assisting its GPO members with maximizing tools, technologies and programs that were rolled out in 2021 to help drive cost savings and supply chain efficiencies. In Q3, UISS implemented a new service delivery model that included the provision of Premier’s Spend Analytics tool through a shared service platform at no cost to its members. Four new members were onboarded during Q4 and several others are in cue for 2022. With the implementation of Spend Analytics, UISS is now able to review individual member purchase order data and provide additional support of contract activations for expiring agreements and identification of opportunities.
After 23 years of incredible service to the Iroquois Healthcare Association, Vice President Greg DeWitt, is retiring.
Greg DeWitt
Vice President
A graduate of Cornell University, Greg joined Iroquois in 1998 after almost twenty years of work in the hospitality management industry. During his time at IHA, he was responsible for the creation of Iroquois’ Survey Solutions, an internet-based data entry and reporting tool for compensation and benefits information provided to participating member organizations. He has been the key operator in facilitating and collecting workforce survey data from Iroquois’ member hospitals that is instrumental in our data-driven healthcare advocacy efforts.
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