Fall is fully upon us as we look to the 2024 elections, the end of the year, the coming of 2025, a new session of Congress, a new Presidential administration, and a new State legislative session. As we prepare for these events and navigate the recent changes with Gary Fitzgerald’s retirement after 34 steadfast years of leading IHA, there is one common and unwavering goal. That is to make certain that IHA remains the strongest advocate for hospitals and health systems in rural and Upstate New York!
Elite Business Associate Member Sponsors and Business Associate Membership Information
IHA’s newsletter features highlights and updates on our advocacy efforts, programs & initiatives, United Iroquois Shared Services (UISS) group purchasing updates, what’s happening inside IHA and a new series sharing insights from our CEOs. We hope you enjoy this edition!
Advocacy Update
Kevin Kerwin
Acting President & CEO
Grace Rust
Senior Associate for Advocacy
and Government Relations
Governor Hochul will not release her budget until January. However, she and her team are already at work building the Executive Budget proposal for the coming fiscal year. This is why Iroquois continues its advocacy to ensure that Upstate healthcare is fully represented during the budget discussions. It will be important to continue this work, as the budget gap is projected to be as high as $4.3 billion.
IHA has remained in contact with the Upstate legislative delegation, meeting several times to align thoughts and priorities for the upcoming session. We also met with NYS Budget Director, Blake Washington, to keep pushing for the release of allocated dollars, and the state’s fiscal health for the year ahead.
IHA to serve as One of Three High Performing Workforce Investment Organizations Under New York Health Equity Reform (NYHER) 1115 Waiver
IHA has been selected by the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) as the Region 2 Workforce Investment Organization (WIO) under the new 1115 NYHER Waiver. The official announcement was made by Governor Hochul in New York City on August 15th, 2024.
UISS had a very busy quarter. We hosted our first Supply Chain Symposium at the Turning Stone Resort Casino on September 11, 2024. The successful event sponsored by Nexera featured networking opportunities and insightful sessions for healthcare supply chain professionals. Awards were given to US Foods and SpendMend for supplier recognition, and individual accolades for members from River Hospital and Samaritan Medical Center were also awarded.
Keynote speaker Dr. Jimmy Chung emphasized the need for healthcare organizations to shift their sourcing strategies to enhance value-based care, highlighting the significant role of social determinants of health. Jacob Wheeler’s presentation on cybersecurity discussed the risks posed to supply chains and provided strategies for mitigation.
Additionally, UISS sponsored members to attend Premier’s Annual Breakthroughs Conference from July 23-25, 2024, focusing on the theme “UNITED.” The event featured sessions on technology, artificial intelligence, and healthcare transformation. UISS also hosted a happy hour for networking among members.
We are highlighting CEOs from each of the five Regions that make up our membership (i.e., Capital District, North Country, Mohawk Valley, Southern Tier, and Central New York) in this newly created feature.
This quarter, we introduce you to CEOs from the Southern Tier:
John Carrigg, President and CEO at United Health Services, Inc. (UHS)
Rolland V. Bojo, Jr. "Boomer", President and CEO at UHS-Delaware Valley Hospital
IHA extends a big thank you to all who attended our 2024 Iroquois Golf Invitational.
A special thanks also goes out to all of our sponsors. Your support and partnership played a key role in the success of our event, and we appreciate your participation so very much.
THANK YOU: Healthcare Human Resources Summit
IHA extends a big thank you to all who attended our 2024 Healthcare Human Resources Summit.
A special thank you to our HR Summit sponsors as well!
We'd like to introduce you to IHA's new Human Resources Manager, Nicole Casey, and Caring Gene Healthcare Career Pathways, Inc.'s new Senior Director of Marketing, Grazia Yaegar!
Welcome NEW Business Associate Member
IHA Business Associate Membership gives your company access to Upstate NY healthcare leaders and can help you foster positive relationships with new and current customers, anticipate trends and changes in the healthcare environment, and identify new opportunities for reaching the Upstate NY healthcare sector.
We'd like to welcome our newest Business Associate Member:
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