Summer has just begun, but at WSHA we’re already getting ready for our next round of big events scheduled for this fall, including Rural Advocacy Days in Washington D.C. (Sept. 23-25) and our biggest event of the year, the WSHA Annual Meeting (Oct. 9) and Governance Education Day (Oct. 10). We’re also introducing our new Advocacy Bootcamp (Oct. 8), which will help you get up to speed on how to best advocate for your hospital and health system with lawmakers.
Registration is already open for the Annual Meeting and its adjacent activities, with a special super early bird rate that extends through July 19. If you’re planning to attend, I encourage you to register now and take advantage of the extra savings.
After hearing feedback from our members, we have decided to move the conference out of downtown Seattle to the Hyatt Regency Lake Washington in Renton, where the spacious conference center overlooks the water. We think you’ll like the new venue as much as we do.
Our members also asked us to seek out speakers with national stature, and we have done so. Our plenary speakers at the Annual Meeting are ones you won’t want to miss. This year we’re welcoming Shankar Vedantam, who is a social correspondent for NPR and host of the podcast “Hidden Brain,” one of the most popular podcasts in the world. The podcast focuses on human behavior and the social sciences, and how research in those fields can get listeners to think about the news in unusual and interesting ways.
We’ll also welcome authors Barbara Ehrenreich and Chris McChesney. Barbara has written 14 books, including “Nickel and Dimed” and “Bait and Switch.” Her latest book, “Natural Causes,” examines the ways in which we obsess over death, our bodies and our health. Chris is the Global Practice Leader of Execution for FranklinCovey Co. and the co-author of “The 4 Disciplines of Execution.” His work has impacted hundreds of organizations around the world.
The Annual Meeting will be followed by the Governance Education Day on Oct. 10. On this day, we bring together hospital leaders and members of hospital governing boards to learn and address emerging issues impacting health care organizations across the state.
Register now while the prices are low and mark your calendars for October! I look forward to seeing you there.
