Chris Allman 2011 – 2012 MSHRM President

As the Michigan Society of Healthcare Risk Management (MSHRM) begins the new membership year, I am honored to serve as the 2011 – 2012 President.  As the MSHRM Mission Statement says, our organization exists to provide a collaborative learning environment to promote professional development and excellence in the delivery of healthcare services.  In other words, our organizational goal is to provide a high level of value and education to our membership as well as excellent opportunities for you to develop professionally through collaboration and networking.

As I hope you have discovered, or will discover, MSHRM is an active, successful organization due to the dedicated participation of our Board, Officers, Committees and members. The magnanimous generosity of our sponsors has enabled MSHRM to provide high quality educational offerings to the membership.

I am looking forward to another exciting year for MSHRM! We are continuing the work on the action items on our strategic plan.  The ultimate goal is to make MSHRM a value-added benefit to you. Therefore, it is really up to you to help us determine what the greatest benefits to you are.  There are several ways to let the current Officers, Board Members and Committee Chairs or members know what you are thinking (the Officers, Board Members and Committee Chairs are listed below). Of course, you can always talk to us at the MSHRM meetings or call or e-mail any of us at any time.  However, I am a firm believer that the way that you can best have your voice heard, and therefore help determine the direction of MSHRM in the future, is to participate on a committee or run for a Board position.

I think my personal experience with participation in MSHRM is a typical example. I have been a member of MSHRM since 2002. I joined MSHRM because, quite frankly, at the time I was a new risk manager and I knew very little about what risk management was all about. A short while after I joined, the then-president of MSHRM encouraged me to join the Education Committee. Quite frankly, this esteemed now Past President continued “encouraging” me until I finally gave up and joined the committee.  In retrospect, I have found that was the best advice I could have received. Serving on a committee, making professional contacts and friendships has truly enhanced my MSRHM experience, and I believe that your active participation would do the same for you. I would encourage you to look at the work of the committees and seriously consider participating.

Elections were held in May and results were announced at the 32nd Annual Meeting held at Bay Harbor in Petoskey. The 2011 Officers and Board of Directors are:

Officers:
President Elect – Janelle Mickelson
Secretary – Janet Bigelow
Treasurer – Rachel Grant
Past President – Karen Ketelhut

Board Members:
Dean Etsios
Mary Ann Kruger
Janelle Mickelson
R.J. Neeland
Jason Sebolt
Rebecca Schultz

Committee Chairs:

Education Committee:
Karen Adkins-Bley
Teresa Todd

Communications:
Carrie Miedema
Sherri Thrasher

Government Affairs:
Jason Sebolt
Brian Molde

Membership:
Carole Empey
Jennifer LeMaire

Please note the following dates for programs:
• October 4, 2011 – Fall Education Program and Business Meeting – Henry Center, East Lansing
• October 16-19, 2011 - ASHRM Annual Conference – Phoenix, Arizona
• March 6, 2012 – Spring Education Program and Business Meeting – Henry Center, East Lansing
• May 23-25, 2012 – MSHRM Annual Conference – Grand Traverse Resort – Traverse City, Michigan

I look forward to working with the Board, Committees and members to enhance the value of MSHRM to our members though educational offerings and networking opportunities. Please feel free to contact me with any questions.