The fifth Annual Leadership Conference of the Kentucky Health Center Network was held recently at Keeneland in Lexington. As the goal of the conference is to inspire staff at member organizations to be the best they can be, the conference theme was Ignite Excellence. Speakers from around the country presented information on timely topics, including:
- A Culture of High Performance
- Credentialing and Privileging
- Developing Your Talent Management Program
- Digital Patient Engagement and Consumerism
- Peer Review
- Is My Data Accurate?
- Increasing Patient Portal Use for Patient Engagement
- Using Data to Demonstrate Value
- Quality, Risk, and Compliance
- Staff Incentive Program Model
- Predictive Analytics
Conference management support was provided by Lisa Garza and Marcus Pigman from the Kentucky Office of Rural Health.
Door prizes were provided by exhibiting vendors at the event, including the American Heart Association, BKD, Kentucky Telehealth Consortium, and Brittain Kalish. Prize winners were Bill Wagner from Family Health Centers, Tommy Archie from Park DuValle Community Health Center, Phyllis Platt from Grace Health, and Edie Alexander from Triad Health.
Additionally, an awards presentation was held, and 2020 Award winners were:
Kelly Durall, COO and Quality Director at Community Health Centers of Western Kentucky, won the Healthcare Hero Award. Over the past few years Kelly has been an active member of KHCN, especially in the quality peer networking team and the i2i Tracks team. She is always very open to sharing information that benefits others and raises good questions for consideration about topics presented. Just as a rising tide raises all ships, the knowledge and resources Kelly shares helps all KHCN members, especially in the quality arena. We appreciate Kelly for being a Hero to KHCN and its member organizations!
Mike Neal, CIO at White House Clinics, won the Leadership Award.
Since Greg Wolverton’s departure, the Network has been at a deficit in the area of health information technology. Thankfully, Mike Neal has stepped up to help KHCN and its members in the Health IT arena. Mike has shared his vast knowledge and experience with health information technology to help make the KHCN IT Peer Networking Team to be one of the best attended and most effective peer teams we support. Mike advises KHCN leadership on topics and speakers that would be of interest and benefit to IT staff at member organizations. He also led the effort to establish a group pricing model for managed detection response services for KHCN members, which all will learn more about soon. Mike’s input and leadership is invaluable to KHCN and its member organizations and is greatly appreciated.
Mark Watt, former CEO at Dayspring Health, won the Service Award. Mark served for 25 years at Dayspring Health, with locations in Tennessee and Kentucky, and his service there ended on January 30th of this year. During his tenure at Dayspring, Mark served in several positions, including CFO and CEO, and Dayspring experienced a lot of growth and success. Mark also has been an active member of the Tennessee Primary Care Association and served in leadership positions there. Additionally, Mark has been a member of the Kentucky Health Center Network board since its inception in 2012. While Dayspring could not receive grant funds through our HCCN grant because they are a member of the Tennessee HCCN, Mark volunteered his time and provided strong leadership to the KHCN Board as our Finance Committee Chair and Treasurer since 2016. During that time, KHCN added staff and moved from the contracted staff model to the employee model we now enjoy. We greatly appreciate Mark’s service to the organization and wish him a successful future.
Ann Hagan Grigsby, CEO at Park DuValle Community Health Center, won the Outstanding Board Member Award. Park DuValle Community Health Center is a founding organizational member of the Kentucky Health Center Network. Since she began her role as CEO, Ann Hagan-Grigsby has been an active member of the Network and in 2018 began serving as the KHCN Vice President. She has been a dedicated and valuable member of our Board – she even attended one Board meeting from her beach vacation this year. Ann has also been very open in sharing information about sensitive topics in order to educate fellow KHCN Board members. Her candor is greatly appreciated, and the information is invaluable. We appreciate Ann’s dedication to KHCN, Park DuValle, and her fellow community health centers!
Sterling Health Solutions won the Innovation Award. Sterling Health has been an innovator in several ways. Their CEO, Alex Conrad, presented at the conference on their staff bonus structure and have in the past shared their provider bonus models with KHCN member organizations. They shared information about their accounts payable model, which the Network has adopted. Sterling Health is beginning a direct-to-consumer telehealth visit model, which will provide convenient access to existing health center patients. Additionally, Sterling is in the process of implementing a national award-winning model of behavioral health integration. The model has proven successes in improving adherence to diabetes care plans and satisfaction for patients, as well as documented lower overall healthcare expenses for patients who participate in the model. Sterling is on the forefront of healthcare changes and actively works to deliver care that is efficient, convenient, and cost-effective – all of which will lead to improved patient satisfaction and health. Congratulations to Sterling Health Solutions on their commitment to innovation.
