Webinar introduces new hospital trustees to board role
In the second of nine IHA webinars about hospital board governance, Tracy Warner, health care executive and governance expert, will introduce newly elected or appointed hospital trustees to their responsibilities as a volunteer member.

New board members will discuss:

• The role of a board of trustees.
• Conflicts of interest.
• Fiduciary duties of governance.
• Skills needed to be a successful board member.

The Welcome to the Hospital Board webinar is scheduled form 2-3 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 16. Email Joah Hogan at IHA with questions.

Survey finds hospitals boards evolve with changing times
The American Hospital Association released its triennial report about governance structures and practices in hospitals and health systems. The results found positive trends in board governance including progress in recruiting and appointing members from diverse racial, ethnic and gender backgrounds.

The report also found several areas of improvement including:

• Declining number of younger members.
• Lack of term limits.
• No continuing education requirements or assessments.

The results are based on 933 hospital and health system CEO surveys between November 2021 and March 2022.

IHA encourages new and existing trustees to use IHA resources and attend educational events for board success. IHA resources include:

• Hospital Board Assessment.
• Hospital Board and Trustee Certification Program.
• Hospital Day on the Hill, Wednesday, Feb. 22.
• Critical Access Forum, Thursday, March 9.
• Governance Forum, April 14-15.
• Summer Leadership Forum, Tuesday, June 13.
• IHA’s nine-part Foundations of Governance Excellence webinar series.

Guthrie County Hospital names interim CEOs
Lisa Wolfe, chief operating officer of Guthrie County Hospital, and Teresa Newman, director of rural health resources with UnityPoint Health System, have been named interim co-CEOs for Guthrie County Hospital effective today. They are replacing Patrick Peters who accepted the CEO position at Jackson County Regional Health Center in Maquoketa.

Trainings available for telehealth providers
Running an effective telehealth program depends on a well-trained staff from clinicians to administrators and IT personnel. The Department of Health and Human Services has created a guide to ensure staff at all levels are technologically proficient.

The guide provides information for:

• Different roles needed for a telehealth program.
• Mentoring opportunities.

Training and workforce development.