“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” — Winnie the Pooh
In my more than nine years serving the California Hospital Association, this message has been a consistent way to share information, perspective, and ideas with all of you, the leaders of our state’s hospitals.
It’s been delivered to your inboxes hundreds of times and has included tens of thousands of words over nearly a decade. As CHA prepares for a new chapter of leadership under Bryan Bucklew, who will bring boundless skill and energy to the role, I would like to share some final thoughts.
I’ve had the honor and privilege to serve hospitals for nearly four decades, a quarter of that time here in California. I’ve seen very low lows and very high highs for hospitals, and through it all, on the advocacy chessboard that we play on every day, what has seen us through year after year is the unity of the field.
Hospitals are stronger together and your association exists because we can do things together that no single hospital or health system can do on its own.
When things get hard, when finances get tight, when options are limited, there can be a tendency to separate, to look inward, and to quarrel over critical policy issues.
My hope is that California’s hospital leaders will commit to unifying efforts that bring hospitals together. That unity, your strength in numbers, brings incredible potency to debates that move tens of billions of dollars every year for hospitals in California and the people you serve. And your CHA team will be there to support, lead, and execute.
Thank you for all you have allowed me to offer to California hospitals and for all you have given me in return. I will never forget a single moment of any of it.
