ANI reminds us of the business of caring: the ANI held in June in Las Vegas was a memorable occasion for many reasons

Healthcare Financial Management, August, 2005 by Richard Rodriguez

Not only was I installed as chairman, but I also had the opportunity to share this event with my family, some of my closest friends, and many of the talented members who make HFMA a great organization.

When I chose "The Business of Caring" as my theme, I wondered how it would be received by the membership at the ANI. Since most healthcare financial managers typically deal with the business aspect of health care. I wasn't sure if my colleagues had much interaction with the caring side of our business. All my fears and apprehensions were quickly put to rest as I began to meet with the attendees. After my Monday morning speech, several individuals told me their own "business of caring" stories.

One member said he worked with an insurance company so that a patient on his skilled nursing facility floor could be transferred to a room with his spouse, who was in the last days of hospice care. This member convinced the insurance company to pay for the skilled nursing days of service and still allow the husband to stay with his wife. Through the persistent work of our member, the patient was able to spend the last few days with his wife before she passed away.

Another member told me how her healthcare system reviews their emergency center admissions log for patients who use this unit for their primary care needs. Typically, these patients are uninsured and have no other place to go for health care. She said the system has begun a program of assigning these patients to a primary care physician, who can take care of their medical needs. This action not only benefits the patients but also helps reduce cost by providing care in a less expensive environment.

Our ANI keynote speakers on Monday morning were Apollo 13 astronauts Jim Lovell and Fred Haise. They told us of their harrowing experience on their mission and the dedicated work of the NASA team and Houston control, who worked against all odds to return the crew safely to earth. Commander Lovell told us that sometimes you are placed in situations where you have to think quickly, improvise, experiment, and be confident that you will succeed.

Bertice Berry, PhD, our keynote speaker on Wednesday morning, reminded us that our role as healthcare financial managers is more of a calling than a job. She reminded us that we are in a caring business.

Health care continues to change, evolve, challenge us, and provide opportunities. You don't always know what's coming, but you have to be ready to act when the opportunity comes along. Much like the message from our keynote speakers and the HFMA member stories mentioned above, you have to be ready to respond to challenging situations and find solutions to difficult problems. When you do this in our business, you affect the lives of our patients, and that's the business of caring.

SHARE YOUR STORY

If you have a "business of caring" story that you'd like to share with Richard, please send it to Carole Bolster at cbolster@hfma.org. Future columns may include members' stories.