Carpenter Receives Education Certification from IHA

 Randy Carpenter, Chairman of the Horn Memorial Hospital Board of Trustees is a recent “graduate” of the Iowa Hospital Association’s Trustee Education Certification Program.  The trustees were recognized at the IHA Governance Forum held in West Des Moines in April.  Carpenter is the second HMH Trustee to take this training; he joins Marc Jensen who completed it in 2011.

Through this certification program, IHA has provided a framework to support Iowa hospitals in developing effective board members.  IHA has designed the governance education certification program to help hospitals use governance best practices, promote the coordination of care and the best use of resources as well as demonstrate to lawmakers, regulators, physicians, employees, the business community and other community stakeholders that Iowa hospitals:

·         Understand and embrace the need for governance accountability.

·         Govern according to a standard of excellence.

·         Are willing to formally certify their adherence to governance best practices.

·         Are committed to coordination of resources in their communities.

·         Embrace community accountability and transparency.

·         Structure their community benefit and outreach programs to meet identified community needs.

·         Utilize data from IHA to identify and address areas of need, especially regarding the uninsured and underinsured.

·         Utilize performance data to identify opportunities for improvement and monitor progress that improves quality and safety.

·         Integrate local health efforts with state programs. 

In recent years there has been an increasing emphasis placed on good board governance. This not only involves understanding basic not-for-profit board ethics but it requires knowledge of the health care industry.  The entire HMH Board of Trustees takes part in an aggressive education program provided by Horn Memorial.   Horn Memorial Hospital and the communities it serves are the beneficiaries of the intense interest the trustees have shown in board education.