Dann M. Boyer, CHFM

Director of Facilities Operations

Sturdy Memorial Hospital

2021 NEHES President-Elect

Well NEHES it is October. The 2021 Fall Conference is behind us, and the transition to a new board of directors is ahead of us. The fall conference this year was held in Newport, RI with attendance lower than normal. I think that was fully expected given the current state of affairs with the ongoing pandemic. Despite the lower attendance, I feel the conference was a success and wish to thank the planning committee, especially to CJ Brown, conference chair. Thank you again to CMP for all their hard work in pulling it all together. Looking ahead to 2022 at the goals I have put forward for NEHES:

1.     Focus on Membership.
          a.      Membership in NEHES is down compared to pre pandemic levels by about 60 members. That number may not sound large but it represents just short of 10%. Percentage wise, the drop was felt from both active and supporting membership. I think dropping the dues, though they never were high to begin with, is one way to encourage those who left to return, and possibly bring in new members going forward.

2.     Expanding of educational opportunities.
          a.      Keeping the zoom meeting that was so successful for the state chapters. Allowing chapters to host a session but share the enrollment to the other states. This expands the educational opportunities to our active membership.

          b.     For supporting members I would like to see NEHES work with the AIA to see if we can get some of our conference hours to count as CEU for those needing AIA credits.

3.     State chapter assessment.
          a.      Focus on ensuring chapter continuity within the organization of NEHES. Bringing chapter taxes, insurance, and bylaws closer to NEHES. Still allow the states to keep autonomy over themselves.

          b.     Develop a succession planning model for state chapters. Help to identify potential new leaders in order to grow membership. As a part of this I am asking all states to send me their meeting schedules for 2022. As President of NEHES, I would like to attend at least one in each state.

4.     Mentorship/succession planning, Internship program.
          a.      Focus on student engagement and career development. The student and educator membership in NEHES has been flat over the years. We a new student liaison coming to the board and our past student liaison taking a new spot on the board. Utilizing their outreach we should try to expand the student membership.

          b.     Reaching out to colleges to try to expand membership should be paramount, but also to our vocational high schools in New England. The trades people need to be exposed to healthcare as a viable career path.

In closing thank you for being a member of NEHES and leaders within your organizations. The last two years have presented unique challenges to all of us. Perhaps the light at the end of the tunnel is appearing in the year 2022.