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President's Column
Jeanette Weyrich
Jeanette Weyrich is the Executive
Director of Okanogan Regional Home Health & Hospice,
based in Omak, WA. |
L is for
Linkages
Building
on 20 years of history can be hard work. What do you
keep and what can still be improved? Are we being
responsive to all the changes we have seen over the
years? In late June, the WRHA board met to evaluate the
association and decide where we want to go next. Our
stated goals from the retreat are to increase community
engagements, improve relationships with legislators, and
broaden our membership base. The concepts that came out
of our discussion boiled down to linkages - linkages
with legislators, with individuals, with organizations,
and with communities - linkages among our members,
across the state, throughout our region, and nationally.
Within our state, we want to
link successful communities to those who would like to
replicate that success in an updated version of our
regional meetings. Some of the most innovative health
programs begin in rural communities, since these
communities are experienced at using limited resources
to address big problems. Technology lets us highlight
these communities and spread the spark. Carole Halsan,
president-elect, is working with a task force to build
out the next step of our regional meetings.
In addition to our linkages
in the state and region, we’re excited about the
opportunity for WRHA members to lead the way in becoming
involved on a national level. John McLean and Kris
Sparks serve as our representatives to the National
Rural Health Association’s State Association Council,
which brings together state rural health associations
from all over the country. Some of the projects emerging
from those meetings include the dual membership offer
and the Rural Roads incentives described on the next
page.
The combined membership and
communications committees are also doing a great job of
building linkage opportunities, whether it is welcoming
new members, inviting new contributors to the
newsletter, or improving our own outreach methods by
developing the newsletter and website.
The easier it is for us to
communicate with each other, the easier it will be to
respond to challenges and celebrate successes.
Ultimately, linkages will be our best tool to keep WRHA
moving with the times. As we move forward, we may find
ourselves on some unfamiliar roads: but strong linkages
will keep us on the right track.
I want to take this
opportunity to thank Liz Blodgett for the outstanding
job she has done to support the board, committees, and
members of this organization. I personally want to say
how much I have appreciated her support and, yes, gentle
nudging, as I carry out my “Presidential “
responsibilities. We wish her the best!
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