American College of Healthcare Executives

04/17/2026

☑️ What was your journey like to become a Fellow?

This was the experience for Dionne Blackwood, FACHE. Share your experience in the comments.

If you're considering pursuing your FACHE credential, now is the time to take the next step in your journey. Learn more at ache.org/fache.

04/15/2026

📣 Coaching can easily be confused with mentoring, but the two are very different.

The role of a mentor is often informal and regularly focuses on a career challenge or advice on a next step. Some mentoring relationships can be pivotal and have a lasting impact on one’s career.

Coaches serve more as trained listeners and observers, nudging people to think through things in a structured way. They ask questions, probe and offer an environment to help others discover insights and solutions. Coaches can help leaders pause and look for pathways to solve problems and challenges in new ways.

If you watched any of this year’s Winter Olympics, you saw performances and achievements by athletes from around the world that were nothing short of breathtaking. While each of those Olympians displayed immense dedication and courage to compete bravely on the world stage, they undoubtedly had something else as well: strong coaching that allowed them to reach further and be their best.

It turns out the same is true for leadership. Coaching can release the power of purpose and courage to drive performance to new heights. That could be why many organizations across our field use coaching to drive success and guide potential.

While some in the past may have used coaching as a remedial tactic, today many leaders see it as an essential strategic investment that strengthens individuals, teams and organizations as a whole.

✅ At a time of rapid change and unpredictability, marked by burnout and retention challenges among hospital leaders and front-line staff, adopting a culture of coaching may help organizations meet the moment.

Coaching can support leaders navigate complexity, while at the same time building the skills needed to work effectively across disciplines, departments and systems, fostering adaptability, resilience and results. The ripple effect can help create stronger organizations that are better equipped to provide the safest, quality care for our patients and communities.

Read the full article by Deborah J. Bowen, FACHE, CAE, in the newest edition of Healthcare Executive magazine! 🎉

04/14/2026

💡 Share Timely Trends and Implications with Your Board and Staff.

This highly respected annual guide will help hospital and health system leaders prepare themselves and their organizations for the future.

An essential tool for strategic planning, Futurescan 2026 presents articles highlighting the insights of thought leaders on eight key trends:

➡️ Health Care Finance and Strategic Planning
➡️ Pharmacy Management and Policy
➡️ Retail Health
➡️ Leadership Development and Workforce Planning
➡️ Regulations and Price Transparency
➡️ Risk Management
➡️ Rural Health
➡️ Global Health Care Comparisons

Explore how organizations are balancing new imperatives in a changing environment and discover innovative approaches for advancing health care.

Learn more and get your copy here: https://www.ache.org/learning-center/publications/books/2542I

04/13/2026

We’re looking for bold thinkers and innovative leaders to help shape the conversation.

The next Congress on Healthcare Leadership takes place March 22–24, 2027, at the Music City Center in Nashville, Tennessee, and we’re planning an even more dynamic experience.

We invite you to submit a proposal for a 1- or 1.5-hour session that challenges perspectives, sparks new ideas and delivers real-world impact.

This is your opportunity to influence the future of healthcare leadership.

If you’re ready to inspire, innovate and lead, we want to hear from you. Submit your proposal by Thursday, May 28, and be part of shaping what’s next in healthcare leadership.

Learn more and submit here: https://bit.ly/4cvXfBW

04/11/2026

➡️ As healthcare continues to face a shortage of providers across roles and specialties, healthcare executives must consider the role technology can play and be creative with the ways they connect clinicians and patients.

By keeping care local, the right solution can improve patient outcomes and a hospital’s bottom line from the emergency department to inpatient/outpatient settings.

This session will describe how a virtual telehealth organization who provides acute care telemedicine to hospitals and health systems across the country built an improvement-minded infrastructure focused on quality, safety and analytics.

Learn more and register here:

As healthcare continues to face a shortage of providers across roles and specialties, healthcare executives must consider the role technology can play and be creative with the ways they connect clinicians and patients. By keeping care local, the right s...

04/10/2026

⬆️ Moving On Up! ⬆️

Congratulations to the ACHE members who were recently promoted, changed positions or retired—see the full list in the newest edition of Healthcare Executive magazine! 🎉

04/09/2026

The patient financial experience is no longer a back‑office function but a core part of how patients judge care. Today’s patients experience billing, estimates and payment interactions as an extension of their clinical journey, and those moments increasingly shape trust, satisfaction and loyalty.

As expectations rise, healthcare organizations are being asked to deliver greater clarity and compassion across the financial experience. Clear estimates, plain‑language statements and intuitive self‑service tools can significantly reduce the uncertainty and stress that often surround the cost of care.

Join us for this session, where faculty will explore how applying AI‑enabled tools across over 600 steps of revenue cycle operations is driving measurable impact including shorter patient calls, higher one‑call resolution and improved patient satisfaction.

Thank you to Ensemble Health Partners, an ACHE Premier Corporate Partner, for making this session possible.

Learn more and register here: https://bit.ly/4bUYXLC

The patient financial experience is no longer a back‑office function but a core part of how patients judge care. Today's patients experience billing, estimates and payment interactions as an extension of their clinical journey, and those moments increas...

04/07/2026

🏥 Critical access hospitals in rural America historically have had fewer ethics resources and ethics committees compared to larger institutions located in nonrural settings.

Many of the study’s rural hospital leader respondents (28%) indicated they did not have a need for such committees. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Despite a likely increase in the number of ethics committees since the 2010 study in rural critical access hospitals, they continue to lag behind larger hospitals.

North Country Healthcare, Bethlehem, N.H., a small rural health system in northern New England, under the direction of the system’s CEO, sought to build a multi-facility ethics program to address ethical challenges.

It includes these steps taken to create an educated and effective ethics committee:

Step 1: Garner Leadership and Board Support
Step 2: Identify Committee Members
Step 3: Develop a Committee Charter
Step 4: Committee Members’ Ethics Training
Step 5: Establish and Hold Monthly Meetings
Step 6: Evaluate the Committee’s Effectiveness

Despite the historical findings that ethics programs and resources are less prevalent in rural America, ethics committees are equally important and valuable for small critical access hospitals as they are for large, urban institutions for addressing organizational ethics challenges and providing consultation services to clinicians.

➡️ Read the full Healthcare Executive magazine article by William A. Nelson, PhD, HFACHE, and Tom Mee, RN, here: https://bit.ly/4c1lxT7

04/06/2026

➡️ The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) launched the Transforming Episode Accountability Model (TEAM) program on Jan. 1, 2026, marking the first in a series of mandatory episodic risk contracts and a significant evolution in value-based care.

Unlike traditional total population models under accountable care organizations, TEAM targets discrete, high-impact episodes to drive more cost-effective, high-quality and coordinated care.

Join this session, which provides hospitals and health systems with a practical framework for succeeding under TEAM.

Learn more and register here: https://bit.ly/4s6ZccR

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) launched the Transforming Episode Accountability Model (TEAM) program on Jan. 1, 2026, marking the first in a series of mandatory episodic risk contracts and a significant evolution in value-based care...

04/03/2026

☑️ What was your journey like to become a Fellow?

Brad J. Phillips, DNP, NEA-BC, FACHE, shares his experience.

What was yours? Share your experience in the comments.

If you're considering pursuing your FACHE credential, now is the time to take the next step in your journey.

03/31/2026

📊 Whether leading during a pandemic, launching new service lines or addressing workforce shortages, employee engagement impacts every business metric and outcome.

Hendrick Health is committed to creating a workplace where employees feel:

➡️ RECOGNIZED
➡️ SUPPORTED
➡️ EMPOWERED

Its leadership is dedicated to fostering a culture of engagement because it makes a difference in the employee experience, and ultimately, the care patients receive.

The organization employs and engages staff members who consistently perform at a high level in several key business criteria, including absenteeism, turnover, safety incidents, quality and productivity. Hendrick Health has continued to engage and develop its people in innovative ways, setting new benchmarks for workplace excellence by prioritizing both performance and people, who shape the future of work and prove that exceptional workplaces drive real results.

Read the full Healthcare Executive magazine article by Brad Holland, FACHE, here: https://bit.ly/41s1aJH

03/30/2026

➡️ Value-based care has moved from theory to operational reality.

After several years of pilots, model refinements and increasing financial accountability, health systems now have clearer insight into what drives performance under risk.

This session will provide executives with a grounded, real-world view of value-based care as it is functioning today. Drawing on current examples from leading systems, participants will hear examples of what is working across key domains such as technology infrastructure, patient engagement, physician workflow, care coordination and community partnerships.

Thank you to GSK, an ACHE Premier Corporate Partner, for making this webinar possible.

Learn more and register here:

Value-based care has moved from theory to operational reality. After several years of pilots, model refinements and increasing financial accountability, health systems now have clearer insight into what drives performance under risk. As margins tighten ...