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Opening general assembly speaker Patch Adams.

The Tennessee Hospital Association (THA) annual meeting drew a record number of attendees this year.

More than 1,000 members, compared to about 950 last year, attended the 68th annual meeting held Oct. 25-27 at the Nashville Convention Center and Renaissance Nashville Hotel.

"These things run in cycles, so it's hard to tell (why there were more attendees this year), but it indicates that hospitals are feeling that this is a good place to send employees to get continuing education," said THA president Craig Becker.

More than 200 vendors also set up booths at the convention center as part of the 41st Annual Technical and Educational Exposition, which THA provides as an informational complement to its annual meeting. From transformers and power switches to financial solutions, vendors showcased a variety of products and services.

Through its meeting, THA's goal is to facilitate opportunities for learning and networking, said Becker, who has been at the helm of THA since 1993. He called this year's meeting "one of the best" because in addition to strong numbers, it boasted excellent speakers.

Opening general assembly speaker Patch Adams, the doctor and social activist whose life inspired the movie "Patch Adams" starring Robin Williams, spoke about the magic and power of care not only in the patient's life, but also in the caregiver's life. Becker said Adams, who founded the Gesundheit! Institute, a free community hospital that ran for 12 years, discussed his concern that the healthcare industry places too much emphasis on money. He stressed that laughter, joy and creativity are important parts of a patient's healing process.

Lowell Catlett, Regent's Professor at New Mexico State University and interim dean of the College of Agriculture and Home Economics, spoke about seeing patients as consumers.

"I tried to get the audience to understand that there is a consumer mentality among the world," Catlett said. "We're moving from a production-based world trying to produce basic things for life to a consumer world where expectations change."

As healthcare continues to improve, patients have the ability to differentiate, or pick and choose, what they want from healthcare providers, Catlett said, and each generation yields different consumer expectations that hospitals must consider. Catlett also discussed telemedicine as part of the next generation of healthcare and as a means to support a shift from treatment-based healthcare to prevention-based healthcare.

A third speaker, lecturer and comedienne Bertice Berry, humorously recounted life lessons that she learned from her dying mother's last months.

"It was uplifting for everyone and reminded us why we're in the business that we're in," Becker said.

Other speakers included longtime hospital trustee Mac McCrary, who spoke at the trustee luncheon about dealing with conflicts of interest in the boardroom, and motivational educator Dale Henry, who discussed the importance of humor in the workplace.

"I believe this year's meeting was the best because it was pleasant to hear the speakers," said Thelma Traut, chairman of the Baptist Memorial Hospital-Huntingdon board of directors who also sits on the THA trustee council and has been attending the THA annual meeting for 20 years. "They were all well-versed on their topics, and they presented in a humorous way. They were entertaining as well as informative."

Traut said she hopes that individuals who attended the annual meeting came away with the understanding that healthcare facilities are like family units, and every position within a facility is vital. The least is as important as the greatest, she said, and everyone should be treated with kindness, consideration and compassion.

"For me, it was a retreat, a renewal," she said. "Everyone needs to get their battery charged every once in awhile."

The 2007 THA Annual Meeting is scheduled for Nov. 5-7.





December 2006

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