Plan to arrive early to enjoy Phoenix and then join us on Sunday afternoon for two opportunities to dive deeper into individual and organizational performance improvement topics.  This year’s event offers participants two pre-conference workshops options. You may choose to gain practical help on how to implement the patient safety practices of voluntary medication error reporting and organizational learning to improve the safety of medication use in small rural hospitals.  Or in the second workshop, explore the shifting line between management and governance with guidance on finding the right balance for boards between microgovernance and strategic governance.  Both workshops afford numerous opportunities for interaction between participants and our faculty, and they will add great value to your conference experience.

Both workshops are complimentary.  Separate pre-registration is required.

PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOP #1 (Optional)
Sunday, January 18
2:00 – 5:00 pm

Building an Infrastructure for Safety and Quality: How to Interpret and Create an Action Plan with Results from the AHRQ Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPS)
Katherine Jones, PT, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Physical Therapy Education School of Allied Health, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE

This workshop builds on Dr. Jones’s experience building an infrastructure for patient safety with 24 Critical Access Hospitals in Nebraska. This experience includes two major patient safety projects:  Implementing a Program of Patient Safety in Small Rural Hospitals, one of 17 national Partnerships in Implementing Patient Safety projects funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; and Evaluating the Effect of TeamSTEPPS™ Training on the Culture of Safety in Critical Access Hospitals, the purpose of which is to implement the patient safety practice of teamwork and communication training in 25 CAHs.  In this highly practical workshop, participants will gain the knowledge and skills to:

• Offer a working definition of patient safety culture and explain why culture varies within an organization
• Recognize how HSOPS dimensions measure the four components of an informed, safe culture
• Describe key organizational practices that support the four components of an informed, safe culture
• Use HSOPS results to create an action plan that ensures your organization has in place the key practices needed to support all safety and quality activities
• Conduct the HSOPS using sound methodology to meet Joint Commission Leadership Standards that take effect in January 2009

PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOP #2 (Optional)
Sunday, January 18
3:00 – 5:00 pm

Finding Balance on Shifting Sands:  Microgovernance and the Changing Roles of the Board and Management
James E. Orlikoff, President, Orlikoff & Associates, Inc., and Senior Consultant, Center for Healthcare Governance, Chicago, IL

What is the difference between governance and management? What is the appropriate role of the board? As the forces and challenges affecting health care and the entire economy become more volatile and intense, the role of the board and the distinction between governance and management is quickly changing.  There is a rapidly emerging new and necessary component of board work which at first glance seems less like governance and more like micro-management. Yet, this "microgovernance" is now a key and growing component of effective board work.  This presentation will synthesize the trends that are driving this significant transition in governance, and outline how boards and CEOs can effectively re-examine and refine a unique and productive governance/management balance that is increasingly essential to ongoing organizational survival and success.  Jamie Orlikoff will outline the challenges facing boards that must also integrate microgovernance into their work and balance strategic governance with microgovernance to generate a robust and integrated system of effective governance in an unforgiving environment.  Ample time will be reserved to answer your questions about the impact of this shift on your board and your organization.