CLOVIS, Calif. – The International Association for Healthcare Safety and Security (IAHSS) recently unveiled its new structure to its members. Now the IAHSS is comprised of four working groups that are responsible for certification, external and public affairs, education, and member relations. But how should this new structure be implemented? That is what the Leadership Conference held Nov. 2 and 3 sought to address.
Several of IAHSS’ leaders met at Pelco’s international headquarters in Clovis, Calif., this past fall to discuss the association’s strategic plan, identify and plan key projects, establish measurements and assign leaders for the tasks. “I think you’ll find that there is a focus in what we are trying to achieve,” says Tony York, president of IAHSS and senior vice president, security division of Denver-based Hospital Shared Services. “The development opportunities that will come forth in the association and the training programs we will present to our members, officers and supervisors will be far accentuated.”
One example of this type of improvement is the new text for supervisor certification that was introduced at the meeting. A call for presentations for the mid-winter meeting and summer convention was also introduced. “As simple and common as that is, [the working group] realized we have some tremendous resources in our own membership,” says York. “All they needed was to be asked.”
Partnering with others normally not included in the healthcare safety and security realm, such as nurses, risk managers, facilities and healthcare executives, is another goal for 2008. “When you think about people who are outside of our industry, there really is a tremendous lack of education [regarding safety and security],” adds York. “We’ve got to fill that void of knowledge and communicate with those folks.” According to York, doing this will reduce duplication of efforts and provide a consistent message to outside entities, such as the Joint Commission.
A copy of IAHSS’ plan should be posted on the organization’s Web site (www.iahss.org) in January.
