A Season of Thanks

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As we approach this season of Thanksgiving, it is timely to pause and thank those who have contributed to BHT’s success over the past year.  I have become fond of pointing out that BHT does not have an individual agenda; our agenda is the community’s agenda. I am not in a position to force anyone to do anything; instead I depend on the shared vision and conviction that we are stronger together to advance our mission.  While this may appear cliché, as it relates to our work, it is very true.

There is a big risk with public expressions of appreciation as I will inevitably leave out someone who deserves my gratitude.  Please know this is not an exhaustive list, but a flavor of the depth of our connections and alignment:

  • Antony Chiang and Kristen West Fisher of Empire Health Foundation who daily bring their genius and passion to the work of better aligning disparate systems for higher impact while never forgetting at the core of these systems are clients/patients/community members who need our support.
     
  • Members of the Critical Access Hospital Network, including Sue Dietz (Critical Access Hospital Network), Tom Martin (Lincoln County Public Hospital District), Tom Wilbur (Newport Public Hospital District), Brenda Parnell (Ferry County Public Hospital District), and Scott Adams (Pullman Regional Hospital), for seeing the potential of the Accountable Community of Health work and valuing BHT as an ally to improving rural health, not as a competitor.
     
  • Catholic Charities, VOA, Consistent Care, Community Court, City of Spokane, Spokane Fire Department, and CARES for hanging with us as we build a best-in-class integrated community care program to support our most vulnerable individuals by surrounding them with the right services at the right time.  Your dedication is one of the best demonstrations of what makes our community special.
     
  • Chancellor Lisa Brown for welcoming BHT to the emerging hot bed of health education and innovation at the WSU Spokane Campus. We are excited to make the move and appreciate you making early room for us, as we await the opening of the Spokane Teaching Health Clinic in July of 2016.
     
  • Chase Napier and Lena Nachand from the Health Care Authority who work tirelessly each day to make sure the Accountable Communities of Health have the right connections and resources to radically improve the health of their regions statewide. These two offer some of the best energy (and modeling) in co-creating between state government and local communities.
     
  • Dave Windom, (Northeast Tri County Public Health), Pend Oreille County Commissioner Mike Manus, Jenny Smith (Newport Public Hospital District) and Tom Wilbur (Newport Public Hospital District) for “taking the bull by the horns” and launching the Pend Oreille County Health Coalition. You are setting the trend for what is possible when government connects with social entrepreneurship to create leveraged outcomes.
     
  • Jac Davies (Northwest Healthcare Purchasers Coalition), Cindy Green (Spokane Regional Heath District) and Emily Fleury (Inland Northwest Health Services) for their hard work getting our Prevention First efforts aligned. Who knew managing 28 program strategies could be so fun? You have taught me so much about what is possible when it comes to prevention.
     
  • Amerigroup, Community Health Plans of Washington, Coordinated Care, Molina and United Health Care for your energy and patience with the ACHs around the state as we get up and running. As we are fond of saying, this is like asking AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile to work together; your commitment to the most vulnerable in our community is inspiring.

Finally, BHT is blessed to have 16 amazing and tenacious staff members. This work is not possible without them—check them out on our new website!

Happy Thanksgiving.
ACW