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June 2010 council Currents

Strategic Initiatives

 

United Together

 

NHC and CISCRP Featured in WSJ

The National Health Council (NHC) and the Center for Information & Study on Clinical Research Participation (CISCRP) were recently featured in a Wall Street Journal supplement, Your Guide to Understanding the Need for Clinical Research and Participation.

 

The four-page supplement included a question and answer section with NHC President Myrl Weinberg and a lead-off piece from Ken Getz, Founder and Board Chair of CISCRP. The supplement was made possible in part by the Drug Information Association, an NHC member.

 

You can view the special insert by going to http://doc.mediaplanet.com/all_projects/4921.pdf.

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NHC President Honored by Community Health Charities

NHC President Myrl Weinberg was recently awarded the Outstanding Community Service Award by Community Health Charities (CHC) of America at its 12th National Annual Meeting & Community Leadership Conference held in New York City.

 

Currently a member of CHC Board of Directors, Weinberg served as Chair of the Income Development Committee from 2007-2009. As Chair, she lead the development of standardized planning tools and resources for the organization’s 36 affiliate offices, increasing contributions to its member patient advocacy organizations.

 

“Community Health Charities is extremely fortunate to have benefitted from her active involvement over the past six years,” said Thomas G. Bognanno, CHC President and CEO. “She has brought relevant, timely and valuable information to key board discussions and decisions.”

 

In addition to serving on the CHC Board, Weinberg also serves on the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance Board of Directors and its Panel on Charity Effectiveness, and the Independent Sector Nonprofit Sector Programs and Practice Committee. Weinberg is also a member of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), an ASAE Fellow, and a former member of the ASAE Board of Directors.

 

In a news release announcing the award, the CHC acknowledged that “through her volunteer leadership with these organizations she has earned respect as a trusted counselor in the area of non-profit management and accountability.”

 

Community Health Charities works in partnership with 57 of the nation’s most trusted health charities through its network of affiliate offices. A full listing of the Community Health Charities membership can be found on the organization’s website.

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2010 Management Compensation Report

To help member voluntary health agencies better hone their recruiting and retention efforts, the National Health Council and the National Human Services Assembly annually conduct a benchmarking survey of compensation practices across a spectrum of more than 80 mid-level and executive positions. The survey report helps to fulfill a question on the new IRS Form 990 to determine whether an organization uses comparability data for determining the compensation of staff.

 

The data collection process for this year’s report has concluded. More than 30 NHC and National Human Services Assembly member organizations are participating in this year’s report. The NHC participants are listed below. If you have any questions or would like to receive information about participating in the survey next year, please contact Kelly Garrity at kgarrity@nhcouncil.org.

 

The Management Compensation Report will be available for purchase in the fall of 2010. Information will be posted on the NHC website and in the next edition of Council Currents.

 

Alpha-1 Foundation

Arthritis Foundation

American Diabetes Association

American Heart Association

American Kidney Fund

American Liver Foundation

Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America

Barth Syndrome Foundation

Breast Cancer Network of Strength

CHADD

Easter Seals, Inc.

Interstitial Cystitis Association

Lance Armstrong Foundation

March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation

National Foundation for Ectodermal Dysplasias

National Marfan Foundation

National Multiple Sclerosis Society

National Psoriasis Foundation

Osteogenesis Imperfecta Foundation

Prevent Blindness America

Spina Bifida Association of America

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BoardSource Partnership

BoardSource membership provides everything a nonprofit association needs to build a high-performing board. Members use its resources and services to find solutions, leadership tips, and governance knowledge about board-related issues.

 

Organizations receive a 33% discount if they enroll their board members and key staff at the national and chapter levels through the NHC. In addition, if 100 individuals are enrolled through the NHC, the cost per member is discounted 40%.

 

This year’s membership enrollment process will conclude on June 30. Enrollment is open to NHC members in the Voluntary Health Agency, Professional and Membership Association, and Nonprofit Organization Interested in Health categories. If you have any questions or would like to receive information about BoardSource membership, please contact Kelly Garrity at kgarrity@nhcouncil.org. To learn more about BoardSource, visit www.boardsource.org.

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NHC Brown Bag: Advocacy via the Web

In February, the Parkinson’s Action Network (PAN), a NHC member, held its 16th Annual Research & Public Policy Forum at the Newseum in Washington, DC. PAN was gracious enough to discuss this event at a special NHC advocacy meeting in March. Registering over 1,500 people, PAN advocates viewed this unique event both in person and through a live interactive webcast, available through the Internet or via audio cast. Forum participants learned about legislative issues impacting the Parkinson’s community and various tools to advocate for better treatments and a cure through communicating with elected officials.

 

By providing easy access to the Forum, PAN has created a new precedent for communicating messages to the community of people living with chronic diseases and disabilities. To view a video explaining the event and PAN’s work, click here.

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VHA CFO Meeting

More than 30 chief financial officers (CFOs) from the National Health Council (NHC) and the National Human Services Assembly heard presentations on the new IRS Form 990 and the implications of the recently passed health care reform legislation at a joint CFO meeting held on Tuesday, May 25, at the Eli Lilly and Company office in Washington, DC. Chaired by Florence Corsello, Girl Scouts of the USA Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President, the meeting gave CFOs unique insight into numerous issues affecting the non-profit community.

 

Greg Goller, Managing Director of Exempt Organization Tax Practice at KPMG LLP, provided information about the new IRS Form 990 and how to implement additional reporting requirements. Marc Boutin, NHC Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, addressed health care reform legislation and its impact on employers, including health care organizations. Both topics will also be discussed at the upcoming NHC Board of Directors and Voluntary Health Agency Committee meetings June 8, and information will be shared with the CFOs and CEOs of NHC member organizations.

 

The next chief financial officers meeting will be held in the fall.

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2010 Voluntary Health Leadership Conference

The NHC is pleased to announce that its 24th annual Voluntary Health Leadership Conference will be held at the Sanibel Harbour Resort & Spa in Fort Myers, Florida. Please visit their website at www.sanibel-resort.com for more information about the location. The conference is for the chief staff members and volunteer leaders of patient advocacy organizations and will take place February 9-11, 2011. For more information about the conference itself, please contact Donna O’Leary at doleary@nhcouncil.org.

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Presentations by NHC Staff

  • On February 23 and 24, both NHC President Myrl Weinberg and NHC Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Marc Boutin presented at the International Alliance of Patients’ Organizations 4th Global Patients Congress in Istanbul, Turkey.
  • On March 2, Boutin served as a panelist on Taking Health Care Reform from Concept to Reality at the 11th Annual Patient Assistance Programs Conference in Baltimore, Maryland. Also in March, Boutin served as a presenter on What Does CER Mean to Patients: Our Roles, Needs and Responsibilities at a Bristol-Myers Squibb Town Hall: Comparative Effectiveness in the U.S. – A Patient-Centered Perspective.
  • On March 17, Boutin served as a panelist discussing electronic health records at a Federal Trade Commission Roundtable on Exploring Privacy. On March 23, Boutin also served as a panelist discussing What Constitutes Value at the EuropaBio-BIO Workshop on Comparative Effectiveness and Health Technologies Assessment.
  • On April 12, Boutin presented testimony along with representatives from other patient organizations at a Food and Drug Administration public hearing on the reauthorization of the Prescription Drug User Fee Act.
  • On April 29, Weinberg represented the patient advocacy community on a panel discussing After Health Reform: Where Do We Go From Here at the New England Healthcare Institute annual meeting in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  • On May 17, Boutin served as a panelist at the Pfizer Advocacy Summit in New York. The title of the summit was Implementation and Challenges of Health Care Reform.

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Member Visibility Benefits

To maximize the benefit of your organization’s membership, the NHC provides a number of avenues to showcase your organization.

  • Announce your annual meeting, advocacy days, or other public activities on the NHC web calendar. Click here for instructions on how to get your organization’s event listed.
  • The NHC Job Bank is one of the most visited pages on the NHC website. To submit a job opening use the form on the NHC website.
  • Member Announcements: We are now offering NHC member organizations the opportunity to share recent announcements about their CEOs in the quarterly Council Currents newsletter. For more information about how to submit your announcement, click here.
  • Health Groups in Washington is now available! This directory lists more than 900 nongovernment health and health-related organizations in the Washington, DC, area. It is available for the low price of $55; $40 for members of the NHC. To order your own copy or the convenient electronic mailing list which contains all HGIW entries, complete the order form on the NHC website or call 202-785-3910.

 

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International Alliance of Patients’ Organizations (IAPO)

IAPO is a unique global alliance representing patients of all nationalities across all disease areas and promoting patient-centered health care around the world. NHC President Myrl Weinberg serves as immediate past chair of IAPO.

 

IAPO’s 4th Global Patients Congress was held February 23-25 in Istanbul, Turkey. The conference explored ways to strengthen health care systems globally and provided participants with programs and workshops where they developed their skills and shared best practices. IAPO also announced the launch of its Strategic Plan 2010-2014: Putting Patients at the Centre of Healthcare. Weinberg and NHC Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Marc Boutin were presenters at the conference.

 

In April, IAPO Chief Executive Officer Jo Groves presented an overview of the PROTECT Project at a European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) patient think-tank meeting in Brussels, Belgium. The PROTECT Project is a consortium coordinated by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) with an overall aim to strengthen the monitoring of treatment benefit-risk in Europe. Further information about the project, including the presentation slides, is available by clicking here.

 

IAPO represented the patient voice at the World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, in late May.

 

For more information about IAPO, visit http://www.patientsorganizations.org/index.pl.

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NHC & eHealth Initiative

The eHealth Initiative's National Forum on Health Information Exchange on July 22 in Washington, DC, will convene health IT coordinators and representatives from health information exchanges from dozens of states to discuss the challenges and strategies related to operating a sustainable health information exchange. The NHC is an official supporter of the Forum.

 

During its Forum, eHealth Initiative will release the results of its 7th Annual Survey of Health Information Exchange. Health information exchange leaders and experts from the field will be on hand to engage in interactive discussions related to the findings. Space for the Forum is limited. To register, click here.

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