To: NAOHP Members
Re: Winter Quarter Conference Call
From: Rachel Stengel, NAOHP Member Services Coordinator
The NAOHP board held its quarterly meeting via conference call on Monday, Feb. 1, 2010. All board members participated with the exception of Tom Brink. Executive Director Frank Leone and staff members Karen O’Hara and Rachel Stengel were also in attendance.
Opening Comments: Mr. Leone thanked board members for their participation and commended all on the progress made by newly designated committees. The committees are: publications, education, vendor program, member recruitment and renewal, staff and clinician relationships, information management, benchmarking and enhancing national visibility for the association.
“It’s been an exciting first quarter with a strong response from each committee,” said board President Jewels Merckling. Ms. Merckling thanked Ms. O’Hara for her input on many of the board committees and reported voluntary participation on several committees by NAOHP members.
Member Recruitment and Renewals: Ms. Stengel reported a healthy renewal rate for 2010. Membership dues were not increased for 2010. In other membership-related topics, Ms. Stengel reported institutional memberships were expanded to 20 members per account, with a greater emphasis being placed on the inclusion of physicians, rehabilitation personnel, senior executives and nurse practitioners. To increase board member visibility within their respective regions and encourage renewals, Mike Schmidt reminded fellow board members to send a regional email note inviting them to renew and updating them on any relevant regulatory news.
Vendor Program: Leonard Bevill encouraged board members to continue sending prospective vendors to the attention of the vendor committee. Mr. Bevill suggested creating a competition to boost participation. A virtual vendor fair is tentatively scheduled for April. Ms. O’Hara invited vendors to submit out-comes-based articles for publication.
Staff and Clinician Relationships: Dr. Steven Crawford announced that the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) has agreed to offer two courses – OSHA Recordkeeping and a Medical Review Officer Short Course/ exam – as weekend pre-conference sessions leading into RYAN Associates’ 2010 National Conference, Oct. 11-13 in Boston. The agreement reflects the desire of both organizations to strengthen their association. To encourage physicians to stay for the entire conference, Ms. O’Hara said she is designing a clinician-focused educational track.
Ms. Merckling announced that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has invited industry stakeholders to submit comments about the direction they would like to see the agency take under new Director Dr. David Michaels. In response to the request, Ms. Merckling sent a letter inviting OSHA to use the NAOHP as a resource.
Information Management: Ms. Merckling reported moderate success with a search for information technology companies that are suitable candidates for NAOHP vendor membership. Targeted companies include electronic signature vendors and transcription and translation software vendors. Michelle McGuire reported on plans to interview Joint Commission-audited organizations to learn more about their experience with accreditation. Denia Lash offered her experience, having recently undergone a Joint Commission review.
Member Education and Services: Ms. O’Hara noted a moderate response from individuals who need to renew their three-year NAOHP certification and suggested continued efforts to publicize renewal options.
Social media offerings were discussed as a potential value-added service for NAOHP members. A member survey on social media needs/interests is currently in the field. Options under discussion include a re-design of the NAOHP website with easier access to members-only and vendor pages, the possible addition of an NAOHP blog and a professional Facebook page. Mr. Schmidt noted that some health systems block employee access to social media sites. Ms. O’Hara said, “Social media outreach is tied to our mentorship activities, especially encouraging younger people to enter into and stay in this field in order to sustain its vitality. If we don’t do something with social media we are going to miss out on opportunities to reach out to people in their 20s and 30s, because that is how they communicate now.”
Ms. O’Hara also apprised the board of 2010 educational offerings. Mr. Leone asked the board to submit relevant topics for a live regional seminar series planned for this spring.
Member Benchmarking: Mr. Leone reported that a completed RFP document has been sent to several large customer/patient satisfaction benchmarking companies. A relatively small market share and limited awareness of the occupational health field have proved to be a limitation in outreach to benchmarking companies. The board underscored the need for occupational health-specific benchmarks. Mr. Bevill said appropriate benchmarks would help validate the existence of occupational health programs. Ms. O’Hara asked each board member to submit five key parameters to benchmark. Ms. Merckling suggested the NAOHP include more bench-mark-specific questions in its upcoming national survey.
Publications: Karen Bergen and Ms. O’Hara announced the possibility of including more regulatory updates on the NAOHP website in an attempt to draw more frequent traffic to the homepage. Other website updates were also suggested. Promoting Greater National
Visibility: Mr. Leone reported member enthusiasm for promoting a greater national presence of the NAOHP. Further outreach to ACOEM and the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses was discussed.
