Hospital Trustees

Pictured from left to right are David Pearson, hospital advocate and American Hospital Association Regional Executive; Rob Robinson, Medical Center of South Arkansas (MCSA) Board Chair, and Dwayne Blaylock, MCSA Interim Chief Executive Officer. Robinson is holding the hospital's award for its 100 year membership in the American Hospital Association.

Hospital Trustees Serving During COVID

By Johnny McJunkins, President, Arkansas Association of Hospital Trustees

Hospital trustees are a unique group. Most of us are unpaid volunteers who display a strong desire to serve the communities in which we live. People think our duties involve lots of time spent in meetings or studying background material that will be addressed when the board gathers, but it goes well beyond that. Hospital trustees are dedicated to assuring that our community hospitals remain strong and vital, even in the toughest of times.

The Arkansas Association of Hospital Trustees (AAHT) is an affiliate group of the Arkansas Hospital Association (AHA) with members from hospital boards all over the state. AAHT bylaws outline our purpose: “The purpose of the Association shall be to dedicate itself to helping individual hospital trustees become more informed and effective board members through education and communication, and to promote the hospitals of Arkansas.”

Hospital trustees must be willing to keep abreast of current issues not only in the community but also in health care. They offer both time and expertise to meet, discuss, and resolve hospital business and governance issues, assuring that the hospital’s best interests are always front of mind. AAHT helps member trustees better understand their role within the hospital and its governance.

THEN CAME COVID

COVID-19 threw a wrench into the operations of medical organizations in Arkansas and all over the world. The AHA, AAHT, and hospitals throughout the state put on hold much of their usual work in order to decide, prepare, and maintain the best solutions for handling the pandemic. Like most groups accustomed to meeting in person, the AHA and AAHT moved to meeting and communicating virtually to protect members and reduce transmission of the virus.

The pandemic brought an onslaught of questions to hospital boards. How contagious is this disease? How do we treat it? Are our hospital employees safe? How are we going to financially handle this and survive? When will we be able to return to normal?

Johnny McJunkins, AAHT President (left), and Mark Kitchens, Chairman of the Howard Memorial Hospital (HMH) Board (center) discuss board business with HMH CEO Debra Wright (right). Special Section

More than two years into the pandemic, these questions are still not answered definitively. Our medical professionals have fought this pandemic, learning as they fight. Those of us who serve on hospital boards have been right in there with them, seeking answers and trying to help guide as we learn more and more about the virus.

I serve on the board of trustees at Howard Memorial Hospital, located in Nashville, Arkansas. We are a rural critical access hospital, and we take pride in the quality of community care offered at our facility.

I am also the current president of the board of trustees for AAHT. I’d like to share two of my fellow trustees’ ideas on board service. These are two trustees for whom I have the deepest respect.

RURAL BOARD SERVICE

Mark Kitchens is chairman of the board at Howard Memorial Hospital in Nashville, a community in southwest Arkansas. He is dedicated to public service and is involved in a variety of community projects and groups. Mark’s family was honored as the 2014 Farm Bureau Farm Family of the year.

I asked Mark what drew him to a position on the hospital board and to the job as chairman. “I feel it is my duty to do what I can to help provide quality health care in our rural areas,” he says. Curious how the pandemic affected his leadership role on the board, we talked about COVID challenges. “Of course, we moved to having virtual meetings,” he says. “But I was most concerned about what would happen in the community. Would our hospital employees be safe from the virus, and could the hospital still provide acceptable service to the area? The stress that we all feel has greatly increased.”

He says he is proud of the board members for their achievements in working as a team, and for maintaining the financial stability of the hospital during the pandemic. “We are a diverse board whose members get along well. We can disagree but still work as an effective board. We all know and appreciate one another.”

Mark says that working with Debra Wright, Howard Memorial Hospital CEO, is a positive endeavor. “She is willing to work together with board members and the community for the betterment of the hospital,” he says. He also expressed appreciation for AAHT because of the organization’s dedication to keeping trustees updated through webinars and legislative updates.

SERVICE IN AN URBAN SETTING

Rob Robinson is president of the board at the Medical Center of South Arkansas, a 166-bed facility located in El Dorado, Arkansas. The hospital offers a wide selection of services to the community of El Dorado and the rural areas surrounding it. Rob’s background is finance, and he is the Community President/Senior Credit Officer at Simmons Bank in El Dorado. He is past president of the AAHT, and in that role he shared his strong leadership abilities with trustee boards across the state. “Our hospital is a significant contributor to our community’s economic development success,” he says. “When asked to serve on its board, I was glad to make my time and energies available for helping my community.”

Rob says he couldn’t be prouder of the way the team at the Medical Center is handling the stress and heartache caused by the pandemic. “The hard work, dedication, and selflessness in the face of such difficult circumstances is a testament to their professionalism as health care workers and their compassion as human beings,” he says.

He’s quick to credit AAHT as an important resource for hospital boards. “AAHT is a trusted source of information, training opportunities, and advocacy issues for hospital trustees,” he says. AAHT is a nonprofit organization dedicated to benefiting hospitals of any size through offering resources to board members, hospital administrators, and executive teams. These tools include e-communications, quarterly newsletters, The Arkansas Trustee, AHA communications, and discounts on trustee events. Education offered to AAHT member hospitals include conferences, workshops, virtual events, legislative updates, and regional networking dinners.

Hospital board members interested in learning more about AAHT membership can visit the Affiliated Groups tab on the AHA website: www.arkhospitals.org.