President’s Message

A LOOK BACK AT THE PAST

“LEARNING WITHOUT reflection is a waste. Reflection without learning is dangerous.” (Confucius)

As this is my last president’s message, it seems appropriate to reflect on the last three years. At the risk of stating the obvious, the world has truly changed. Initial goals established in fall 2019 when I first took over the CHES reins were completely replaced by a new set of ‘adapt or perish’ challenges just months later. At the onset of COVID-19, we found out very quickly which organizations had strong foundations through their processes, resources and people to take on the pandemic and which were struggling. I am proud to say CHES weathered this difficult time better than most.

This isn’t to say we haven’t stumbled along the way. But we quickly learned what changes needed to be made to weather this storm. Some challenges faced included: Do we cancel the 2020 CHES National Conference in Halifax? Should we host a hybrid event, virtual conference or nothing at all? What is the difference between a hybrid and virtual conference? Having never planned a virtual conference, how do we pull-off this type of event? And how do we manage that legal term on page 17 in the ‘terms and conditions’ called force majeure?

We discovered that all of us at CHES are social animals that rely heavily on face-to-face interactions to learn and exchange ideas. Early in 2020 we weren’t aware of this — but we sure are now.

Not only has CHES navigated the pandemic but we have managed to accomplish a number of things that will serve the association well going forward. Our use of webinars (and the reception to these online learning sessions) continues to grow. We streamlined our governance process to be more efficient. While we transitioned many of our education offerings to a virtual format out of necessity, we can now leverage these to reach a larger range of members. And we have stronger working relationships with sister associations than ever before.

How have we achieved so much?

It comes down to having the right people within CHES that are committed to the goal of improving member expertise and the healthcare environment as a whole.

While the last three years weren’t what I anticipated in fall 2019, they ended up being the most memorable of my healthcare career. And they wouldn’t have gone anywhere as well without all of you. So, thank you for your patience, dedication and effort. It has been quite a ride.

I’m looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible at our big ‘coming out’ conference in Toronto this fall. Until then, have a safe and enjoyable summer.

Roger Holliss CHES National president

EARN CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDITS FROM CHES

Members of the Canadian Healthcare Engineering Society can earn free continuing education units (CEU) by reading the Summer 2022 issue of Canadian Healthcare Facilities and passing a quiz based on articles in the issue. Once you’ve read the issue from cover to cover, simply go online to www.surveymonkey.com/r/6VSWKW8 to take the quiz. CHES members who pass the quiz will be able to claim one contact hour (0.1 CEU) on their CanHCC or CCHFM certificate renewals.

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