AMCHP Board of Directors Meet to Plan for Potential Futures
The AMCHP Board of Directors and organizational committee chairs met in Denver, Colorado from Jun. 19-21 to conduct the annual AMCHP strategic planning retreat. A main activity of the meeting was to begin the strategic planning process for the next three-years (2013-2015). A key word that characterized the meeting was "uncertainty" – uncertainty about many things including the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the role of Title V in the future, uncertainty about the federal budget, and uncertainty about the upcoming November elections. Given the amount of uncertainty in the current environment, the board used scenario planning techniques to imagine potential futures and plan AMCHP responses to those futures moving forward. Instead of developing a fixed strategic plan for the upcoming years, the board decided to use the results of the future scenarios to set short-term strategy and develop a more robust strategic plan following the Supreme Court decision on ACA and the elections in November.
Scenarios that the board considered included: ACA being upheld, partially upheld or deemed unconstitutional and cuts to the Title V MCH Services Block Grant and other federal programs at 10 percent, 30 percent or total elimination. The board was then asked: "Given each future what would AMCHP do? How can AMCHP best support the states?" It was clear that different scenarios would each require an active response from AMCHP and its members. It was also clear that uncertainty truly does characterize the next few months and that AMCHP was being proactive in imagining potential strategic responses to some very serious challenges facing state MCH programs. If you would like more information on the future scenarios the board used or the AMCHP planning process, please contact Mike Fraser at AMCHP.
In addition to its "futuring" work, the board also reviewed AMCHP progress in meeting its 2009-2012 goals. Items shared with the board included a staff report on accomplishments (of which there are many!) and areas for future consideration and improvement. Key data from environmental scans and assessments were also shared, including recent AMCHP member assessment data that indicate a high degree of satisfaction with AMCHP among its members and several key suggestions for increasing member satisfaction in the future.
AMCHP board meetings are open and public meetings and AMCHP is always happy to welcome observers at board meetings. If you would like more information on the AMCHP board or would like to consider running for an open board position, please contact AMCHP President Stephanie Wrightsman-Birch via AMCHP Executive Assistant Nora Lam.