2:30 – 4 p.m.

Optional pre-conference session (included in conference registration)

New hospital board member orientation program

• Florence L. Di Benedetto, President and Chief Executive Officer, Di Benedetto Solutions, Inc.
• Sharon L. Hanson, Chair, Board of Governors, HTNYS, and Board Secretary, Erie County Medical Center, Buffalo
• Nicholas Henley, MPH, Executive Director, HTNYS, and Vice President, External Affairs, HANYS
• Kathy Rauch, RN, MSHQS, BSN, CPHQ, Vice President, Quality Advocacy, Research and Innovation, HANYS

The amount healthcare trustees must learn to effectively fulfill their governance responsibilities can seem overwhelming. The healthcare landscape is complex and can be especially daunting to new board members and professionals coming from outside of the healthcare sector. To educate new trustees and provide a refresher to more experienced board members, HTNYS is hosting an orientation program with a comprehensive overview of healthcare governance and the fundamental roles and responsibilities of healthcare trustees in New York state.

This program will provide a tailored scan of New York’s hospital system, an overview of leading governance practices and the board’s role in quality and patient safety, and a Q&A with content experts and veteran hospital board members.

This session will be useful for board members new to their position on a hospital, health system or nursing home board and an important refresher for longer-serving trustees.

4:15 – 5:30 p.m.

Welcome

• Sharon L. Hanson, Chair, Board of Governors, HTNYS, and Board Secretary, Erie County Medical Center, Buffalo

Keynote address

Leadership is worthless…but leading is priceless: What I learned from 9/11, the NFL and Ukraine

• Thom Mayer, MD, Medical Director, NFL Players Association

Dr. Thom Mayer has led through some of the most prominent crises of our generation, including serving as the command physician at the Pentagon on 9/11, incident commander for the first bioterrorism incident in the U.S., medical director of the NFL Players Association and leading a mobile emergency team during the Ukraine invasion. This experience has led him to develop a contrarian approach to leadership, which is: leadership is worthless…because it is a noun — something you say. But leading is priceless…because it is a verb — the things you do, all day, every day, in every walk of life.

During this keynote, Mayer will challenge you to ask the right question, "How will I lead myself and my team today?” By helping you embrace leading in everything you do — no matter what job you do — he will inspire you to lead yourself, your team and your family.

Filled with stories and examples from his career as “The Master of Disaster,” leading at the forefront of crises on the world stage, this session will challenge and inspire new and practical approaches to leading your hospital or health system and life in times of crisis.

5:30 – 6:30 p.m.

Welcome cocktail reception

Kick off the conference by enjoying delicious light bites, cocktails and conversation with your peers.

6:30 p.m.

Dinner

Enjoy an evening of dinner on your own and explore exciting Saratoga Springs!