In Inter-America, Adventist Hospital Administrators and Leadership Start Comprehensive Training Program

Hospital administrators and leadership staff during one of the group sessions led by Loma Linda University Health’s certificate program held Mar. 20-25, 2017, in Cancun, Mexico. Image by Raul Molina/LLU

May 16, 2017 | Miami, Florida, United States | Libna Stevens/IAD

The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Inter-America in partnership with Loma Linda University (LLU) recently held a Hospital Leadership Training certificate program for hospital administrators and top management staff spread across Adventist hospitals in the Inter-American Division (IAD) territory.

The six-day initial leadership training session brought facilitators from LLU’s Public Health and LLU Hospital Business Development, and Adventist Health International, to Cancún, Mexico, to instruct nearly 60 professionals on topics including self-awareness, health systems assessments, SWOT Analysis, spiritual calling of leadership, emotional health, and other aspects.

AHS-IA President Dr. Elie S. Honore during the training session held recently. Image by Raul Molina/LLU

It is a pilot project that has been in the works for more than 10 years but finally all logistics allowed it to move forward, says Elie S. Honoré, M.D., president of Adventist Healthcare Services Inter-America (AHS-IA) overseeing all 14 Adventist hospitals in Inter-America. AHS-IA is an IAD institution working in partnership with Loma Linda University Health and Adventist Health International that exists to strengthen and assist healthcare institutions promoting physical, mental, social, and spiritual wholeness of mankind while fulfilling the mission of the Church.

“For years, our hospital administrators have received informal training, says Honoré. “Only two have a master’s degree, but we want to ensure that their top leadership staff including the medical directors, nursing directors, finance directors receive this comprehensive training program.”

It’s about investing in the leadership staff, providing an on-going hospital leadership training program for better quality care and bringing institutions far above than what governments require where they operate, adds Honoré.

“The same way you cannot call yourself a doctor without being a licensed physician, the same applies for hospital administrators, they must be licensed and trained professionally to ensure high-level management for the healthcare institution in order to serve effectively the institution’s purpose in their respective communities,” explains Honoré.

Rafael Molina, afael Molina, MEd, assistant professor of Loma Linda University’s School of Public Health during the training session on Mar. 20, 2017. Image courtesy of LLU

The training will allow church administrators to look at investing in hospital administration staff they oversee as board members, allow them to develop their skills, seek to update a databank of professionally trained administrators, and minimize the reappointment of such trained administrators and medical professionals elsewhere. “Often times, these trained administrators and professionals are reassigned outside of their fields of capacity, within the context of the church system of reappointing administrators and leaders every four or five years,” adds Honoré.

Dr. Honoré reported that professionals from 11 of the 14 IAD hospitals took part in the first training session held March 20-25, in Mexico, which included practical workshops and problem-solving group sessions during the eight-day training program. Several others followed online as the sessions were live streamed.

Two more training sessions will take place in July and November, according to Honoré. All the sessions will continue to be recorded for those administrators unable to attend because of demanding responsibilities within their healthcare institutions.

In between sessions, hospital leadership enrolled in the program will complete book reading assignments and classwork online, he explains.

The IAD is investing thousands of dollars for the custom high-level non-academic three-session Diploma program this year. “This is an invaluable program by Loma Linda University and we are thankful that the Inter-American Division is first to implement it across its hospitals,” says Honoré.

The plan is to continue a training session by LLU with hospital board members and for Montemorelos University, an institution operated by the IAD to offer an ongoing training program for hospital leaders across the territory, starting with an undergraduate program.

Elisa Blethen, MBA, assistant professor, LLU’s School of Public Health. Image by Rafael Molina/LLU

This training offered by LLU will secure certification of many of our hospital administrators who are required to have high-level training in their countries, explains Honore. Countries like Mexico where there are three Adventist hospitals overseen by the Adventist Church and could be shut down if top leadership is not certified to operate the healthcare institutions.

Other countries like Belize, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Guyana are beginning to tighten their requirements on private hospital management so this training will provide the operation of hospitals to continue uninterrupted, according to Honoré. “This has been among our priorities for our hospital staff.”

Already the AHS-IA provides regional training every year and LLU provides the Global Healthcare Conference training for all hospital administrators and staff every three years.

Adventist hospitals in Inter-America will continue to move forward as hospital administrators and staff continue to offer quality healthcare, update to digitized systems, technical financial programs and hospital management system, including electronic medical records, as they operate in their institutions and surrounding communities.

Plans will follow to improve the quality and training of professionals in the 24 Adventist clinics operating every day across the IAD territory, Dr. Honoré says.

For more information Adventist Hospitals across Inter-America, visit interamerica.org