Agenda

1 – 4 p.m.

Pre-conference session (no extra fee to attend)

New hospital board member orientation program

• Thomas Hallisey, Director, Digital Health Strategy, HANYS
• Nicholas Henley, MPH, Executive Director, HTNYS, and Vice President, External Affairs, HANYS
• Muhammed Javed, MD, Chair, HTNYS; Chair, Olean General Hospital; and Trustee, Kaleida Health
• Todd Linden, MA, FACHE, President and Founder, Linden Consulting and CEO Emeritus, Grinnell Regional Medical Center
• Kathleen Rauch, RN, MSHQS, BSN, CPHQ, Vice President, Quality Advocacy, Research and Innovation, HANYS

Hospital and health system trustees are charged with governing vitally important and complex community institutions. The amount of information needed to effectively fulfill these governance responsibilities is significant, especially since trustees come from various professional backgrounds. To help accelerate this onboarding, HTNYS is again offering an orientation program designed to provide a comprehensive overview of healthcare governance and the fundamental roles and responsibilities of healthcare trustees in New York state.

This intensive program is meant for trustees new to their role or as a governance refresher for existing board members. The session will provide a tailored scan of New York’s hospital system and an overview of leading governance practices, including the board’s role in quality and patient safety, and a primer on the board’s role in overseeing cybersecurity.

Back by popular demand! This session is returning for the second year in a row, with more content and more time, based on your feedback. Program agenda coming soon.

3 – 4 p.m.

Pre-conference session (no extra fee to attend)

Elections 2026: What could it mean for healthcare in New York

• Cristina Batt, Senior Vice President, Federal Policy, HANYS
• Congressman Tim Bishop (Retired), Manager, Envision Strategy
• Amy Nickson, Senior Vice President, State Policy, HANYS
• Steve Stallmer, Manager, Envision Strategy

The mid-term elections this fall are attracting significant attention with a gubernatorial race in New York and the control of both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives up for grabs in Washington. How will the results of these elections impact federal and state healthcare policy and ultimately New York’s hospitals and health systems? Join us for a bipartisan conversation on the upcoming election cycle and what it means for New York, including how the election results will affect leadership positions, key committees and the direction of healthcare policy and financing.

4:15 – 5:30 p.m.

Welcome

• Muhammed Javed, MD

Keynote address

The strategic compass: Navigating healthcare priorities together — A shared vision for leaders and trustees

• Michael J. Dowling, CEO Emeritus, Northwell Health

Healthcare’s landscape demands exceptional leadership and governance. This keynote addresses the critical priorities facing all hospital and health system stakeholders — from financial sustainability and workforce innovation to patient experience and digital transformation. We’ll explore how executive leaders and trustees, working in concert, can forge a shared vision to tackle these challenges effectively.

5:30 – 6:30 p.m.

Welcome cocktail reception | Turquoise Tiger

To kick off the conference, join your peers for cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and networking at Turning Stone’s glamorous Turquoise Tiger. Don’t miss this opportunity to socialize with your colleagues from across the state and HANYS’ new President and CEO Tom Quatroche.

7 – 7:45 a.m.

Breakfast

7:45 – 8:15 a.m.

Opening remarks

• Nicholas Henley, MPH
• Kristen Phillips, CAE, Director, Trustee Education, HTNYS, and Director, Community Health Policy, HANYS

A few words from HANYS’ President and CEO

• Thomas J. Quatroche Jr., PhD, President and CEO, HANYS

8:15 – 9:15 a.m.

We CAN fix healthcare — The future is NOW

• Stephen K. Klasko, MD, MBA, Former President, Thomas Jefferson University and Former CEO, Jefferson Health

Dr. Stephen Klasko will describe an extraordinary, even science fiction, event where a no-blaming conversation about the healthcare system leads to an optimistic new future. As a result, anyone, no matter their viewpoint, can collaborate on his 12 disruptive transformations.

Built on a variety of interviews from every part of the system, looking at service, education, economics and the sociology of healthcare, Klasko argues that if we stop blaming each other, trends we now see as disruptive will actually lead to solutions. With an entertaining blend of humor, wit and practical assessments about the current state of healthcare, Klasko will show where healthcare is heading in the future.

9:15 – 9:30 a.m.

Break

9:30 – 10:30 a.m.

Optimizing the board-CEO relationship: It’s a partnership

• Todd Linden, MA, FACHE

In the pursuit of exceptional organizational performance, the partnership between the board and the CEO is paramount. With CEO turnover at historic highs and governance expectations continuing to rise, organizations must intentionally cultivate relationships grounded in trust, transparency and strategic alignment.

In this engaging and practical session, Todd Linden draws on more than three decades of executive leadership and governance advisory experience to explore the core principles that define high-functioning board-CEO partnerships. Participants will gain actionable strategies, practical tools and a clear game plan for strengthening communication, clarifying roles and sustaining a productive working relationship over time.

During this session, attendees will discuss:

• Effective board meetings: Learn how to structure agendas and discussions that promote open dialogue, informed decision-making and mutual accountability.
• Executive sessions: Understand best practices for conducting executive sessions that foster candid conversation and actionable outcomes.
• Role clarity: Clarify the distinct yet interdependent roles of the board and CEO to prevent conflict and enhance performance.
• Strategic alignment: Ensure the board and CEO are aligned around shared priorities, strategy and organizational direction.
• Trust and transparency: Build the relational foundation necessary for ethical decision-making and long-term success.

10:30 – 10:45 a.m.

Break

10:45 – 11:45 a.m.

Breakout strategy sessions

Real-world board governance: Expert insights and open Q&A

• Todd Linden, MA, FACHE

This dynamic, discussion-based session invites participants to bring their most pressing governance challenges to the table. Designed as a collaborative forum, the session blends expert insights with peer-to-peer learning and candid dialogue.

No topic is off-limits. Participants will explore real-world governance dilemmas, share experiences and examine innovative approaches to board leadership and effectiveness. The session fosters an environment of openness, curiosity and continuous learning.

During this session, attendees will gain:

• practical solutions to real governance challenges;
• lessons learned from peers in similar leadership roles;
• innovative strategies to enhance board effectiveness; and
• a renewed commitment to open, collaborative governance culture.

Beyond the boardroom: Driving impact through philanthropy

• Donna Budak, Executive Advisor, Association for Healthcare Philanthropy

Philanthropy is a critical source of revenue for not-for-profit and public hospitals and nursing homes. Whether your board has fiduciary responsibilities or is a community advisory board, there is tremendous opportunity to extend your impact on the community through philanthropic fundraising.

This session will explore the connection between board engagement and fundraising performance, informed by data and real-world examples from high-performing healthcare organizations. The key responsibilities of board members as strategic advisors, ambassadors and champions of philanthropy will also be outlined. Participants will strengthen their role as philanthropic leaders by learning practical strategies for donor engagement, storytelling and advocacy that build support without requiring a direct financial ask, as well as messaging to communicate the power of philanthropy within your boardroom.

When hospital and health insurance contract disputes go public: What trustees need to know

• Vic Aufiero, Esq., Vice President, Insurance, Managed Care and Behavioral Health, HANYS

Hospitals and health systems are facing a never-ending wave of changing healthcare priorities, while battling existing financial hardships, evolving patient demands, inflationary pressures, staffing issues and increased administrative burdens. As a result, payer-provider contract disputes are rising and increasingly becoming more public. Contract disputes are not new. However, these conflicts are now increasingly focused on utilization management, prior authorization processes, denials and network design practices, benefit plans designs and strategies — not just increased rates.

As a result, hospitals and health systems are more willing to publicly communicate and escalate their efforts during negotiations — and are becoming more willing to terminate when the relationship stops working. These disputes draw attention from state (and sometimes federal) lawmakers, regulators and local government officials, with increased awareness from traditional and social media outlets, and the public at large. Patients experience the impacts in real time: uncertainty over the contract status, concerns with access to services, delayed referrals, surprise bills, etc.

This session will focus on the role that hospital and health system trustees can play, both directly and indirectly during contract negotiations. Speakers will highlight why it is important for trustees to understand:

• the reasons behind the termination;
• the short and long-term strategy for preserving a hospital’s mission;
• the physician alignment strategy;
• the public relations strategy; and
• what it means to trustees as purchasers of healthcare coverage within a local community.

In addition, the session will cover some of the applicable laws and regulations that govern payer-provider contract terminations.

11:45 a.m. – noon

Break

Noon – 12:45 p.m.

DOH update from the commissioner

• James V. McDonald, MD, MPH, Commissioner, New York State Department of Health

Join the health commissioner as he reflects on the state of New York’s healthcare system, including:

• top DOH priorities, including the state’s Prevention Agenda and the Master Plan for Aging;
• key healthcare initiatives in the final enacted budget for state fiscal year 2026-2027, with a focus on issues impacting hospitals and nursing homes, such as the Rural Health Transformation Fund and the Safety Net Transformation Program; and
• the state’s continued response to addressing and mitigating the impacts of H.R. 1.

12:45 – 1:15 p.m.

Lunch

1:15 – 1:30 p.m.

Presentation of the Healthcare Trustee Leadership Award

• Nicholas Henley, MPH
• Muhammed Javed, MD

1:30 – 1:45 p.m.

Break

1:45 – 2:45 p.m.

Breakout strategy sessions

Tricky questions for boards: How to answer from the potato chip aisle

• Doug Morse, MBA, MHA, Principal, Capstone Leadership Solutions, Inc.

This interactive session offers specific tips to help hospital governance leaders answer unexpected questions in unexpected places. Participants will learn how to effectively engage questions appropriately within the community. Case studies and real-world examples will be shared so that board members will be prepared as needed.

During this session, attendees will:

• describe topics that should never be discussed by trustees publicly;
• compare and contrast potential questions and decide if appropriate to comment;
• propose answers to real-world case studies; and
• practice sharing your learning with other governance members.

Acute and post-acute care: What’s the connection?

• John B. McCabe, MD, FACEP, Board Member, HTNYS; Trustee, Loretto; and Chair Emeritus and Professor, Emergency Medicine, Upstate Medical University
• Laura Palmer, MSW, Senior Director, Post-acute and Continuing Care, HANYS

The session will feature a panel discussion of subject matter experts and include a high-level overview of New York’s post-acute care system along with the interaction between the acute and post-acute systems of care. Trustees will gain tips on how they can contribute to board room discussions about improving the continuum of care delivery, ask the right questions and help facilitate conversations between their hospital and post-acute care partners. The session will conclude with an overview of HANYS’ post-acute care advocacy priorities and opportunities for trustees to engage in advocacy activities.

New York State Rural Health Transformation Program: What trustees need to know

• Karen Madden, Director, Center for Health Care Policy and Resource Development, New York State Department of Health
• Karen Roach, Vice President, Regulatory Affairs and Rural Health, HANYS

With over 2 million New Yorkers living in rural communities, it is critical that rural healthcare providers are supported and sustained into the future. The Rural Health Transformation Fund is a new federal program funded with $50 billion over the next five years to strengthen and modernize rural healthcare. New York state received $212 million in year one of the program and is focusing on four core priorities: establishing coordinated rural health partnerships, strengthening rural communities with technology-enhanced primary care, building a sustainable rural healthcare workforce and investing in technology innovation and cybersecurity enhancements.

This session will dive into what hospital and health system trustees need to know about this program, including potential opportunities and what to expect moving forward during the five-year program.

2:45 – 3 p.m.

Break

3 – 4 p.m.

Patient no longer: Tracking the consumer revolution in healthcare

• Ryan Donohue, CEO, Golden Advisory; Strategic Advisor, NRC Health; and Advisor, The Governance Institute

Healthcare stands at a crossroads: Consumers no longer accept a system that is confusing, costly and unresponsive to their needs. Today’s patients demand respect and influence over their care, seek transparent and manageable costs, and long for a genuine human connection with those who serve them. Consumers and patients alike expect healthcare to function as a true partnership built around accessible, engaging and worthwhile care, all forged over time and held through mutual trust. Together we will explore the evolving expectations of healthcare consumers, uncover a patient-centric framework to reshape the care journey and confront the realities of the access crisis and growing affordability pressures. Participants will leave inspired to embrace the consumer revolution and rehumanize healthcare.

4 p.m.

Adjourn

5:30 – 6:30 p.m.

Cocktail reception | NY Rec & Social Club

(Extra fee)

Join your peers for cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and networking at Turning Stone’s NY Rec & Social Club, upstate New York’s ultimate sports bar. Watch one of the 60 HD screens and bring your competitive spirit to play billiards, shuffleboard, foosball and more. Kick off your night with signature cocktails crafted by their expert mixologists.

7 – 8 a.m.

Breakfast

8 – 9 a.m.

Quality first: How boards make safety the organization’s top priority

• Vikki Choate, DNP, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, CPHQ, CPPS, Principal, Quality, Safety and High Reliability, Huron Consulting Group, Inc.

In this plenary session, board members and executive leaders will learn governance level strategies and practical tactics to directly influence and motivate healthcare organizations to place quality and patient safety as the unequivocal number one objective. Grounded in high-reliability principles and informed by the CMS Patient Safety Structural Measure, this session will highlight what governing board members can and must do to set expectations that sustain organizational focus on safe, high-quality care.

Participants will examine leading board practices for setting clear quality, safety and patient experience goals and incentives to align executive and provider priorities. This session will highlight how boards can dedicate meeting agenda time to meaningful quality and patient safety discussion, how to reinforce the primacy of the organization’s mission and their responsibility to ensure the health system has the resources, infrastructure and leadership capacity required for sustained success. Participants will learn ways to ensure they receive the right data to drive improvement and hear about common challenges boards face when engaging providers in these discussions.

Board members and senior leaders will leave with practical, immediately deployable governance strategies to set direction, motivate leaders and clinicians, and embed quality and patient safety as the organization’s highest priority.

9 – 10 a.m.

AI in healthcare: What’s worked, what hasn’t and how to position your organization for the future

• Steven Berkowitz, MD, Founder and President, SMB Health Consulting

Building on his previous presentations at HTNYS’ trustee conference, Dr. Berkowitz will cut through the hype and review the latest status of AI through an evidence-based lens. In light of the recent HFMA study that found that only 17% of hospitals have a mature AI governance in place, Berkowitz will also discuss how trustees can facilitate the development of a meaningful AI governance structure at the hospital.

During this session, attendees will review:

• AI’s current status;
• best practices for strategic planning and partnering with AI;
• AI with a focus on:
  • the products your organization should consider now;
  • the products that are likely to evolve over the next two years;
  • the challenges of scaling and measuring performance across the organization; and
  • AI as the "great equalizer" for community hospitals.
• how to facilitate the development of an AI governance structure.

10 a.m.

Adjourn