Strategic Planning and Board Development

Recently, the Health Care Council has opened discussions with representatives of the Orange County Business Council, with SCORE, Counselors to America’s Small Businesses (Sponsored by the U.S. Small Business Administration), and with Executive Coaches, an organization of volunteer retired business executives, to initiate a new round of strategic planning.  In part the strategic planning activities will be supported by an Area Health Education Center grant, and a new three-year grant from the California Wellness Foundation, most of which will be used to pay staff salaries.

In common with many non-profit organizations, the Health Care Council is finding it increasingly difficult to maintain a viable funding base, and to find adequate resources to carry out its mission and goals.   Increasingly, efforts to obtain grants result in cold refusals, or, more often, no response at all.   As competition for funds becomes more and more fierce, and many funding sources restrict their grants to specific geographic areas or narrow areas of interest, an advocacy organization such as ours  is often on the outside, looking in.  Only a few foundations, such as TCWF (the California Wellness Foundation) perceive the value of maintaining the community infrastructure represented by an organization such as the Council.

With the new fiscal year beginning July 1, 2006 we are faced with the decisions inherent in creating our annual budget.  Can we keep our staff of four people?  Can we afford to renew the lease on the office? Can we pay for postage, telephones, insurance, travel, audit, and a city of Santa Ana business license?  And most important, can we continue to carry out our programs and accomplish our mission?  This year, we need to answer some additional questions.  Do we have a clear sense of the mission of the organization?  Do we have agreement of our Board of Directors on the goals and objectives in our Strategic Plan?  Are there other objectives we should include?

In our first four Strategic Planning sessions earlier this year, the Board of Directors reaffirmed the organization’s mission statement: to promote access to improved health care for all Orange County residents through unified efforts to identify and address areas of need through research, collaboration, education and advocacy.

In addition, the Board of Directors approved job descriptions for officers, board members and members at large.  Then, with the help of our consultants, Virginia Fowkes, AHEC Consultant, a Senior Research Scholar and Associate Director of the Center for Education in Family and Community Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine, John Pricz of Executive Coaches and Maclay Burt, a consultant and former Health Care Council treasurer, the Board hammered out the following goals and objectives:

Goal # 1 -- ADVOCATE FOR BETTER HEALTH CARE
INCREASING PUBLIC AWARENESS

Objective # 1.1  -  From 2006 to 2009 - Sustain health care advocacy activities to maintain the safety net for the underserved in Orange County. (TCWF)  Note: This objective is in process

Objective # 1.2  -  Review current mission statements, vision statement and goals for the year. (AHEC)  

Note: This objective was achieved as of January 2006.

Objective # 1.3  - Interview candidates for the Orange County Board of Supervisors to determine their attitudes regarding health care needs.  Note: This objective was recommended by Jean Forbath, and four of the eight candidates were interviewed at the May 2006 Board Meeting.  The others were asked for written responses.

Goal # 2 – SUPPORT HEALTH PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION

Objective # 2.1  -  By June 30, 2006, review the federal Model AHEC criteria for the Orange County AHEC and determine the strengths and weaknesses of the Health Care Council’s ability to meet each criterion. (AHEC)

Note: This objective has been achieved as of March 2006.

Objective # 2.2  -  Review current partnerships with local health professions training schools and determine what new partnerships, if any, need to be added.  (AHEC)

Note: This objective is in process.

Objective # 2.3  -  Develop a stronger relationship with the primary care residency training programs at UCI to develop community based training opportunities.  (AHEC)

Note: This objective is in process.

Objective # 2.4  -  Work with Virginia Fowkes, representative of California AHEC Central Office to refine board development and Orange County program mission. (AHEC)

Note: This objective is in process.

Goal # 3 --  ENSURE VIABILITY –

THROUGH FUNDRAISING AND BOARD DEVELOPMENT

Objective # 3.1  -  By  12/31/2008 - Support the development of a strategic plan and a business plan. (TCWF) 

Note: This objective is in process.

Objective # 3.2  -  By 12/31/2006 – Draft a 3 – 5 year strategic plan for the Health Care Council. (AHEC) 

Note: This objective is in process.

Objective # 3.3  -  By 12/31/2008 – Strengthen capacity through the recruitment of at least two board members representing the business community. (TCWF) Note: This objective is in process.

Objective # 3.4  -  Review current board structure and decide the type of board Orange County  AHEC will have over the next 3 – 5 years.  (AHEC)   Note: This objective was achieved as of March 2006.

Objective # 3.5  -  Review existing board membership against the federal AHEC criteria and determine if new members need to be added. (AHEC) Note: This objective was achieved as of March 2006.

Objective # 3.6  -  Develop job descriptions for board members and educate members on their responsibilities and on the local AHEC, statewide AHEC and national AHEC network.

Note: This objective was achieved as of March 2006.

Objective # 3.7 -  Determine program areas for future funding and how to proceed in applying for future funding.  (AHEC)

Note: This objective was achieved as of April 2006

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