“It is the responsibility of every human being to aspire to do something worthwhile, to make the world a better place than the one we found.”
— Albert Einstein
True servant leadership isn’t about titles, control or attention. It lies in inspiring others to embrace a purpose beyond themselves by uniting a team in pursuit of a shared goal and making the world a better place.
In ways large and small, HFMA members personify this every day. Whether it’s helping patients manage their hospital bills, creating a capital plan that expands access to care, improving workflow efficiency to control costs or strengthening an organization’s financial stability, our work always comes back to one goal: making things better. Better for our patients, our profession, our health systems and for society overall.
That is why Aspire is a central component of my HFMA Chair’s theme, Lead Now (Learn/Embrace/Aspire/Deliver/Network/Opportunity/Will). During this time of unprecedented industry change, all healthcare finance leaders must embrace these responsibilities.
Aspire involves thinking beyond boundaries and directing our energy to a bigger vision that challenges, unites and pushes us to achieve more than we imagined possible. We see a powerful example in our HFMA Texas Lone Star Chapter. They aspired, far beyond conventional boundaries, to help lay the groundwork for Texas de Peru (texasdeperu.org), a non-profit organization that has served about 3,000 patients in the high Andes of Peru, near Machu Picchu, since its founding in 2013.
Phillip McCollough, vice president of provider sales for Optum, and a long-time HFMA Texas Lone Star Chapter member, suggested to me that HFMA’s role could not be understated.
“Without HFMA, there would be no Texas de Peru,” he said. “The concept was conceived, shaped and initially funded by HFMA Lone Star.”
Kevin Briggs, Texas de Peru’s cofounder and leader — also an HFMA member — told me that four of the organization’s cofounders are Lone Star Chapter past presidents or committee members. Their first medical supply drive was organized as a chapter membership initiative, and at least one HFMA member has served on every mission trip. Further, individual contributions — many from HFMA members nationwide — continue to fund a significant portion of its work.
This is leadership in action, profoundly making a measurable difference for underserved families. And Briggs and his colleagues continue to aspire to make an even greater impact through more medical missions, new clinical service lines and academic institution partnerships to develop the next generation of clinicians.
This spirit of continuous improvement is exactly what purpose-driven leadership looks like. In today’s challenging healthcare finance environment, we can all draw inspiration from HFMA members who are aspiring to make things better — whether in the mountains of Peru or in the workspace next to ours.
What are your aspirations? How will HFMA help you achieve them? Look no further than your local HFMA chapter to see how the Association is committed to supporting your professional aspirational goals.
Ultimately, when we aspire together, we lead with purpose and will Lead Now.
