The date is set! Please reserve October 5, 2017 from 6:00-9:00pm for the 12th Annual Jim Bernstein Health Leadership Fund Dinner supporting the Jim Bernstein Health Leadership Fellows Program. This premier event convenes health professionals and stakeholders from across North Carolina to network and learn from one another and to celebrate and honor past, present, and future contributions in our state’s health sector. To learn more about the event, click here.
The date is set! Please reserve October 6, 2016 from 6:00-9:00pm for the 11th Annual Jim Bernstein Health Leadership Fund Dinner supporting the Jim Bernstein Health Leadership Fellows Program. This premier event convenes health professionals and stakeholders from across North Carolina to network and learn from one another and to celebrate and honor past, present, and future contributions in our state’s health sector.
With a new year, we all consider our resolutions and opportunity to change. Well, the NC Foundation for Advanced Health Programs (NCFAHP) has been giving this a lot of thought in recent years. Our founder, Jim Bernstein, embraced change and the innovation required to bring it to fruition. Many of our “friends and family” encouraged us to change our name, saying: “It’s too hard to remember.” Over the past year, we sent surveys to our partners and friends, held focus groups and at last reached a consensus on a new name. Beginning January 1, 2016, NCFAHP will become the Foundation for Health Leadership and Innovation, with the tagline: Moving People and Ideas into Action. Our website address will also change to foundationhli.org. Thanks to each and every one of you that gave us your time and ideas. We look forward to staying in touch and continuing to live up to the challenge our new name suggests and the legacy of Jim Bernstein.
Aging in North Carolina is another topic we have spent a fair amount of time discussing with our board and staff. Much attention has been given to the “silver tsunami” yet we are still woefully unprepared to care for the very individuals in our country that have so gallantly contributed to our own well-being. It reminds me of James Taylor’s song, “Secret of Life”:
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The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time. Any fool can do it, there ain’t nothing to it. Nobody knows how we got to the top of the hill. But since we’re on our way down we might as well enjoy the ride.
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As we change, age and consider what this means, how can we help our seniors “enjoy the ride”? Here are some of our state’s facts on aging:
Attention to population health provides a perfect opportunity for us to consider the “ride” and not the crash!! What are the things we can do in our communities that reflect value not just loss? In February 2010, The Economist published an article “The Silver Tsunami”, discussing the management of an aging workforce. Small changes in production lines helped maintain productivity. Designing and modifying housing to support progression in age is critical to aging in place. A report prepared for The Duke Endowment: “Aging in the Carolinas: Demographic Highlights, Programmatic Challenges & Opportunities” presents a thorough review of our opportunities. Jim Johnson concludes in the final paragraph of his report:
“What is needed in this space is a centralized hub for successful aging in place ideas and practices. Such an entity should serve five specific but interrelated functions: mobilize collective ambition, leverage intellectual capital, facilitate new venture creation training, foster social innovation, serve as a clearinghouse for information dissemination, and engage in succession planning.”
As we pause to honor 2015 and the new year, let’s not forget the shoulders we stand on in order to face the future.
-Maggie Sauer
CEO & President
A warm thank you to everyone who made the 10th annual Jim Bernstein Health Leadership Fund Dinner a success. Due to the support of our friends and partners, we were able to raise over $55,000 for our Fellows program.
The Jim Bernstein Community Health Fellowship is a two-year leadership training program that supports emerging health advocates in rural and underserved areas in North Carolina. The purpose of the Fellows program is to foster strong leadership and enable collaboration.
The dinner, sponsored by Mission Health, convened 325 of the state’s health and community leaders to celebrate the five graduating Bernstein Fellows and honor the legacy of the Foundation’s founder, Jim Bernstein.
We’d like to recognize retiring program Director, John H. Frank, for his leadership in the program since 2010. During his time as Director, he strengthened the curriculum, increased the number of programmatic partnerships, and guided thirteen Fellows through completion of the fellowship. The Foundation is extremely fortunate and grateful for John’s leadership and dedication to the Fellows Program.
This year, Gene Cochrane, President of the Duke Endowment, was the recipient of the Career Achievement Award, a testament to his many years of engaging with community health issues.
Ron Gaskins, a former Bernstein Fellow, was awarded the Distinguished Fellow Award, honoring his work as the Executive Director of Access East Inc., a not-for-profit organization that strives to increase access to care for underserved populations across Eastern North Carolina.
Through the generosity of our sponsors who purchased mentor tickets, we included 39 students from UNC-Chapel Hill, Duke University, Campbell University and East Carolina University at this year’s dinner. The mentor tickets reflect our commitment to fostering young health leaders.
We are grateful for the continued support from our partners in making this event special every year. Save the date for next year’s dinner on October 6, 2016!
The Foundation would like to congratulate the Bernstein Fellows Class of 2013-2015 on their completion of the fellowship program.
Our graduated Fellows include:
The Foundation is pleased to welcome its newest class of Bernstein Fellows. Five dynamic professionals will participate in the fellowship program through October 2017, they are:
Pete McQuiston: Director of Food and Nutrition at Swain Community Hospital in Bryson City, NCWe’d like to thank retiring program Director, John H. Frank, for his leadership in the program since 2010. During his time as Director, he strengthened the curriculum, increased the number of programmatic partnerships, and guided thirteen Fellows through completion of the fellowship. The Foundation is extremely fortunate and grateful for John’s leadership and dedication to the Fellows Program.
We also welcome Tom Bacon, DrPH, as the new Director of the Fellows Program. Tom is the retired Executive Associate Dean and NC AHEC Program Director, and he continues to work as a part-time Research Fellow at the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research at UNC-Chapel Hill. The Foundation is excited and grateful for Tom’s commitment and leadership in continuing and developing the Fellows program.
The 9th Annual Jim Bernstein Health Leadership Fund Dinner & Lecture took place on Thursday, October 9th, in Chapel Hill, NC.
Over 300 health professionals from all over the state came together for an evening of food and conversation, and to honor the Bernstein Fellows graduating class and the Career Achievement Award Recipient.
The keynote speaker was Jonathan Oberlander, PhD, who spoke about the Affordable Care Act and its impact on populations in North Carolina and around the country.
Four Bernstein Fellows completed their fellowships earlier in the year and were presented with plaques by John Frank, director of the Bernstein Fellows Program.
The 2014 Fellows class included Melanie Batchelor, Allison Lipscomb, Peter Rives, and Tim Smith.
The 2014 Career Achievement Award was awarded to Thomas Bacon, PhD, retired director of NC AHEC. Dr. Bacon was presented the award for his years of service and dedication to preparing health care leaders to serve rural areas in North Carolina, and gave words of thanks for the continued work being done.
Jim Bernstein played a key role in creating many of the rural health centers in North Carolina, with the belief that health care is community-based. He worked to ensure that community members are the owners and drivers of their own health programs, and began the Jim and Sue Bernstein Health Leadership Scholarships.
Scholarship recipients are selected by the Jim Bernstein Health Leadership Committee, a committee made up of members of Foundation’s Board of Directors. This year the committee sought to strengthen the relationships between Foundation and the scholars and wanted to recognize the important contributions that are made to the community by scholars’ families and health centers.
To do this, Maggie Sauer, President and CEO, along with members of the Foundation’s Board of Directors, took the opportunity to visit nearly all of the scholars in their home communities. They were able to meet several parents and staff members at the rural health clinics involved in the scholarship program, and hear the stories of how this student came to be nominated for the scholarship. A member of the Board of Directors joined her on most visits to present the award, with Olson Huff, committee chair, participating in the visits in western North Carolina, and Tom Irons, chair of the Board, participating in the visits in Mt. Olive.
This year, nine individuals were awarded Jim and Sue Bernstein Health Center Scholarships to help offset the cost of their higher education. Eight of this year’s scholars are children of employees of a rural health center, and one scholar is a current employee of a center.
The following Rural Health Centers and scholars were represented this year:
Celo Health Center……………………………………………Caleb Stevenson
Hot Springs Health Program………………………………Travis Rice
Black River Health Services………………………………..Moriah McTavish
Rural Health Group – Roanoke Rapids………………….Elarnta Darden
Rural Health Group – Enfield………………………………Breanna Joyner-Foreman
Rural Health Group – Enfield………………………………Keanna Joyner-Foreman
Mt. Olive Family Medicine Center………………………Ali Marie Eakes
Mt. Olive Family Medicine Center………………………Rose Brock
Benson Area Medical Center……………………………..Katherine Burnette
Every year the North Carolina Foundation of Advanced Health Programs hosts a premiere event that brings together health leaders from all over the state of North Carolina for an evening of dining and networking. Up to 300 health professionals attend this event that honors the work of Jim Bernstein and supports the Jim Bernstein Health Leadership Fellows program.
This year’s event will feature Jonathan Oberlander as the keynote speaker, and Tom Bacon as the recipient of the 2014 Career Achievement Award.
Please join us for this exciting event, which includes a reception and dinner/lecture at the Friday Center in Chapel Hill, NC on the evening of October 9th, 2014.