HMH Chairman one of First Hospital Trustees to Receive Education Certification from IHA

Marc Jensen, Chairman of the Horn Memorial Hospital Board of Directors, was one of 20 Iowa hospital trustees to become the first "graduates" of the Iowa Hospital Association's Trustee Education Certification Program. The trustees were recognized on May 4 at the IHA Governance Forum held in West Des Moines.


Photo: Joe Smith, Chair of the IHA Board and Marc Jensen, Chair of the HMH Board

"Every hospital needs engaged, informed and vital board members to function as an integral part of the hospital leadership team," said Joe Smith, CEO of Boone County Hospital and Chair of the IHA Board, who presented the certificates. "To help make that happen, IHA launched its Trustee Education Certification Program in 2010."

Through this certification program, IHA has provided a framework to support Iowa hospitals in developing highly-effective board members. Goals of the program include:

Helping hospitals use governance best practices.

Promoting the coordination of care and the best use of resources.

Demonstrating to community stakeholders that Iowa hospitals are dedicated to accountability and transparency and are governed at the highest level of excellence.

In recent years there has been an increasing emphasis placed on good board governance. This not only involves understanding basic not-for-profit board ethics but it requires knowledge of the health care industry. The Iowa Hospital Association has made key programs available to hospital trustees in the state of Iowa with 25 additional trustees working towards certification in the near future. Although Horn Memorial has only one trustee who has completed this formal certification, the entire board takes part in an aggressive education program provided by Horn Memorial, which is uncommon with many hospital boards at this time.  Horn Memorial Hospital and the communities it serves are the beneficiaries of the intense interest the trustees have shown in board education.