I am thrilled to have the opportunity to serve as your next Washington State Hospital Association president. What an honor to lead a passionate, smart, dedicated, mission-driven staff in serving passionate, smart, dedicated, mission-driven members!
The challenges facing the health care system in a quickly transforming world are substantial, but so are the opportunities. We have many years of history together and a long list of accomplishments. This history is important, but we cannot rest on our laurels. The world is changing and health care is changing, and the speed of this change requires us to move faster, be more nimble and embrace innovation.
Our communities and our patients are counting on us to lead the way. Mostly, they don’t know and will never know who WSHA is, but the work we do touches their lives in material ways. Every time a grandfather with Parkinson’s gets care via telemedicine and is saved an exhausting trip to his physician; every time a mom is not induced early and instead delivers a full-term, healthy baby who goes right home; every time a physician learns the patient she is treating already has a prescription for opioids; every time a low-income dad of a girl with a broken arm knows she can get care; and every time a patient who had sepsis goes home to his family instead of leaving the family in grief, they have the hospital association and its members to thank.
It is an exciting time for WSHA to be leading and shaping the future of health care. We have much to do, but by coming together, we can do it. In fact, only by coming together can we accomplish much of what’s before us.
The place we come together is at our Washington State Hospital Association.
And the future looks bright.
Sincerely,
Cassie Sauer
WSHA Executive Vice President and incoming President and CEO
cassies@wsha.org