To accomplish the Tennessee Hospital Association’s (THA) mission, the association is organized around four key pillars--advocacy, education, products and services, and neutral healthcare forum.
The first pillar is advocacy, THA’s main focus. The association serves as a watchdog on emerging state and federal issues and policies that are of interest to or may affect its diverse membership. THA also serves as the united voice of hospitals and health systems on these issues in the political arena. THA creates legislative proposals that are requested by the membership or determined to be important by association staff in order to support or improve operations and reimbursement of Tennessee hospitals and health systems.
Education focuses on keeping hospital executives, managers, board members and both clinical and non-clinical staffs knowledgeable about the quickly changing aspects of health care, including regulations that hospitals must follow, as well as meeting day-to-day educational needs and requirements. THA’s education programs provide access to well-known experts on all aspects of health care who provide current information and predictions about the future of the healthcare industry.
The goal of the neutral healthcare forum is to provide an opportunity for members to “check their guns at the door” and have reasonable discussions about issues that could divide the hospital industry in the state. THA also builds coalitions and creates opportunities for dialogue on controversial issues with others involved in healthcare financing and delivery. It allows a neutral setting for policy and broad issue debate, which is unique in the increasingly market-based evolution of integrated healthcare delivery systems.
Products and services is a diverse, but vital pillar. It covers all of the various dues-based and fee-based services needed by THA members and offered by the association. It includes areas such as quality improvement, small and rural hospital support, annual surveys, information services and THA Solutions Group.