“WOW!”

By Jason M. Newmark, BA, MHA, CRA, FAHRA

One of my favorite AHRA friends loves to shout out one simple, three-letter word when he is excited and/or sees something truly special: WOW! This single exclamation sums up how I am feeling right now about so many happenings around our country and within our association. (Thanks, Foxie, for letting me borrow your word!)

SPORTS:  Lions, and Tigers, and Bears, Oh My!

In the college football world, the Penn State Nittany Lions had a huge upset over Ohio State (sorry OSU fans!) and the Clemson Tigers have had an impressive season so far, with a couple of huge wins in the past few weeks (shout out to Wanda!). But of course, the biggest news in the sports world right now goes to the Bears (ok – I really mean CUBS)! 108 years of waiting is finally over for all of you dedicated Cubs fans – congratulations! Their World Series win came in Game 7, with extra innings and a rain delay. What an exciting way to finish the baseball season – WOW!

WEATHER:  Let it Snow!

Yep, we had snow in October here in New England (up to 6 inches in some locations!). Hopefully this will make for a better ski season than last year. WOW!

HOLIDAYS:  Halloween!

We had “Thing One” and a red Power Ranger running around our house for a few days, and it made my wife and I smile every time we saw them suit up. We also now have two pillowcases’ worth of candy in our house – WOW!

POLITICS:  Presidential Elections

I could write hundreds of words regarding my perspectives on this year’s election, but I will plead the fifth. I would like to give a shout out to Bill Finerfrock and Nathan Baugh from Capitol Associates for sharing their perspectives in the Sept/Oct edition of Radiology Management and again in Link last week. Regardless of how you feel about the outcome of the election, admit it, one word comes to mind: WOW!

NATIONAL RADIOLOGIC TECHNOLOGY WEEK:  Time for Recognition

All this week, we commemorate Roentgen’s discovery of the x-ray on November 8, 1895. More importantly, we take time to recognize all of the individuals working in the medical imaging field for their commitment, dedication, and passion for providing exceptional service to patients on a daily basis.

AHRA’S FALL HIGHLIGHTS

Virtual Conference

Our second annual Virtual Fall Conference, sponsored by Bayer Healthcare, was held October 14-28. Over 200 attendees attended eight pre-recorded and two live sessions, visited a virtual exhibit hall, networked with other members, and interacted with speakers during live Q&A sessions almost every day of the conference. WOW!

Local Area Meetings

Hologic sponsored a New England regional event on 10/25, hosting over 30 attendees. Coming up, Fuji is sponsoring a New Hampshire area meeting on 11/11 with a full day of educational sessions.

RACC (Radiology Administration Certification Commission)

Elections are underway for three RACC positions with four extremely capable and experienced candidates – please remember to vote for your governing body of the CRA credential!

Education Foundation (EF) and AHRA Board Meetings

The EF and AHRA Boards of Directors will meet in person this Friday and Saturday (11/11-11/12) to continue the work of governing our association. The focus of these meetings will be on, (1) reassessment, refinement, and reprioritization of our association’s strategic plan and initiatives, (2) confirmation of our FY17 budgets, and (3) review of the activities of our various committees and organizational liaisons. Over 16 of our elected servant leaders, in collaboration with several members of our outstanding AHRA staff and management, will be spending a weekend together to ensure that our association is financially sound, focused on the right priorities, and is achieving all of our strategic goals. WOW!

My fellow AHRAers, I know I’ve said it a lot, but there is only one word that sums up how I feel about all these highlights from the Fall season….come on and say it with me! WOW!

Jason M. Newmark, BA, MHA, CRA, FAHRA is the president of the 2016-2017 AHRA Board of Directors. He is the vice president, diagnostic services at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, MA. He can be reached at jason.newmark@baystatehealth.org.