Launching the 2019 Annual Appeal

By Scott Lehman, BSHP, RT(R), CRA

The 2019 AHRA Education Foundation (EF) Annual Appeal is now in full swing! The goal of the appeal is to raise funds to support the many scholarships and grants provided through the EF. These include the Annual Meeting Scholarship, Osborn Scholarship, Broadley Scholarship, Kathryn Keeler Memorial Scholarship, Ed Yoder Memorial Scholarships, and the Canon and AHRA Putting Patients First Program. These scholarships and grants provide members an opportunity to participate in many different educational opportunities.

To help as many members as possible, the EF has set a financial goal of $30,000. A team of 16 committee members will be reaching out to you for support to help us reach our goal. With a growing AHRA membership of over 5,500 imaging professionals, our committee members will not be able to contact everyone so we encourage you to please consider making a donation online at www.ahra.org/Donate.

You might ask, “Why should I donate to the 2019 Annual Appeal?” These funds enable members to attend AHRA sponsored events or obtain educational resources even when their own facilities have reduced or eliminated their travel and education budgets.

I was fortunate enough to receive one of the AHRA Annual Meeting Scholarships in 2017. Without this scholarship, I would not have been able to attend the Annual Meeting because my facility, like many others, does not offer an annual travel budget.

At the Annual Meeting, I had the opportunity to network with my fellow peers across the country, to discuss the latest healthcare issues facing imaging managers and to share best practices to solve those issues. I also had the opportunity to gain valuable knowledge from presentations given by imaging professionals on topics directly related to my profession. Finally, I was able to interact with various healthcare vendors who provided the latest technology and products in an ever-changing healthcare market. AHRA provides its members many benefits including the Annual Meeting and many other educational opportunities presented throughout the year.

Please be on the lookout for future emails and articles with progress updates from some of our committee members and thank you for supporting the 2019 EF Annual Appeal! We cannot do it without you!

Scott Lehman BSHP, RT (R), CRA is a committee member of the AHRA Education Foundation (EF) and can be reached at scott.lehman@hcahealthcare.com.