The CHEST Board of Regents met in mid-June for its first in-person meeting in more than a year. It served as a lovely reminder that not only are in-person meetings a more effective way to conduct the business of the College, but that the members of the board have really missed seeing each other without an intervening screen and webcam.
First on the agenda was a recap by the CHEST presidents of their recent strategic retreat. Most relevant to the organization was a recommendation that we revise the manner by which the CHEST strategic plan is set. If the last year has taught us anything, it is that planning for the future is essential, but we must also allow for flexibility when external forces change what the future holds. Accordingly, we will be replacing the former 5-year planning cycle with a more nimble annual review. From a member’s standpoint, this means that you will see more frequent revisions of those plans (Strategic Plan, American College of Chest Physicians).
Over the last year, the CHEST Foundation has sponsored a series of “listening tours,” which has allowed our members and leaders to hear from many of our patients who feel disenfranchised from the medical system because of struggles with communication, finances, and access, among other issues. The willingness of our patients to share their struggles with us has inspired the Foundation to try to make inroads into these, better navigating these barriers. In direct response to what we’ve heard, the team is designing programs to help our caregivers focus on the psychological, social, environmental, and personal factors that impact our patients’ ability to obtain the critical health care that all need and deserve.
Our ability to execute and deliver such programs is contingent on successful fundraising efforts. Ian Nathanson, president of the CHEST Foundation, reviewed fundraising progress with the board. Over these long months, donors, participants, and friends of the Foundation have participated in virtual events designed to foster engagement and comradery through this difficult time. This June, we held a virtual and in-person Belmont Stakes event that has shown that we can adapt to challenging times and that our membership is still incredibly supportive of the Foundation’s mission. Thank you to all of you who participated in or donated to the CHEST Foundation over the last year!
The last 18 months have had a marked impact on our ability to provide the live, interactive learning experiences for which CHEST is known, but efforts in the remote learning space have yielded impressive increases in both the number of remote learning opportunities and the breadth of our members who are using them. As one example, the number of CHEST podcast views quadrupled last year compared with 2019. Although CHEST reopened its headquarters for live learning opportunities this summer, and we are looking to move significantly back toward “business as usual” with CHEST 2021 in Orlando this October, we will also be carefully considering how best to incorporate the lessons learned in the remote offering space as the world reopens in the coming year.
Neil Freedman, chair of CHEST’s Health Advocacy and Policy Committee (HPAC), presented a review of the committee’s work since its inception just over 1 year ago. In addition to putting together a multi-society Technical Expert Panel on the use and coverage of noninvasive ventilation, HPAC worked with 18 other societies in drafting a response to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s draft on coverage for CPAP therapy for obstructive sleep apnea. For members interested in getting more involved in CHEST’s advocacy efforts, we are seeking self-nominations for members of several working groups (nominations to open soon); in addition, there will be sessions during CHEST 2021 focused on our advocacy efforts and how you can participate, as well as best practices in the advocacy space.
Several months ago, the Exeter Group was asked by the board to analyze how CHEST can expand our organizational efforts in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Representatives from the Exeter Group joined the meeting to provide board members with preliminary data. Limited interviews with both members and staff have begun to provide a picture of where CHEST has already made some progress in this space, and where our ongoing challenges and opportunities for improvement still exist; it is clear that there is a wide range of opinions on these complicated issues. As our consultants are only 1 month into this 6-month phase of the project, we expect a great deal more information to come, with a plan for ongoing surveys of and focus groups for our members; when you receive one of these requests, please make every effort to complete it as candidly as possible, regardless of your viewpoint. The consulting work will culminate with a final presentation to the board just before the annual meeting in the fall, with specific recommendations on organizational actions that will be used to implement a multiyear DEI plan.
The Governance Committee, represented by Stephanie Levine, made several recommendations to revision of the CHEST Foundations bylaws. Specifically, the new bylaws permit Trustees of the Foundation to be re-elected to positions on the board beyond the current 6-year maximum term after several years away from the position. The position of President-Designate of the Foundation will also be eliminated, allowing for a 2-year term for the President-Elect of the Foundation and a 2-year term for the President of the Foundation.
One of the main challenges for an organization of 19,000 people is to ensure that we can engage as many of our members as possible. The NetWorks structure has historically been the primary mechanism for members to pursue initial leadership opportunities within the College. CHEST Past-President Stephanie Levine previously established a working group to revisit NetWork structure in an effort to ensure ample opportunities for engagement within CHEST. The final agenda item at this board meeting was a discussion about restructuring the CHEST NetWorks to create mechanisms that will help us balance the needs of the College with the energy of the volunteers to maximize productivity and engagement of all parties. The plan would increase the number of leadership positions available within the NetWork structure. While the final nomenclature and distribution of NetWorks amongst the pillars has yet to be finalized, the board was supportive of this modification and expects implementation in the next 12 months, with details to be provided to the membership as they are fleshed out.
After a full day’s agenda, CHEST President Steve Simpson adjourned the board meeting. The Board of Regents will meet remotely in August (the summer call has always been a remote meeting) and again in Orlando in October.