HealthManagement, Volume 14, Issue 5, 2012
42ND ORDINARY GENERAL ASSEMBLY
16/11/2012, DUSSELDORF, GERMANY
President of EAHM, Mr. Heinz Kölking welcomed members to the General Assembly. This year’s agenda and the minutes
from the 41st Ordinary General Assembly were unanimously approved. After this it was time for Mr. Kölking’s EAHM activity report. The objective of this report is to highlight the most important issues and special developments since the last meeting in Dusseldorf 2011.
Activity Report
The President began by informing the General Assembly that there have been three Executive Committee meetings (Brussels, Turin and Paris) and the Board has met twice (Paris and Dusseldorf). Moving on to discuss the main activities of the past year, Mr. Kölking explained that the EAHM’s major activities have revolved around the economic situation in Europe and Greece in particular. As we are all aware, we intended to hold our congress in Greece and all parties were willing to work hard but earlier in the year the difficult decision was made to cancel the congress. Kölking stressed that it would have been irresponsible to continue as there were too many indications from potential participants that there would not be a sufficient number of delegates or sufficient support from the local industry.
The President added that the recent escalation of the financial situation shows that the right decision was made. The consequences are painful for both the Greek and European association and the EAHM is doing everything possible to make these consequences bearable for all. The Executive Committee will discuss this matter further at the next meeting as will the Presidium in December. He stressed that we need to reflect on the way in which we organise our congresses in the future so we can negate the risks.
Kolking continued his report thanking Marc Hastert and the Luxembourg association for offering to host the smaller 2013 congress. Preparation is already in full swing. This will be followed by the congress in Berlin in 2014. The situation has put a large workload on the shoulders of the Scientific Subcommittee and the Subcommittee on European Affairs (SCEA). The President also took this opportunity to thank the SCEA for their hard work in preparing this year’s Cross-Border Healthcare Seminar and believes it was a success with high calibre speakers and content. The results of the seminar will help the EAHM with its future work.
Moving on to economic matters, the President remarks how the EAHM
is directly dependent on trends in countries that support our association.
There are changes (in terms and conditions) and we need to make sure that
national level changes have an impact on EU level. He used the example of
Sweden and the fact that the national association ceased to exist overnight.
Organisations like the EAHM need to keep up with the tempo of the time. On a
positive note Mr. Kolking used his activity report to announce the re-election of
Mr. Willy Heuschen as Secretary General of the EAHM. As the previous term had
ended, the association invited candidates and interviewed an applicant in
Paris. The Board decided the decision should fall on the Presidium and shortly after
Mr.Heuschen was offered, and accepted the post.
The President concluded his report reiterating the important role EAHM has to play in Europe. Although in one sense we are in the background, we can also influence and it is worthwhile to communicate; a social Europe is far more important than money and is something worth fighting for.
Accounts for 2011 and Economic Plan for 2013
Secretary General, Mr. Willy Heuschen presented the accounts and
economic plan for 2013. He explained that the 2011 budget approved by the
General Assembly envisaged a surplus of €4,050 but 2011 ended with a deficit of €3,928.93. The reasons for this
discrepancy can be explained partly by the lower actual revenues compared to
those estimated in the 2011 budget. This relates back to the lack of revenue
from the congress as well as a lower income from the partnership with companies
in the medical-social sector.
Heuschen highlighted the positive impact of the new industry partnerships on our long-term strategy and thanked partners Ecclesia and Becton Dickinson for the fruitful and enriching exchange. He also took this opportunity to announce that a third partnership has been signed with Arcadis.
Despite the deficit for the year 2011, the Secretary General was happy to declare that the EAHM is financially stable. The remaining balance of unpaid contributions has been reduced by €3,116.85 compared to 2010 and now stands at €23,126.14 for the years 2010 and 2011. Unlike previous years, these contributions are recoverable. He also highlights that we have had no growth in capital in previous years. It has decreased by 3.09% compared to 2010. This reduction greatly affects the balance sheet and it goes without saying that we must be careful to avoid future decline.
Moving to the economic plan for 2013 and new rates for membership
fees, Mr. Heuschen told the General Assembly that the board proposes to set
fees for ordinary members based on those of 2012 indexed linearly from 3%. This
increase is necessary to cope with the increase in prices. In addition, an
increase of €100 is proposed to adapt the annual fee for associate
members.
He explained that the EAHM are working closely with the Federation of
Hospitals Luxembourg to ensure that the 2013 conference is a success. Knowing that
the organisers are already paying a deposit of € 6000 in 2012, we can estimate a revenue
of € 10,000 from
the congress. Concerning revenue related to the congress, the Board will adapt
the existing financial settlement in order to achieve a better distribution of
income, especially in relation to the years when congresses did not take place.
Also in the economic plan for 2013 is the goal to find three
additional partners. There are real opportunities to achieve this goal and the
estimated revenue is like last year €60,000.
On the expenditure side, the proposed budget
is the same as the previous year apart from a few minor adjustments due to the
increase in prices. As extraordinary expenses, €3000 will be used to reimburse the
Greek Association for the deposit paid for the 2012 Congress, which had to be
cancelled. €7,000 has also been set aside for new activities after
the success of the IT seminars.
Membership
On a positive note, the EAHM welcomed a new associate member.
After successful collaboration in the past the General Assembly unanimously
agreed to accept the Luxembourg Association IUIL into the European Association
of Hospital Managers as an associate member.
There was however, also some sad
news. After a long process of reflection the Turkish Association was proposed
for exclusion from the association. This decision was not taken lightly and is not because they cannot
pay their membership fees (it is not our policy to exclude those in financial difficulty)
but there was no other option than to exclude. This action was agreed by the
General Assembly.
The last two items on the agenda involved presentations. The
first came from Mr. Marc Hastert who introduced the 2013 EAHM in Luxembourg. He
explained the topic and general programme and detailed the next steps in
preparation. He concluded his presentation asking all members to publicise the
congress within their national associations.
Our latest industry partner
Arcadis then took to the floor to introduce themselves and their services. Leo
Van der Kemp described the EAHM and Arcadis partnership as a “perfect match” and
expressed how much he is looking forward to working with the association.
With
no questions from the floor Mr. Kolking closed the meeting informing members
that the next General Assembly will be held at the 23rd Congress of the EAHM in
Luxembourg, November 28th 2012.