HealthManagement, Volume 10, Issue 3 / 2008
The ADH (Association desDi rec teurs d’Hôpitaux) isconstantly questioningthe various ways of go ver -ning, sketching out healthcare“leadership skills”, developing hospitalexe cutives’ proficiency, supportingadjustment to ongoingreforms…
Through education programs, collective thinking, professional and institutional partnership, ADH is committed to guiding hospital directors in challenging situations and providing answers to the ques - tion: How to manage for today and tomorrow?
ADH is a professional society, founded in 1961, gathering close half hospital executives in France (1,200 subscribers out of 2,900) .
Its composition is fully representative of the general body of hospital executives, according to geo - gra phi cal, generational, and sta - tutory criteria.
Among ADH subscribers, 34% run institutions (Chief executives, “Ge - ne ral hospital directors”, District Health Agency directors), 60% are adjunct directors and 6% study at ENSP (Ecole nationale de Santé publique).
Missions : Advancement, Protection and Guidance
ADH is dedicated to promoting the hospital director profession, defending its rights and specificities, and devising proposals concerning healthcare policy and mana ge ment.
Those fundamental goals are fulfilled through various activities :
education programs and seminars institutional and professional partnership (national and inter - national) health policy and reforms supporting and monitoring
The Association is ruled by a Direc torate composed of thirty members, whose board is in char - ge of strategic fields (education, current issues, communication, internatio nal affairs…). It is led by President Jean-Luc Chassaniol.
Network
ADH ensures respect of its members’ religious, philosophical, po - litical, and unionist beliefs. It provi desmany resources to the whole community of hospital directors:
A national structure and district sections in each region of France A proactive international pro gram A communication system (DH database, yearly directory, Website, bimonthly review – 5000 prints) Attendance at major events (national meetings - Hopital Expo, international congresses – FIH…)
Education
National events : “New governance” (2004), “Change mana - gement” (2005), “Sustainable Management” (2006) Regional seminars : crisis communications, sanitary risks, stra - tegy, work sociology… MH+ department: focused on chief executives (decision-making, talent detection…) Peer-coaching
Collective Thinking
Working groups, research, surveys : ADH produces useful references that help shaping hospital directors’identity.
Référentiel métier : professional guideline devising the function of hospital director, based on survey Grande cause fraternité : contributionto the national campaign on public service’s founding value National survey on Hospital Directors’evaluation : conducted in 2006, this investigation examined the state system of competence assessment
Partner of Public Authorities
ADH helped create a Mana ge ment Institute for Hospital Directors in the future High Studies in Public Health School. ADH is also involved in the major public health issues, for instance the Avian flu State committee or the National Health organization Plan 2007-
2012. Furthermore, it contributes to building links with other high civil servants body (National Edu - cation, Research…)
ADH joined EAHM in January 2006. The Association was introduced to the Board during the EAHM Dublin Congress in 2006.
By getting involved in the Euro pean community of hospital exe cu tives, ADH seeks to improve its own members’ practice by re feren cingthe variety of health ma na gement cultures, generating partner ships and joint experiences, and sharing views on public health issues. Accordingly, it wishes to get French public health executives specificities and values acknowledged.
Author:
Jean-Luc Chassaniol,
President of the Association of Hospital Directors, France
E-mail:
