Effective Board Governance Mary Beth Loucks-Sorrell Clear Connections, LLC

Governance The Health Center Governing Board maintains appropriate authority to oversee the operations of the Health Center. The Board is responsible for: Holding monthly meetings Approval of the health center grant application Selection/dismissal and performance evaluation of the health center CEO

Governance cont’d Selection of services to be provided and the health center hours of operations Measuring and evaluating the organization’s progress in meeting its annual and long-term programmatic and financial goals Establishment of general policies for the health center

Board Composition Governing board is composed of individuals, a majority (51%) of whom are being served by the health center and, who as a group, represent the individuals being served by the center (race, ethnicity, gender).

Board Composition cont’d Has at least 9, but no more than 25 members No more than one half (50%) of the non- consumer/patient board members may derive more than 10% of their annual income from the health care industry Remaining non-consumer members of the board shall be representative of the community in which the center’s service area is located and shall be selected for their expertise

Conflict of Interest Policy Health center bylaws or written corporate board-approved policy include provisions that prohibit conflict of interest by board members, employees, consultants and those who furnish goods or services to the health center No board member shall be an employee of the health center or an immediate family member of an employee

Conflict of Interest cont’d Either the bylaws or written, corporate, board-approved policy should address: Disclosure of business and personal relationships Participation in board decisions Providing services to the health center Political activity Accepting gifts and gratuities

Keys to Board Effectiveness Information Questions Decisions

Information Boards work best when the directors or trustees come to board meetings well- informed because staff have provided them with the tools they need to engage in meaningful and generative discussions.

Questions Effective boards ask insightful questions during their meetings, questions that are based on the information they have received in advance, filtered through the context of each board member’s experience.

Decisions Effective boards make decisions. The members are energized by the nature of the discussions and welcome the opportunity to contribute their knowledge, experience, and expertise to the deliberative process.

Individual Effectiveness Boards will never be effective unless the people they’re made up of are effective.

Improving Engagement Become part of the organization’s work outside of the formal board meetings

How to Get Started It is incumbent on the board member to let staff leadership know: How much they can be engaged What aspects of the organization’s work interests them How they think they can contribute to advance the organization’s mission

Going From Good to Great Are CHCs more likely to be high performing across the board, or to be very strong in some areas and not in others? Is greatness singular or does it take multiple forms? Whose view of greatness are we talking about? What are the criteria for greatness? Is greatness equivalent to compliance?

Attributes of Great CHCs Patient-centeredness Partnership and linkage More focus on outcomes Patient care is managed The right people are employed and retained Clinical practice knows and follows evidence-based practice

Questions? Mary Beth Loucks-Sorrell Clear Connections, LLC