Industry Events Schedule
2025 Industry Events + Speaking Engagements
38th Annual AHA Rural Healthcare Leadership Conference
From Conflict to Collaboration: A Governance Transformation Story
Presenter: Karma H. Bass, MPH, FACHE, Managing Principal Via Healthcare Consulting | Jill Buhler Rienstra, Chief Governance Officer, Jefferson Healthcare, Port Townsend
This session details how a struggling Critical Access Hospital, plagued by internal conflict and underperformance, transformed into a high-performing organization. Driven by a collaborative board chair and CEO, the hospital overcame governance challenges within a close-knit community. Participants will learn the leadership skills, tools, and strategies—including board retreats and self-assessments—used to achieve this turnaround and how to apply them to improve governance, decision-making, and organizational success.
Event Organizer: American College of Healthcare Executives
Audience: Seasoned C-suite and clinical leaders to post-graduates in their first leadership roles
Date of Presentation: Feb 26, 2025
Time: 8:00 AM – 9:30 AM CT
ACHE 2025 Congress on Healthcare Leadership
The Necessity of Nonprofit Health System Board Evolution in Today’s Rapidly Evolving Healthcare Delivery System: The Successful Journey of Swedish Health Services
Presenter: Karma H. Bass, MPH, FACHE, Managing Principal Via Healthcare Consulting | Guy Hudson, MD, Past CEO
Swedish Health Services
This session offers an inside look at the evolution of Swedish Health Services, a five-hospital integrated system, and its journey to becoming a sophisticated enterprise with diversified governance. Participants will learn how Swedish diversified its board to reflect its community and shift its focus to the continuum of care, improving community trust and caregiver relationships. The session will explore how deeper market insights and enhanced physician engagement at the board level improved effectiveness, including the formation of a Health Equity committee. Attendees will learn how to recruit diverse board members to achieve a more effective board and understand the evolving roles of leaders and board members in improving governance and strategy. This session provides valuable lessons for driving transformation in any healthcare organization.
Event Organizer: American College of Healthcare Executives
Audience: Seasoned C-suite and clinical leaders to post-graduates in their first leadership roles
Date of Presentation: March 24, 2025
Time: 3:15 – 4:15 PM CT
ACHE 2024 Congress on Healthcare Leadership
Facing the Storm Together: How to Build Strong Executive-Board Partnerships while Facing Intractable Challenges
Presenter: Karma H. Bass, MPH, FACHE, Managing Principal Via Healthcare Consulting | Maria G. Hernandez, PhD, President/COO Impact4Health, LLC
Facing existential challenges from workforce issues to financial sustainability, hospitals and health systems strain CEO-board relationships. Amid complexities, boards lack meaningful input, causing cracks in once-amicable relationships. Executive teams, stretched thin, need guidance on engagement without micromanaging. This session equips CEOs and executives to navigate these challenges, addressing micromanagement concerns and building sophisticated boards capable of overseeing progress through tough times.
Event Organizer: American College of Healthcare Executives
Audience: Seasoned C-suite and clinical leaders to post-graduates in their first leadership roles
Date of Presentation: March 26, 2024
Time: 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM CT
43rd Annual Trustees Conference
Governing Inside Healthcare Systems
Presenter: Karma H. Bass, MPH, FACHE, Managing Principal
As most U.S. hospitals are now part of health systems, traditional single-board governance is evolving into complex, multi-tiered structures. This session explores this transformation, using case studies and practical insights to show how clarifying expectations and aligning responsibilities can improve governance and empower boards at all levels.
Event Organizer: Healthcare Association of New York State
Date of Presentation: September 22, 2023
2023 Education Cluster
More than Words: Leveraging Governance and Partnerships to Advance Health Equity
Presenter: Karma H. Bass, MPH, FACHE, Managing Principal | Maria Hernandez, COO, Impact4Health
Event Organizer: American College of Healthcare Executives
Date of Presentation: August 9-10, 2023
43rd Annual Trustees Conference
The Board’s Role in Facing Existential Threats
Presenter: Karma H. Bass, MPH, FACHE, Managing Principal
Event Organizer: Healthcare Association of New York State
Date of Presentation: September 22, 2023
Idaho Association of District Boards of Health Annual Conference
Board Member Governance Education
Presenter: Erica M. Osborne, MPH, Principal
Event Organizer: Idaho Association of District Boards of Health
Date of Presentation: June 9, 2023
Rural Hospital Leadership Conference
How Top Performing Boards Lead: Essential Governance Practices
Presenter: Karma H. Bass, MPH, FACHE, Managing Principal
Event Organizer: Association of Washington Public Hospital Districts/Washington State Hospital Assoc.
Date of Presentation: June 27, 2023
Meet Our Speakers
13th Annual Native American Healthcare Conference
A Fresh Look at Board-Led Strategic Planning
Presenter: Karma H. Bass, MPH, FACHE, Managing Principal
Event Organizer: Native Nation Events
Date of Presentation: June 7, 2023
Webinar | American College of Healthcare Executives
More than Words: Leveraging Governance and Partnerships to Advance Health Equity
Presenter: Karma H. Bass, MPH, FACHE, Managing Principal | Maria Hernandez, COO, Impact4Health
Event Organizer: American College of Healthcare Executives
Date of Presentation: May 18, 2023
Webinar | Association of Washington Public Hospital Districts
Preparing for the Future by Knowing Your Present State: The Importance of Regular Self-Assessment
Presenter: Karma H. Bass, MPH, FACHE, Managing Principal
Event Organizer: Washington State Hospital Assoc.
Date of Presentation: May 16, 2023
Rural Healthcare Symposium
Governance Excellence Workshop—High Performing Boards
Presenter: Karma H. Bass, MPH, FACHE, CEO/Managing Principal
Event Organizer: California Hospital Association
Date of Presentation: April 10, 2023
2023 Congress on Healthcare Leadership
Lessons from the Field: Maturing Medical Group Governance to Align Strategy with Clinical Practice
Presenter: Kara Witalis, MHA, Principal | Tamara Brown, Chief Executive, Providence Medical Group Alaska
Event Organizer: American College of Healthcare Executives
Date of Presentation: March 21, 2023
2023 Congress on Healthcare Leadership
How Effective Governance and a Diverse Board Can Foster Organizational Transformation
Presenter: Karma H. Bass, MPH, FACHE, CEO/Managing Principal | Leatha Merculieff, Senior Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, SEARHC
Event Organizer: American College of Healthcare Executives
Date of Presentation: March 20, 2023
