As we were winding down this past year, I asked some friends what one word best describes 2020. Responses included: Hellacious. Unprecedented. Heartache. Confusion. Fear. Disruption. Apocalyptic. Omnishambles (British slang). Dumpsterfire (I know, two words). While these descriptions seemed on target, other responses were more provocative, including challenging, eye-opening, revealing, humbling, and life-changing.
However you describe or choose to remember 2020, I hope you will focus on the positive, on how much you have learned and grown, how much we have to be grateful for, and on the continued and steady growth and progress of our students, our academic programs, and of our great association.
At AUPHA, 2020 might also be remembered by a handful of important numbers, including:
2500
|
Discussion posts on the Network (this usually averages around 1300)
|
912
|
New discussion post threads on the Network (the highest previous number was 580)
|
496
|
Number of attendees at the 2020 Annual Meeting
|
77
|
Number of AUPHA webinars conducted, recorded, and posted, including plenaries, town hall meetings, panels, and special webinars – from the 2020 Academic Program and Practitioner Workshop, the Annual Meeting, and through year-long virtual engagement with the membership
|
41
|
Annual Meeting Program Sponsors with a record financial total
|
10
|
Number of newly certified (2) and re-certified (8) undergraduate healthcare management programs
|
17
|
Number of new AUPHA member programs who joined during 2020
|
35
|
Number of new AUPHA individual members who joined during 2020
|
11
|
Number of strategic objectives that undergird our new AUPHA strategic plan
|
140
|
Number of member volunteers working on the strategic plan
|
24
|
Number of case studies shared with members
|
Thank you for helping each other and our students not only survive but thrive in 2020! On behalf of the AUPHA Board of Directors I wish each of you the very best in 2021!