Blog Contribution by NIHD President Anthony Mistretta RN, MS, Lean Black Belt.

Happy New Year NIHD Members!

As we all begin to settle back into our post holiday routines, both professionally and personally, we look at the new year as a new beginning. It gives us a chance to set new goals, build upon previous ones and reflect on lessons learned. This year, the Chinese zodiac of 2023 beginning January 22nd , is the year of the Rabbit. The Rabbit is a symbol of longevity, peace, and prosperity in Chinese culture. It is believed that 2023 is predicted to be a year of hope. This year, I want to embrace the theme of hope and transcend this throughout both my professional and personal life.

Modern Healthcare (MH) recently published an article that provides a twinkle of hope for our industry that continues to suffer from COVID impacts, operating margin deficits and burnout. It stated that a Fitch ratings report for this year projected that even the hardest hit providers may start to see improvements in the coming months. According to the Fitch report, 2023 could be a turning point, which projects many providers will be able to break even in their operations on a month-to-month basis sometime this year (Hudson, 2023). I want to remain hopeful that these projections can become a reality this year and we all can play a role. As nurses and providers in the design world, we not only design spaces, we design operational models, care models, and solutions that help our fellow clinicians succeed and provide quality patient care. We bring best practices and lessons learned to the forefront of the design industry and need to lead the changes that are inevitable.

As the incoming president of NIHD, I am going to carry the virtue of hope though my term. I hope to meet you, learn from you, learn how we can continue to provide a value add to your professional career as an organization. I hope that as members, you become even more engaged with NIHD. I hope that we continue to grow in 2023, gaining membership, partnership, but most importantly, growing our voice in the A&D world as professional content experts. We have an amazing Board of Directors going into this year with two new members joining us: Lynn Aguilera as Secretary, and Elizabeth Johnson as Board Member for Education. Additionally, Kristina Krail has joined me on the leadership team as President-Elect after completing her term as Secretary.

It is my esteemed pleasure to serve as your President this year. This will be a year of positivity and hope for our industry, ourselves and NIHD. Thank you for being a dedicated member to NIHD and I look forward to working with you all.