Category: 2020 June

“To do righteousness and justice
    is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.”

Proverbs 21:3

We at MHS express our profound sorrow over the senseless deaths in recent weeks of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. Once again, we are reminded of the many examples of racism and discrimination we continue to see in our communities. We also hear the legitimate frustration over a decades-long failure to reform police practices, and lament the ways that additional violence has occurred.

We recognize the deep pain and frustration of Black Americans caused by years of systemic injustice. We stand with our brothers and sisters and unequivocally proclaim that Black lives matter.

We commit to working toward a more just society by providing resources to our members that can help us work together long-term to undo the structures of systemic racism once and for all.

by Karen Lehman

These are challenging times!  How many times have you said these words or heard someone else say them?  What makes this time particularly challenging is that so much has been turned upside down. And it happened quickly. All our focus shifted to COVID-19 and its immediate impacts; a global recession, ongoing organizational vigilance and financial stresses, and our own personal anxiety. 

Now that some time has passed, we realize this heightened vigilance is not a temporary situation.  There’s no vaccination around the immediate corner.  People are still testing positive as businesses have started re-opening.  Many are not heeding the advice of experts on distancing and wearing a mask. How do you live with and through this? That is the million-dollar question!

Now is the time to look at your strategy and future if you haven’t started this process already. What is the impact of the pandemic for this fiscal year?  Are there clear operational and strategic changes in direction that need to be made? What is the sustainability of your mission and ministry, not just in this year, but looking toward the future?

The June 4, 2020, Ziegler Investment Banking Senior Living Z-News painted a vivid picture of the impact of non-profit sponsorship transition trends.   Ziegler expects the pace of affiliations, mergers, acquisitions, etc., will not only pick up but will be accelerated because of the impact of COVID-19.   They further suggest that communities going into the pandemic already on edge operationally will come out of the pandemic even more financially vulnerable.

This is a time to take stock of your situation.  How are you positioned to navigate the near and more distant future?  The longer you wait to make strategic decisions, the fewer options you will have and the opportunities that exist today may not exist tomorrow.

Serving in senior leadership and on governing boards right now is not for the faint of heart.  This is likely the most challenging time of our lives.  Strategic and visionary work is hard in the best of times, let alone in the worst pandemic that many of us will ever live through.  Your work requires you to make difficult decisions.  But it also asks of you to prayerfully consider the sustainability of your mission and the future of your ministry. A verse to read as a prayer as you consider decision-making in these challenging times. Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.  Isaiah 41:10

by Clare Krabill

During these unprecedented times, many of you will seek strategies to help your bottom line. One major expense most of you share is employee benefits. In fact, some of you may be asking yourself if there is a need to cut back on these benefits even as you are loathe to consider it.

One option to consider is self-funding healthcare costs. Self-funding increases your financial control, plan design flexibility, and plan management options. According to the ASAE article, A Thoughtful Approach to Reducing Benefits Costs When There’s No Alternative, self-funding can reduce your annual healthcare spending by 4 to 10 percent. 

As members of MHS, your organization has access to MHS’ Medical Expense Plan (MEP). Created in the mid-1980’s in partnership with Everence, the MEP has 11 MHS member organizations participating to insure more than 3,000 individuals. The MEP offers wholistic health coverage and many benefits that go beyond typical self-funded plans. These include:

Financial Benefits Through:

• Risk and cost sharing through a pooled experience
• Distributions 7 out of the last 10 years
• Rate stability and reduced volatility
• Regulation exempt church plan status that lowers administrative and benefits costs
• Collective purchasing and negotiating power with over 130,000 other participants through the Church Benefit Association

Quality Health Care Through:

• A national network of medical providers
• A Wellness program
• Telemedicine
• 24/7 care navigation services
• A collaborative peer network of MHS member organization leaders
• Shared values

Want more information? If you have 25 or more eligible employees (> 20 hours/week), watch this 5-minute informative video about MEP[CK1] and contact Clare Krabill, MHS COO & Managing Director of the Medical Expense Plan at mailto:clare@mhsonline.org. It may be a path forward that provides your organization’s colleagues with excellent health coverage and helps your bottom line.

CPS keeps a pulse on industry trends and focuses on total solutions that help members improve patient and resident experience, as well as reduce operating costs. Don’t miss out on upcoming solutions regarding COVID-19 and recovering from the financial strains, click here to have solutions delivered directly to your inbox.

Dianne Piet is the dedicated CPS Client Account Manager to all MHS members. She serves as an extension of your teams by delivering personal attention to every detail of the procurement process, sharing industry insights, creating program solutions and resolving vendor conflicts. Beyond Dianne, there is an entire CPS team that provides ongoing support to deliver an exceptional experience. Working with CPS is easy. Your no cost membership provides you access to quality products and services across hundreds of carefully vetted vendors, complimentary cost comparison and value analysis of your current purchasing program, and help with implementing cost-saving solutions. Our goal at CPS is to ensure you realize the greatest amount of savings from your vendors while implementing relevant and innovative programs to optimize patient and resident care. Dianne is ready to work with you, contact Dianne Piet by phone 603-935-7923 or email pietdianne@carepurchasing.com.