AHDI 2008 NEXT GEN CAMPAIGN!

Connecting to our Next Generation Workforce TOGETHER

With the impending retirement of our sustaining Baby Boomer workforce and a healthcare system that will continue to seek other documentation solutions to meet the anticipated high-volume documentation needs as these Baby Boomers enter the long-term care continuum, our industry will soon reach a critical point of disconnect. The recruitment and retention models that have previously been applied are not likely to attract the new generation workforce into our industry. There has never been a greater need for an infusion of "new blood" in the industry and the association, and time is running out on the industry’s ability to meet the needs of health care without it. We need you! AHDI is committed to engaging every sector of the industry in "Next Gen" recruiting, and it starts with our approved schools. As educators, you are often the first point of contact for individuals entering this profession. Your livelihood as businesses depends on the ability to recruit new students who will successfully enter and sustain this industry. AHDI has outlined the following education and recruitment strategies for 2008:
1. Next Gen advertising in our publications and publications outside of AHDI.
2. Active engagement of our current members in Next Gen recruiting through a button campaign (wearing buttons that say I love my career...Ask me why), as well as establishing ambassadors through the Student Alliance to work with local components.
3. Active engagement of our components in Next Gen recruiting by asking them to participate in at least one outreach event aimed at educating the public about the profession.
4. Engagement of business owners and managers/supervisors to discuss Next Gen recruitment models—starting with a ticket-only roundtable event at ACE, as well as at least 2 webinars on the topic.
5. Next Gen visibility on the AHDI website.
How can you help? We are asking our approved schools to start by sponsoring the I love my career...Ask me why buttons. Similar to the highly successful baby button campaign of 2006, our goal is to put buttons in the hands of every practitioner member of AHDI. To help us reach this goal, we are looking for $500 sponsorships from our approved schools. Those schools that participate in this sponsorship will be recognized on our Next Gen webpage, and promoted in Vitals.Send sponsorship monies via check to the address below. For questions or to make a credit card payment, contact Kelly Kappmeier at 209-341-2472.AHDI Attn: Next Gen Campaign4230 Kiernan Ave. Suite #130Modesto, CA 95356The technology-driven documentation picture of the very near future is going to require a different kind of knowledge worker than we are accustomed to recruiting. To date, the industry has done very little to find new and dynamic ways to promote the profession. The crisis facing our industry will require all stake-holders coming together to find innovative solutions. We hope you will join us! Kim Buchanan, CMT, FAAMTDirector of Credentialing and Education, AHDI.