By Lois Thomson, South Florida Hospital News, for ACHE of South Florida

Haroula Norden is just wrapping up her year as president of the South Florida Chapter of ACHE – the American College of Healthcare Executives – and she was able to sum it up in a few words: “There was a lot of great success for the chapter!”

Norden took a moment to reflect more specifically on the happenings and achievements of the past year, starting with sponsorships: “It was a record year for sponsorships, and I really want to thank our sponsors for their generosity. It takes their donations to help us further our mission of educating and networking, and without their support year after year, it would be impossible for us to schedule all of our great events.”

Such events included hosting an education seminar every month, and Norden said she was proud that the chapter was able to have prestigious people on the panels who gave members an opportunity to learn, to meet with other professionals, and to hear about the latest undertakings in healthcare.

Among other accomplishments, Norden said the chapter wanted to expand its digital presence, and the goal was to reach more than 5,000 members on LinkedIn. She proudly stated, “We exceeded that goal, and we had an opportunity to present the success we had on digital space at the national chapter leaders conference.”

She also talked about the successful student case competition, where the chapter picks a case study or white paper, and students read through it and respond. The previous competitions were just open to local universities, but Norden said, “This is the first year we included universities across the state of Florida.” Each year, the students put together teams and the chapter holds an event where all groups come together and present their case to judges, who are usually professionals, C-suite executives, etc. And the winners are judged on how well they present, different categories, and professionalism. “It’s a way to engage students into what we do, and get them in front of people who they could potentially be working for when they enter the workforce.”

Norden has accomplished all of this while handling the responsibilities of her full-time job as chief operating officer of Boca Raton Regional Hospital. In that position, she is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the hospital, including the centers of excellence, and overseeing the team that oversees the ancillary operations of the hospital. She said when she began her career, she always hoped to be in a situation like that. “I wanted a position that could affect large groups of people – the patients we serve, the community, our employees – and give me the opportunity to make big decisions on a large scale. I always thought being in a role like this would be something I would enjoy doing, something I would be passionate about.”

This past year was Norden’s second as the ACHE president, the first being in 2020 during Covid, which she said gave the members an opportunity to rebrand the chapter. Her intent for serving again was to emphasize the importance of stepping up and encouraging people to get involved, and that endeavor was successful. She pointed out that the chapter, which is the ninth-largest in the United States, continues to be very successful and continues to grow its membership. “We had more people engaged, wanting to volunteer, we had a lot of new members – and non-members – attend events. So I think people did get engaged, and we had a really successful time making sure people stayed connected.”

Norden added, “I want to say I’m very fortunate that I had a chance to serve a second term as president for an organization that I’m passionate about.”