Message from 2020-21 NCMGMA President Amanda McKinney

Hello, NCMGMA Members!

Here we are, approaching the end of 2020 and I believe it’s fair to say most everyone is looking forward to 2021! It is truly amazing to see how everyone has pulled together to help one another and this can best be seen in our organization just by viewing the questions and responses on the listserv. This communication tool provides us access to hundreds of members and may be one of the best resources we have.

A human body consists of vital organs, bones for structure and stability, and a nervous system for voluntary and involuntary actions. The way every part of the body works together is fascinating and we all understand if there is a major failure in the body, everything else is unlikely to function at its best. I see NCMGMA as one body. Our organization is much like the human body. We have our vital organs: our Committee chairs and members, Board of Directors and Alliance Sponsors. We have our members, the backbone of the organization, without whom the body would collapse. THM, our management company, is the nervous system, if you will, because they have their finger on the pulse of EVERYTHING NCMGMA! Should any of these major parts fail to function or exist, our organization would begin to fail. For that reason, I believe it especially important to give thanks and credit where credit is due.

Thank you to Steve Parker for his leadership during one of the toughest years we have all encountered as healthcare professionals. On that note, I would like to thank ALL of the past Presidents. Your leadership and service to the board has been a selfless and admirable effort. To our Board of Directors, everything we do is done as a team. The input from every person on the board helps us grow, learn and move forward not only as an organization, but as individuals as well. We could not steer this ship without the wisdom and experience of this very talented group.

To our Alliance sponsors, THANK YOU for your dedication to our organization each year. NCMGMA values the opportunity to collaborate with you in opening the doors to services our members need. We could not exist without your unwavering support to our mission and vision.

And last, but certainly not least, thank you to our members. You all are the bones of this organization. From the mountains to the coast, you keep NCMGMA strong!

As other Presidents before me have done, I am working with the board to focus on specific goals coming into this role. Most important is to continue to find ways to strengthen the organization through its mission and vision. With extensive input from our Leadership Council in the organization, we have developed mission statements for the next 1, 3, and 5 years. These statements embody our goals for the short term and long term. We will continue to focus on what sets us apart from other organizations, how we can collaborate with and complement other professional organizations, strengthen our relationships with state leaders, identify what our members deem as ‘value’ for their membership and explore best avenues to provide that value.

Our mission statements are as follows:

• Year 1 – 2021: NCMGMA is an actively engaged organization with strong leadership presence that emphasizes connectivity with local chapters.
• Year 3 – 2024: NCMGMA is an organization that is recognized as a leader for practice management, through an innovative approach to connection with members, innovative education opportunities, and access to other organizations.
• Year 5 – 2026: NCMGMA is a financially solid, diverse and inclusive organization offering personal and professional development for established and emerging practice management leaders in North Carolina.

We will meet our vision by following through on actionable goals we have set utilizing not the skilled hands of a few, but many of our volunteers throughout the organization. We will be calling on every member to provide feedback through surveys as we seek to understand what the needs are across our state, understanding that those needs vary from one practice to another. Keep an eye on our bi-weekly NCMGMA News Highlights to learn of new ways we are looking to connect across the state!

In closing, I want to say how humbled I feel to serve this organization. Next year marks the 50th Anniversary of NCMGMA and we will take every opportunity to celebrate this milestone. We have some important changes in the upcoming year: E/M coding changes, Managed Medicaid, and there are certain to be new developments with COVID. Our board and committees will continue to work hard to make NCMGMA your best and most valuable resource. Throughout 2020 we may have felt like we were on an island by ourselves many days, but looking back, I can see we have navigated new obstacles and tough times TOGETHER. Heading into 2021, we will continue this journey, ready to face whatever challenges meet us.

Yours respectfully,

Amanda McKinney
2020-2021 President
North Carolina Medical Group Management Association (NCMGMA)