Certified Healthcare Trustee and Leader Spotlight: February
Texas Healthcare Trustees is proud to recognize Certified Healthcare Trustee and Leader (CHTL) designees who demonstrate a commitment to excellence in healthcare governance. This monthly spotlight highlights trustees who have pursued continued education to strengthen their leadership and better serve their hospitals and communities. William Morris, MD, CHTL, has dedicated decades to advancing health care quality and governance at Peterson Health.
William Morris, MD, CHTL
Peterson Health Foundation, Kerrville
THT: Briefly describe your background.
Dr. Morris: I am a physician who practiced for 30 years at Peterson Health. During that time, I became their Physician Advisor for Quality and Utilization. I continued in that role for 25 years with about 10 years of overlap, doing both. I served on the Peterson Health BOD for 9 years and now serve on our Foundation’s BOD.
THT: Why would you encourage trustees and hospital leadership to become a Certified Healthcare Trustee and Leader?
Dr. Morris: Becoming a Certified Healthcare Trustee and Leader is a way to assure yourself and others of your commitment to enhancing your knowledge of health care governance. No matter your business or educational background and how much you think you might know about health care, advancing that knowledge through education is paramount to achieving the excellence that your hospital and your community deserve from you and your board.
“No matter your business or educational background and how much you think you might know about health care, advancing that knowledge through education is paramount to achieving the excellence that your hospital and your community deserve from you and your board.”
William Morris, MD, CHTL
THT: As a board member, what has been the proudest moment for you or your board?
Dr. Morris: My proudest moment, of many, as a Peterson Trustee is when Peterson Health was named as one of the Top Twenty Rural and Community Hospitals in the Nation by Chartis. We had been named in the Top 100 several times before and have been since, but Top Twenty felt really special. At that time, almost all of the trustees were CHTL certified. We, as a group, believed that our effectiveness as a board contributed to that achievement.
THT: What would you say is the biggest reward and biggest challenge of being a board member?
Dr. Morris: The biggest challenge, in my opinion, facing boards today is to develop a board, made up of mostly non-medical members, and educate them about the complexities of melding finances, regulation and quality in a world that is changing at warp speed without losing sight of the patients that we serve. One part of meeting that challenge is to have an active program of ongoing education about healthcare. Encouraging and achieving CHTL for all board members is one very good way to do this.
Interested in becoming a CHTL? Learn more here Certified Healthcare Trustee and Leader – Texas Healthcare Trustees