Past President Julie Pingston called the meeting to order with the ringing of the bell. Pat Munshaw gave a reflection which considered the fact that it was Nurses Week and that our speaker would be talking on healthcare. We all joined in singing America the Beautiful.
Benjamin Rathbun circulated the mic for the introduction of guests of which there were several including Steven Melnyk who has transferred into the Lansing Club. Then Past President Julie led us all in reciting the Rotary 4 Way Test. In the Health of the Club, Pat Munshaw noted a couple of members currently have COVID-19, and felt they caught it in large groups.
Past President Julie presented a Red Badge to Travis Stolicker of Saddleback BBQ. Courtney Millbrook spoke of a change to the meeting schedule where we will have one meeting per month that will be non-programmed/social in nature, in response to member feedback; when the social meetings are on Thursday evenings the Friday Lunch meeting will be cancelled for that week.
Past President Julie re-announced that Nick Herford will be President-Elect starting in July. She announced that we will have about 30 visiting Rotarians at the next meeting who will be in town for the District Convention; she also mentioned the related art walk, proclamation from Lansing City Council, and other related details.
In Rotarians doing great things, Julie announced Terry Terry was honored by the Jazz Alliance of Mid-Michigan, Ben Rathbun received the LRCC Outstanding Small Business Award, and Carmen Turner is receiving the LRCC Community Service Award. She also mentioned that Ben is now engaged.
Anne Cauley was the Chair of the Day and Month. She spoke a bit about her history in healthcare as a former nurse and Pat Munshaw was at one time her boss. She introduced Brian Peters, CEO of the Michigan Health & Hospital Association.
Brian Peters began by acknowledging nurses and other healthcare professionals; he stated that in these times with the pandemic, short staffing, and other factors how we need to show grace to healthcare professionals. Brian’s talk centered on four mega-trends in the healthcare. Those trends being that healthcare is becoming more integrated, value driven, transparent and reliant on public policy and politics. Some of the salient points of his talk included that 65% of physicians are now employed by the hospital system as opposed to being in private practice. He spoke about the potential impact of the anticipated overturning of Roe v. Wade. He addressed the fact that politicians are hearing healthcare concerns on the campaign trail. He spoke about the COVID-19 pandemic; as of that morning there were 900 people hospitalized, while the peak number was 4,000. He related that the emerging trends in healthcare include the expansion of behavioral health, DEI and health equity, workforce issues, and cybersecurity.
Julie announced that we will donate to the Lansing Rotary Foundation in honor of our speaker, Brian Peters. She gave details of the next meeting and rang the bell for adjournment.
Chris Swope's email is: chris.swope@lansingmi.gov