Stephanie Sullivan, PhD
Chief Executive Officer
Summer 2023
Greetings to all,
Despite spring’s relentless rainy days, summer is officially here. As school sessions wind down, the days get warmer and familiar smells from backyard barbecues begin wafting across neighborhoods, we are hopeful and encouraged by the change of seasons. The elimination of federal and state mandates for masking to protect ourselves from the spread of COVID signals our closing the chapter on care resembling disaster response medicine and moving to more deliberate and planful clinical care.
Similar thoughts and messages were delivered when I attended my first National Health Care for the Homeless Conference (NHCHC) in Baltimore, MD. Since its last in-person conference in 2019, the May 2023 NHCHC conference experienced record numbers of participants which required NHCHC to close registration early when attendance maxed out at over 1200 representatives from homeless healthcare organizations from across the country. BHCHP was well-represented with over two dozen staff and Consumer Advisory Board members in attendance. Additionally, the individual BHCHP-led presentations were well-attended and highly sought after, often close to maximum participant capacity per session.
It was a humbling experience to have BHCHP staff and CAB representatives recognized and sought after for their expertise, mentoring, and support. BHCHP, and everyone associated with the organization, is identified as a leader in the field of healthcare for the homeless. Only 10 months into my tenure, and by virtue of association, I was subsumed into the elite status of the “in-and-all-knowing experts”.
According to the NHCHC website, “The National Consumer Advisory Board (NCAB) is a committee of people who have experienced homelessness and been clients of Health Care for the Homeless projects across the country and who are involved in the governance of those HCH projects”.
One of our longstanding CAB members represents BHCHP on the National Consumer Advisory Board. In addition, BHCHP is prominently featured throughout NHCHC’s 3-day program, including a recognition award named after Ellen Dailey, a previous BHCHP CAB member who was a fierce advocate and instrumental in developing the NCAB focused on involving consumers in the provision and improvement of healthcare services delivered to individuals experiencing homelessness. Her legacy lives on honoring her efforts to champion the best access to care for anyone we serve. As I sat in the audience applauding for this year’s recipient, I promised to take everything I learned during my trip and to remain fixed on living up to Ellen Dailey’s expectations and the legacy she left behind.
Be well, be safe!
Stephanie Sullivan
CEO
