100 YEARS | Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association

The foreseeable future will bring widespread changes to the delivery of healthcare, including advancements in AI and diagnostic tools that improve disease detection and treatment, alongside financial pressures from cuts to various federal programs.

To navigate what’s likely to be “the most challenging” time in its history, the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association will continue to educate and consult with its 26 member health systems and 117 member hospitals so they can share learnings about how to better deliver healthcare, says Sean T. Connaughton, the association’s president and CEO. Though they’re fierce competitors in the marketplace, the members recognize there’s nothing to be gained by competing on things like quality, he adds.

“There’s going to have to be an enormous amount of collaboration in the healthcare field in Virginia,” he says. “That’s where the association is going to become even stronger going forward into the future.”

Since its 1926 founding, the VHHA has helped members navigate shifting dynamics in the marketplace, including profound disruptions of the past two decades — a global pandemic, passage of the Affordable Care Act, consolidation in the health insurance market, and the federal government’s increasing role, Connaughton says.

Representing a roughly $40 billion annual industry, Virginia’s healthcare providers constitute one of the state’s largest employers. Given its importance, the association will lean on learnings from its past as it continues to assume a more active role in pursuing public policy goals and helping members stay abreast of challenges ahead, says Connaughton, who is only the third full-time president in the VHHA’s history.

“We have a history, and it’s a history that we cherish, and it’s a history that we’re very, very proud of,” he says. “It’s left us a legacy that will allow us to lead into the future.”

Click here to return to the Milestones page