Bernard J. Lemieux, M.D.
Imperial Potentate, Shrine of North America
Chairman, Board of Directors, Shriners Hospitals for Children
March 17, 2008
My Brethren,
Happy spring to all of you…it really is just around the corner. I understand that everyone is getting tired of all these winter storms. I’m sure anyone who’s been traveling recently would agree it’s not the kind of winter-weather fun you would go “HO HO HO” to!
Speaking of traveling, since my last communication to you, I have traveled extensively. Rather than mention all my destinations, let me just share with you what I’ve been hearing and seeing during my visits.
Obviously, membership continues to be the fraternity’s number-one issue and, so far, no one seems to be able to find the “magic wand” that will increase our numbers. Basically, until we can find another answer, we need to return to the old-fashioned way of one-on-one recruitment. We are asking that each member and his lady keep their eyes and ears open for opportunities to speak with worthy, well-qualified individuals and to then make a concerted effort to bring those men into our great “Fraternal Family.” Imperial Sir George Mitchell and his team are working as hard as they can to get this message out, and they are asking for suggestions for ways to get every member committed to this effort, and to encourage the recruitment and development of younger members.
We – the older group – are going to have to start “turning the reins over” to some of our younger members; we may not like all of their new ideas, but it’s important to understand they want to increase younger membership and to do that, we must provide activities commonly enjoyed by this age group. We must make the younger generation feel at home and help their families to enjoy all of our events. One reason for our increased concern is the disturbing fact that our membership dropped again in all age groups. Our general membership is now around 380,000 men; 170,000 of these are over 70 years of age and more than 71,000 are over 80. Now is the time to make the changes necessary in your area so that younger men will want to be part of our great fraternity.
Declining membership directly affects the financial situation of each temple. Our temple leaders need to stop thinking, “Let’s just get through this year.” We all need to be thinking about where we want to be five years or so from now and what our temples should look like at that time. We need to develop strong strategic plans that our temple boards of directors can use as a guide to management as they progress through the elected line. More than ever, we have to lose the “my year” syndrome. It is our year, it is our temple, it is our fraternity, and we all have to work harder to save it. We must remember, “We Are Family.”
On the hospital and medical side, we are hearing about all the major changes that have occurred in health care in the United States over the past 10 years and how we are all affected by our insurance premiums and policies, including, for example, the amount of time we are allowed to remain in the hospital. And treatments for diseases have certainly changed – there are far different and better diagnosis and treatment possibilities than when I started practicing. So change can be good...it is a fact that we are living longer and healthier lives than in the past.
The Board of Directors and the Board of Trustees of your Shriners Hospitals for Children have realized that we also must change in order to continue providing the best care to all the precious children who come to us in need. We have a number of strong national board committees who, with the assistance of outstanding staff, are working with outside consultants to implement the strategic plan our future leaders will use to guide and sustain this great philanthropy. The strategic plan will provide guidance to our hospitals to achieve system-wide goals in these areas: pursuit of excellence; responding to changes in health care delivery, expectations and competition; financial stewardship; and organizational structure. One early result of this work is a greater understanding that we must bring in more new monies. To meet this need, we have expanded the size of our donor relations staff throughout our health care system. The national planning committee is also exploring potential partnership opportunities with universities and medical centers.
In other medical news, our research committee is seeking ways to increase outcomes research, which could more quickly lead to the improvement of care for children throughout the world. We are very proud of the work of our researchers. A new edition of the research e-book, highlighting rehabilitation research efforts, will be posted on the corporate Web site, www.shrinershq.org, in the near future.
Every member should be very proud of our fraternity and the philanthropy it supports. The two are deeply connected and related. As we work to determine the best ways for our organization to respond and adapt to the changes in health care, we want your opinions and suggestions to be part of the discussion. We are creating an electronic survey to gather that information. When you are notified the survey is online and available, I urge you to respond. It is for the benefit of everyone involved, including the children we care for every day.
Nobles, this is an exciting time for our great fraternity and its philanthropy. We must continue to support our leadership and give all the Shrine leaders our attention and our help as we take steps to strengthen our future.
I want to personally thank each one of you for all you have already done and will continue to do!
Sincerely and fraternally yours,
Bernard J. Lemieux, M.D.
Imperial Potentate, Shrine of North America
Chairman, Board of Directors, Shriners Hospitals for Children