Few of us will consider 2020 their favourite year. The COVID-19 pandemic rocked the world, forcing us to change how we live, interact, and work. The impacts of the pandemic in 2020 were staggering. News reports advised that 44% of Canadian households experienced some degree of job loss last spring, nearly 100,000 businesses closed permanently, and sadly, 15,600 Canadians lost their lives.

Throughout the year, our members went to extraordinary lengths to manage their communities while implementing safety protocols to keep residents safe. At ACMO, we cancelled in-person events and migrated all programming to the virtual world to give members some level of access to resources and learning opportunities. The New Year is upon us, and unfortunately, the pandemic and its challenges continue to define our new ‘normal.’

On a more positive note, 2020 was a productive year for ACMO. Elsewhere in this magazine, you will find ACMO’s Year in Review summarizing the activity for the year - I encourage you to review it. In the spirit of putting 2020 behind us, let’s look forward to some of the initiatives we’re working on in 2021:

• Continuing the rollout of our new 3-year strategic plan to ensure the ongoing relevance of the association.
• Hosting 13 virtual events, so members stay current and gain valuable knowledge and education to deliver better service to their clients.
• Improving the quality of our continuing education offerings to better align with the CMRAO competency profile.
• Introducing new Certificate Programs in various specialty areas this fall.
• Expanding the size and reach of our membership community and programs and establishing local ambassadors to assist in membership development.
• Promoting and building more value into the RCM designation so our members can better differentiate themselves in the marketplace.
• Offering RCM exams and refresher courses online to make them more accessible.
• Running a series of digital, print and PR campaigns to promote ACMO and position the RCM and ACMO 2000 designations as the gold standard in our industry.
• Ongoing efforts to influence and advise government policy.

The arrival of vaccines gives us hope that life will return to normal, but in the meantime, we must remain vigilant in following
the advice of government and local health agencies. For our part, we will continue serving as an information clearinghouse to
keep you informed and pass along best practices.

Until we can meet again in person, take care and stay safe!

Paul B. MacDonald
Executive Director

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