[1] NCHL was founded in 2001 as the result of a national summit on healthcare leadership funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which identified a need for greater emphasis within the health sector on adopting organizationally based leadership development practices.
[2][3] NCHL also established an invitational symposium and national leadership award dinner, which is held every November in Chicago.
[5] NCHL's debut organizational membership program, LENS, was founded as an institutional membership group for leading healthcare organizations that recognize that leadership development and talent management programs are integral to their strategic goals.
[1] The programs of NCHL are supported primarily through membership fees contributed by organizational members.
Participants identify and prioritize areas in which support from NCHL can help pursue improvements collaboratively.