Trustees Visit New Headquarters, Take Actions Looking to Future

Members of APA’s Board of Trustees started their meeting this past December on a field trip: they paid an early morning visit to what will be APA’s new headquarters next year.

Trustees found work progressing on the new building in the heart of one of the most innovative developments in Washington, D.C.—the multi-use Wharf project in the South West quadrant of the District. The 27 acres of land will feature condominiums, apartments, offices, restaurants, retail shops, hotels, and entertainment options for residents and visitors.

Later that day, Trustees heard a report from Monty Hoffman, founder and CEO of PN Hoffman, which is developing the Wharf project, and from Roger Sola-Sole, of Partner OTJ Architects, which is designing the interior office space.

“The new headquarters at The Wharf will be an outstanding long-term investment for APA,” said APA President Maria A. Oquendo, M.D., Ph.D. “The design of the Wharf project will reflect APA’s values, placing our new headquarters in a diverse and thriving community that includes affordable housing for middle- and lower-income residents. We are encouraged by the progress the builders are making to meet our delivery date and by the report from the developer and architect.” 

APA CEO and Medical Director Saul Levin, M.D., M.P.A., said that the APA administration is working to ensure that the move to the new location next year will occur smoothly and seamlesly. “APA’s new home will bring us back into Washington, D.C., and brings us closer to Congress, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and other mental health and coalition partners,” Levin said. “We believe it will enhance our advocacy efforts and raise awareness of APA as the medical leadership organization for mind, brain, and body.”

The Wharf visit was one highlight of a Board meeting that was held just one month after the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president. Trustees approved a statement that APA “will work with the incoming Trump administration and Congress to support and promote APA’s mental health agenda.” That continues a policy that APA has followed whenever a new president has taken office or Congress has begun a new session.

Levin told Trustees that whatever changes are made to the health and mental health system under President Trump, APA will remain faithful to its mission and its goals. The passage of mental health reform within the 21st Century Cures Act demonstrated that Congress recognizes that mental health issues are a bipartisan concern, he noted.

“APA needs to be at the table in order for our voice to be heard, both for our patients and our psychiatrists,” Levin said. “But we will not be silent if our mission to protect equitable, high-quality mental health care is compromised.”

The January 6 issue of Psychiatric News reported that the Board also approved, with unanimous consent, the Position Statement on Medical Euthanasia, which prohibits psychiatrists from participating in the euthanasia of people who are not terminally ill.

In other news, the Board took several steps to address diversity among APA leadership. Trustees approved a motion for the APA administration to work with the Council on Minority Mental Health and Health Disparities, the Division of Diversity and Health Equity, and the Membership Committee to develop a joint recommendation for an ongoing, sustained multi-year, strategic planning effort.

Additionally, the Board voted to approve including the session “Conversations on Diversity” at APA’s 2017 Annual Meeting and the IPS: The Mental Health Services Conference with an appropriate person to serve as facilitator. “Conversations on Diversity” was created in 2015 to provide a setting where APA members can share experiences, histories, and perspectives about diversity, increase their cultural competence, and help APA customize its goals and programming with regard to diversity and health inequities.

The Board also voted to add to the Operations Manual that the president-elect will seek recommendations from the leaders of the APA caucuses, councils, and committees and Assembly for appointments to ensure that those who serve on APA components represent the talents and diversity of the APA membership. Finally, the Board voted to create a Board of Trustees Ad Hoc Work Group on Bias to address issues of diversity within APA.

The Board also approved the following:

Summaries of Board actions are archived on APA’s website. The Position Statement on Medical Euthanasia can be accessed here. Other position statements can be found in APA’s Policy Finder database.