Candidate for Area 4 Trustee

We live in a time that is both difficult and exciting. We can now treat mental illnesses more successfully than at any time in history. At the same time, we are faced with severe obstacles to the delivery of quality care. We have a severe crisis in obtaining adequate funding for our patients in the public sector. Managed care practices have made it increasingly difficult for our patients to obtain adequate care in the private sector.

The mission of APA is to advocate for our patients and for our members as they try to deliver quality care. Unfortunately, APA has experienced some difficulties. Our revenues have declined while our expenses have increased. Major restructuring of our organization has occurred and continues with a goal of making us more cost-effective and more focused on our basic mission. We cannot afford to be all things to all people, even though we wish we could. Attempts are under way to prioritize our efforts so that we can be most effective in the most critical areas.

In the midst of this change, we have also experienced and continue to experience a significant decline in membership. Without strong membership numbers, our advocacy effort will not be effective. We must address this crisis. We must build more value into membership. We must better communicate all of the good things our APA does every day for our patients and our members. We must recognize the changing composition of our profession, with greater attention to the needs of women, minority members, and IMGs. We need continued focus on the special needs of our early career psychiatrists and our members-in-training. We need to reduce the cost of membership while enhancing its value for all members.

In these times of crisis, we need proven leaders on the Board of Trustees. I served APA from 1999-2001 as speaker-elect and speaker of the Assembly. During those years, I was an active member of the Board of Trustees. Important decisions and changes occurred during my tenure on the Board of Trustees. As a Board member, I was an advocate for restructuring, prioritization, and cost-effectiveness with the goal of making our APA stronger in our basic mission: advocacy for our patients and our members.

I am a child psychiatrist who delivers psychiatric services to children and their parents in both the public and private sectors. I wrestle daily with the challenge of delivering quality care in difficult times. I approach problems with common sense, practicality, and compromise with a goal of achieving a meaningful result. I seek your help in taking those values to the Board of Trustees as the Area 4 Trustee.