President’s Message (January 2017)
INAPTA Members:
Thank you all for your continued support of our professional organization here in Indiana. I appreciate that support can be shown in a number of ways, from maintaining membership all the way to stepping into a leadership role in INAPTA. We had several new members elected to the INAPTA Board of Directors (BOD) in November. Blair Frye, PT was elected as Vice President, Lisa Piropato, PT, DPT as the New Professional, and Ryan Cotton, PT, DHS, OCS as the Central Region Director at Large. In addition, Kevin Sanborn, PT, DPT, OCS will be stepping into the role of Chair of the PR Committee, Connie Crump, PT, DPT has been appointed to fill the remainder of my term as Delegate and Frank Bates, PT, DPT, MBA has been appointed to serve as the Alternate Delegate.
At last week’s BOD meeting, motions passed to implement two new task forces to address opportunities to support those new in our profession and those who wish to use their skills as therapists to help others. Lisa Piropato, PT, DPT will head up the New Professional Task Force. She and her task force members plan to identify how our professional organization can become more relevant to those who have recently graduated. Jessica Prothero, PT, PCS will be heading up the Service Task Force. The focus of this group is to coordinate physical therapy-led volunteer opportunities across the state including our efforts for PT Day of Service in the Fall.
As many of you know, APTA launched a campaign in 2016, #ChoosePT, to increase consumer awareness of the role of physical therapy in managing the care of those with chronic pain. Here in Indiana, we understand the challenges of working with this population. Therefore, we have focused our initial support of this campaign on providing a variety of educational opportunities for clinicians across the state. Please see the INAPTA website for details on the online course, the two half-day courses, and then the two-day intensive course in August.
The INAPTA Spring Meeting is planned for April 1, 2017 at the University of Indianapolis. We are delighted that Jennifer Green-Wilson, PT, MBA, EdD will be once again leading the conversation on how we can become more engaged in our profession. There will be education contact hours offered. Further details of this event will be on the INAPTA Website in early February.
Despite the fact that it is still January, there is a feeling of Spring in the air with all the activity planned for INAPTA leaders and members. As the President of INAPTA, I look forward to meeting with many of you over the next few months and hearing about what INAPTA can do for you, for our profession and for patients/clients in Indiana.
Emily Slaven, PT, PhD
Orthopedic Clinical Specialist
Fellow American Academy Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapy
Credentialed Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy