President’s Message (May 2018)
INAPTA Members,
There can be no doubt after last week’s warm and humid weather that summer has arrived in Indiana. The summer months are normally associated with a slowing of INAPTA activity with school out and vacations being taken. While our District meetings have taken a break, INAPTA leadership has been busy these past two months.
In June, the INAPTA Delegation travelled to APTA’s 2017 House of Delegates (HOD) in Boston. Several INAPTA Delegates were able to attend APTA’s Component Leadership Meeting prior to the start of the HOD. At this meeting, we heard updates on the success that APTA has had with the #ChoosePT Campaign and also about the many challenges facing our profession. During the HOD many motions were discussed relating to physical therapy education, scope of practice, diversity of professionals, and reducing the administrative burden among other topics. INAPTA’s Chief Delegate, Gail Altekruse, PT, MBA, will be giving a summary of this year’s HOD at the Business Meeting in October at the INAPTA Fall Conference.
At NEXT, APTA’s Annual Conference, two INAPTA members were recognized for their contribution to our profession. Jerry Smith, PT, ATC, MBA, was awarded the Lucy Blair Service Award, and Sean Bagbey, PTA, MHA, ATC was awarded the Outstanding Physical Therapist Assistant Award at the Honors and Awards Ceremony. We thank them for their service to the profession both in Indiana and Nationally.
Hopefully all of you received the survey INAPTA sent out in June, prior to our Strategic Planning Retreat. Surveys were sent to members, students and potential members asking for input on future priorities and the direction of INAPTA. We had a great response rate and used this information to guide our discussion at the Strategic Planning Retreat on July 15th at Bradford Woods. At the retreat, a combination of Board Members, Committee Chairs, Committee Members, our Core Ambassadors and Executive Director worked with Jennifer Green Wilson, PT, EdD to review our Vision, Mission, and Strategic Plan. Great work was done by all, and we are in the process of following up with several committees before bringing the Strategic Plan back to the INAPTA Board in September for further discussion and adoption. Our goal is to present the approved Strategic Plan to membership at the Business Meeting on October 27th.
In my earlier updates this year, I communicated about INAPTA’s commitment to the #ChoosePT campaign. I am delighted to announce that our PT Day at the Statehouse in 2018 on Wednesday January the 17th will center around the #ChoosePT message. The INAPTA Public Relations Committee is working to bring together an agenda for the day that will allow us reach out and connect with our legislators about the role of physical therapy in helping manage the challenges of chronic pain. Please mark your calendar for that day! There will be more details coming in early Fall.
In addition to this, the INAPTA Legislative Committee has been working on the language for the updated Practice Act. The current plan is to introduce updates to our Practice Act in the 2019 Legislative Session. Also, the INAPTA Service Task Force lead by Jessica Prothero, PT, PCS, is hard at work with each district organizing PT Day of Service events around the State. Further details about these events will be available on the INAPTA website in August. INAPTA has stepped up to be a Silver Level PT Day of Service Sponsor indicating our commitment to the importance of service as part of our professional responsibility.
In closing, I want to remind you to put the INAPTA Fall Conference on your calendar. This year, the conference begins at the Rathskeller on the Friday evening, October 27th, with the Business Meeting, Awards Dinner and a Membership event following. We will also be presenting those running for INAPTA Office. If you are interested in finding out more about any of the positions open for election, please contact Sean Bagbey, PTA, MHS, ATC, Nominating Committee Chair. On Saturday, we have some excellent programming lined up including a chance to complete your Ethics and Jurisprudence requirement with experts in this field, a student focused course, and both orthopedic and neurological tracks. In addition to this, we are excited to announce that the HPA’s LAMP course will be held for the first time in Indiana. For full details of the Fall Conference please go to www.inapta.org.
Enjoy the rest of your summer, and I hope to meet many of you in the Fall at either district meetings or at the Fall Conference
Emily