It is a great honor and privilege for me to
assume the Presidency of IPA. It is particularly difficult
to succeed Alistair Burns who has governed IPA over the
past two years with abundant wisdom and creativity.
However, I am committed to doing my best.
As I write this letter, we have all just returned from
our outstanding Chicago Congress which was chaired
by Sandy Finkel with Jacobo Mintzer spearheading
the scientific committee. They and their committees
together with Joel Sadavoy and the Meeting Committee
as well as Fern Finkel and our Secretariat all deserve
kudos for organizing what many are calling the most
important meeting in the history of international psychogeriatrics.
Lastly, the invaluable contributions of
the Talley Management Group need to be recognized.
Without their expertise, the Chicago meeting would
not have been the success that it was.
An incoming president traditionally sets goals and
themes for his presidency. I have three goals, the first
of which is to carry out the mandate of the Board of
IPA and develop an ideal administrative structure for
the organization together with a detailed and well articulated
strategic and business plan. Relative to our
administrative structure, we have hired an expert
outside consultant to study our needs and current
operations and to make concrete recommendations
for the future. Relative to our strategic plan, much
excellent work has been done in the past by James
Lindsay in conducting our strategic planning retreats.
As well, I will be working with Ken Shulman and his
Strategic Planning Committee. Thea Heeren, our
treasurer, together with Fern Finkel, our Executive
Director, aided by the Talley organization will help
in scripting our business plan. In each of these areas
I will be working closely with the Executive Committee
of IPA. Our mandate is to have these projects
completed prior to our next Board meeting in Santiago,
Chile in May of 2004. Accomplishing this first goal
will help IPA function more efficiently for the rest of
this decade and beyond.
My second presidential goal is to
expand the membership of IPA by
at least 30% during my tenure. To
make membership affordable for
those in developing countries and
to bring the benefits of IPA membership
to those in underserved
regions of the globe. To this end, we are exploring the
possibilities of an all electronic membership which
could be made available at a significantly lower fee as
well as dramatically growing our sponsored membership
program.
My third goal is to diversify the membership of IPA
by reaching out to nurses, social workers, therapists,
pharmacists, psychologists, and others who share our
reason for being, which is a commitment toward
improving the mental health of seniors worldwide. As
a beginning, we will increase the involvement of nonphysicians
in planning and organizing our regional
meetings and Congresses. Indeed, Bengt Winblad,
who is organizing our 2005 Stockholm Congress, has
already expanded his organizing and scientific committees
to include prominent nursing, social work and
other leaders in the field of psychogeriatrics. In addition,
working with David Folks, the editor of our Bulletin, we will modify this publication to broaden its
focus by including regular contributions and columns
from non-physician colleagues. Lastly, we are exploring
the possibility of an incentive-funded membership
campaign as well as the possibility of extending automatic
IPA membership to all members of IPA affiliates.
As aptly stated by our sages, “Time is short and the
responsibilities are many.” However, the rewards can
also be very gratifying. I encourage all of you to join
me in improving IPA and making it truly the world’s
leading organization dedicated to improving the
mental health of seniors worldwide.
I welcome your suggestions, comments and
critiques at all times.
Dear Members and Friends of IPA…