It is hard to believe that this is my last column as President of IPA. The past two years have really
flown by.
Let me try to review for you some of the “highlights” of the past two years, which have been among the
most, if not the most eventful in the history of IPA. First, as I took office, due to a variety of unforeseen
events, the financial stability and viability of IPA was threatened. This led to our hiring of a business consultant who helped stabilize our
finances by recommending that we drastically reduce staffing at the Secretariat and that we move our
offices to a more affordable location. Our consultant, Mr. Schneiderman, also worked with the Secretariat and me in helping us to devise a viable business model for the
IPA. I am truly grateful to him for his assistance. I am also grateful to Fern and her excellent assistants,
Jodi and Margaret, for helping us weather the storm and point IPA in the right direction for growth
and success.
An area of accomplishment for IPA which I would like to highlight over the past two years were very
successful regional symposia in Santiago, Seoul, and Rotorua, culminating with our excellent 12th Congress
in Stockholm. These meetings, in diverse parts of the world have served to bring IPA to our members and have encouraged growth of our organization.
Relative to meetings, one of the things IPA does the best is develop and carry out important consensus
conferences on vital issues in Psychogeriatrics. In this regard, a successful consensus conference on
Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) was held which will result in important advances for the
field. Conferences on Late-life Bipolar Disorder, Atypical Antipsychotics and Morbidity/Mortality Risks,
Models of Long Term Care, and others were being planned.
In areas of education and communication: our
website has expanded and looks better than ever,
our Bulletin continues to be an excellent way to
communicate with our members
and International Psychogeriatrics is
making tremendous strides toward
becoming the premiere journal of
its type and has boldly moved to
electronic publishing.
Our BPSD modules continue to
expand and be refined with plans for a Nurse’s Guide
to BPSD, a Caregiver’s Guide, as well as multiple
translations. A Service Delivery Bibliography has been
developed.
During the past two years, for the first time, a
comprehensive business plan and a Strategic Plan
were adopted to help with the future direction of the
organization.
An area which I have prioritized has been growing
and diversifying our membership base. In this regard,
electronic memberships, bundled affiliate memberships,
and increased affiliate networking were begun.
These should result in a larger more multispecialty,
and more geographically diverse membership. As
well, Special Interest Groups (SIGs) for nurses and
social workers were revitalized with plans for SIGs
geared toward attracting other healthcare disciplines.
There have been many other “accomplishments” in
the past two years and far too many people to thank
who have been responsible for them.
Overshadowing all of the preceding events and
accomplishments of the past two years was the news of
our Executive Director, Fern Finkel’s retirement. Fern
has been the lifeblood of this organization for more
than two decades and the only Executive Director IPA
has ever known. We all owe her a tremendous debt
of gratitude for her many accomplishments and look
for ward to paying her tribute during our Stockholm
Congress. We wish Fern, Sandy, and their extended
family only health and happiness in the future.
As we go to press, I am also able to announce
that effective August 8, 2005, Ms. Susan Oster has
accepted our offer to be the new Executive Director
of IPA. Ms. Oster was the consensus first choice from
among more than 50 quality candidates. I am thrilled
that she accepted our offer and am excited by the talent,
energy, intellect and creativity which she brings
to the job. I look forward to introducing Ms. Oster to
our members in Stockholm.
Lastly, though I believe that I have done a credible
job as IPA President, I owe much to our Executive
Committee, our Board, the Secretariat and our
devoted members. As I leave office, I am pleased to
report to you that IPA is once again strong, viable,
vibrant and growing. I have no doubt that my successor
Joel Sadavoy will guide the organization to ever
greater heights as will his successor, Helen Chiu. It is
my fervent hope that IPA enjoy a blessed future.
It is hard to believe that this is my last column as President of IPA. The past two years have really
flown by.