xx AACP Newsletter, Volume 13, Number 1, Winter 1999
Board of Directors' Report
The fall edition of the Board of Directors' Meeting took place on October 1 and 2, 1998 at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles, California. It was held in conjunction with the Institute on Psychiatric Services which was held in the same location. This section of Los Angeles was the central part of the city, but eerily empty when businesses shut down. The meetings created an island of activity on a calm surrounding sea. The AACP continues to generate an abundance of ideas and products from its working committees. Within psychiatry, we have been an island of activity relative to other factions of the community. We are beginning to develop an identity in the psychiatric community, and we have continued to attract new members, continuing to grow beyond all previous marks. Although the attendance of the meeting was not great, about twenty new members enrolled at out booth in the expositon hall, bringing current membership to over 675. One thousand by two thousand appears to be a reachable goal. The hard work of our committees and an expanded network of active members have made our organization more recognized and respected. The evolution of psychiatric services have made our mission and concerns relevant to a larger number of psychiatrists. Our use of the internet have enabled us to be a truly grass roots organization. At this meeting of the Board, we continued in our tradition of productivity and some of these activities are reported below.
Technical Assistance
The APA has several initiatives established that have requested assistance or input from the AACP. Clif Tennison remains the AACP liaison to the Assembly of the APA and has done a tremendous job of promoting our expertise and of facilitating our participation in these activities. Linda Gochfeld will lead a work group which will elaborate the role and breadth of psychotherapy in public systems and provide input to the Commision on Psychotherapy of the APA. Hunter McQuistion will lead an effort to provide definition and description of psychosocial rehabilitation to an APA committee considering this topic. In similar roles, Barbara Rohland will be leading an effort in Rural Psychiatry, Ken Thompson will be participating in a Mini-consortia on Homelessness, and Jackie Feldman, David Moltz, and Terry Kupers will participate with a group addressing isssues related to the incarceration of the mentally ill. Significant liaisons have also developed with other organizations, creating opportunities to share resources and expertise. Notably, collaboration with the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) has recently produced the child version of LOCUS and there has been significant interaction with the American Association of Psychiatric Administrators.
LOCUS & CALOCUS Progress
There has been a great deal of activitiy related to these two instruments. The AACAP has been reluctant to fully support CALOCUS until reliability and validity testing are complete. As a result, the AACP will take the lead in its distribution and developement, including the psychometric studies which will be funded by a grant from CMHS. An effort was made at this meeting to consolidate the business plans for these two instruments. Deerfield Behavioral Health Network, which has been responsible for the development of the software for the adult version, submitted a proposal to develop a software version of the CALOCUS as well. They will also submit a plan to take on full responsibilty for all business aspects of these instruments and to develop standardized training programs for each. A training manual has already been developed for the adult version, and was available for inspection at this meeting. The distribution of the adult version of LOCUS has progressed well and there has been great interest in the software. A major sale was completed with the VIZON one of the Veterans Adminstration System and Blue Cross, Blue Shield of North Dakota is likely to complete a deal shortly as well. Maine, Vermont, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsyvania and Washington are states which have shown considerable interest in these instruments. It is hoped that income from software sales will reduce our need for industry support in the future.
Residency Training in Community Psychiatry
Considerable concern was generated over the possibility of the RRC (Residency Requiements Commision) dropping or diluting the already minimal requirements for training in community psychiatry. Letters of inquiry had been sent, but no reply had been forthcoming. A luncheon meeting was arranged by John Haggerty and Kathleen Daly to address this issue in particular, but also to reinvigorate a community psychiatry training network. The luncheon was well attended and an RRC representative was present to address concerns. A strategy was developed to communicate concerns to the RRC more effectively and broad input was achieved. These efforts eventually paid off later in the month when the RRC met and voted to retain the current requirements. This issue may have served as stimulation for increased collaboration among those involved in community psychiatry training issues, which will allow for more effective advocacy in the future.
On the Web
Development of the Web page has been slower than expected due to a variety of factors which have disrupted the continuity of the development staff. Consequently, it has not yet become the repository for all things AACP, and certainly it is not yet as quick as we would like it to be in posting some of the material it does contain, such as Community Psychiatrist. Ken Thompson is again hard at work on these issues, and they are expected to be resolved shortly. When these problems are solved, it is our hope that minutes of the BOD proceedings can be posted there, along with the membership directory and several chat groups. Dr. Thompson will also be converting our list serv activity to a new server which will allow us more flexibility in the future, but which may disrupt service briefly while the transition occurs. Please visit us at http://www.comm.psych.pitt.edu.
Committee Reports
The meeting ended with a report from all active committees. Some exerpts follow.
Finance: Bob Goisman is taking over as Treasurer and will gradually transfer suppport systems to Boston from North Carolina. We are currently seeking remewals of industry supports for 1999. Health Care Systems: The newly formed subcommittee on Quality Management will be Co-Chaired by Barbara Rohland and Wes Sowers. A primary care subcommittee has also been formed, chaired by David Pollack. The committee on psychiatric staffing began work on formulas to determine adequate levels of psychiatric coverage, and this has been spearheaded by Jackie Feldman. Diversity: The committee, chaired by Annelle Primm, drafted a letter endorsing the cultural competence guidelines which were drafted by a consortium organized by CMHS. A set of one year memberships were offered to a group of 20 talented community psychiatrists who would enhance the diversity of our organization. Program: The plans for the winter meeting to be held in Birmingham, Alabama have been completed and multiple AACP sponsored events will be presented at the APA meeting in 1999. The winter meeting for 2000 will be in Portland, OR.