It was truly an honor privilege to serve as the President of AACVPR for 2002. Thank you for that privilege.
I wanted to take this opportunity to summarize some of the accomplishments of the AACVPR during this past year. These accomplishments are the work of many people in AACVPR including the Board of Directors the committees task forces the executive staff led by Marie Bass our Executive Director.
We unfortunately have to start any report of the last year with the cancellation of the 2001 Annual Meeting in Minneapolis due to the tragic events of September 11 2001. Although this decision was agonizing it proved to be the only action we could take. Primarily due to the generosity of you the members of AACVPR the generosity of our sponsors exhibitors our organization was able to survive while other organizations were not. I could never thank you enough for your willingness to support your professional organization during its time of greatest need. Following the cancellation we mailed 1193 syllabus to the members who were planning to attend applied for obtained continuing education credits from AANP for the distance learning format that was implemented.
Listed below by category are a few of the accomplishments of AACVPR during 2002.
Administrative
[white square] Updated all material on the Web site and added valuable resources, including: Affiliate Liaison contact information, State Reimbursement contact information, State Certification Committee Chair contact information, Outcomes Tools Resource Guide, downloadable and printable applications for Program Certification and Recertification, 2001 Program Certification PowerPoint Presentation, added a CMS link, new Speaker Topic forms and Program Proposal forms as well as a new abstract submission tool
[white square] Increased numbers of member e-mail addresses from 58% to 80%
[white square] Developed a new list rental agreement for electronic submission of mailing labels and developed protocols to "seed" the mailing list to track usage
[white square] Renegotiated Jim Coleman contract for increased royalties
[white square] Negotiated a contract with InterxVent
[white square] Exhibited the AACVPR booth at the Medical Fitness Association meeting in November in Chicago
[white square] Completed a Strategic Planning meeting to further develop AACVPR initiatives for the future
[white square] Instituted new CareerLink on the AACVPR Web site
Historian
[white square] Dr Phil Wilson, the first President and a Founding Fellow of AACVPR, agreed to research and record the history of our organization.
Membership
[white square] Membership increased over 200 through increased Member Benefits, including: increased frequency of reimbursement updates, larger discount on publications, new discount on certification and recertification, as well as continued updates throughout the year on AACVPR activities and other educational opportunities
[white square] Provided a reformatted News & Views newsletter
[white square] Reinstated monthly Reimbursement Updates for members
[white square] Initiated new AACVPR CareerLink to increase the benefits to the membership and add non-dues revenue
[white square] Developed a new mentoring program for AACVPR members to be initiated in the 2003 fiscal year (FY 03)
[white square] Recorded 350 new contacts as prospects to recruit as AACVPR members
[white square] Marketing Committee is developing a PowerPoint presentation to help members get referrals for their programs
[white square] Outcomes committee has created an Outcomes Matrix to be completed in FY 03
[white square] Awarded 16 members with fellowship status
[white square] Created a new membership recruitment piece that includes the current and new membership benefits for FY 03
Peripheral Arterial Disease Meeting
[white square] The PAD meeting was rescheduled as a pre-symposium workshop before the ACC Meeting and received a 49 out of a possible of 50 evaluation from the 230 meeting participants
[white square] Gained additional sponsorship for the promotion of the rescheduled PAD meeting
Certification
[white square] 200 programs applied for Program Certification (the FY 02 budget planned for 160)
[white square] 241 programs applied for Program Recertification (the FY 02 budget planned for 220)
[white square] Redesigned Certification materials and streamlined the review process
[white square] Included Program Certification applications and resources on the AACVPR Web site
Journal
[white square] Streamlined JCR manuscript submissions, reviews, and tracking activities
[white square] Updated and included a reviewer database for JCR associate editors
[white square] Renegotiated JCR contract with Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins
Reimbursement
[white square] Pulmonary rehab G codes G0237, G238, G0239 went into effect as of April 1st
[white square] Sent membership updates that included guidance for developing a scientifically sound and financially viable programs, as well as suggestions to comply with potential audits
[white square] Phil Porte from GRQ and the Reimbursement Committee have established a strategy for contacting senators that are pertinent to AACVPR initiatives as well as a specialized grass roots effort
[white square] Updating and rewriting the 35-25 Regulation that governs cardiac rehabilitation reimbursement from CMS
Foundation
[white square] 1st Annual International Heart and Lung Games are scheduled for the spring of 2003 and are fully supported by outside funding
It has been an honor privilege to serve as your President for 2002. As we continue to work to improve our ability to serve the members of AACVPR the AACVPR under the leadership of our 2003 President Dr John Porcari is dedicated to making the AACVPR the recognized leader in the field of cardiovascular pulmonary rehabilitation.
The challenges are many the opportunities are great the solutions are in each of you.
With great respect admiration for all of you,