HOPA Publications Committee
Bonnie Labdi, PharmD RPh, Chair
Ashley Glode, PharmD BCOP, Vice Chair
Geroge Carro, RPh MS BCOP, Board Liaison
Megan Bodge, PharmD
Megan Brafford, PharmD BCOP
Morgan E. Culver, PharmD BCOP
Christine Gegeckas, Rph BCOP
Lindsay Hladnik, PharmD BCOP
Lisa Lohr, PharmD BSPharm BCOP BCPS
Katie Long, PharmD
David Reeves, PharmD BCOP
Lisa Savage, PharmD BCOP BCPS
Alexandra Shillingburg, PharmD
Candice Wenzell, PharmD BCOP
Board Update
Michael Voznial, PharmD BCOP
HOPA President
March is always an exciting month for HOPA! This March marks HOPA’s 11th Anniversary since our founding in 2004. In addition, our Annual Conference is held later this month. I am looking forward to seeing everyone in Austin, TX, for our 11th Annual Conference. HOPA President- Elect Scott Soefje lives in Austin, and it will be a terrific setting for him to begin his presidential term! I have heard great things about Austin, and I can’t wait to see it for myself.
HOPA was extremely excited to announce in February that 39 members were awarded a HOPA travel grant to attend the Annual Conference this month. We received a record number of applications, and a big thank you goes out to our Membership Committee for overseeing the program and making it successful.
In January the board of directors held a strategic planning meeting. This meeting served as an opportunity to pause and reflect on the progress HOPA has made on its current strategic plan and to identify the goals and objectives HOPA should undertake moving for- ward. Work on finalizing the 2015/2016 HOPA Strategic Plan continues, and goals will be shared with the membership in Austin. After the goals, objectives, and strategies are finalized, the completed document will be announced and posted on the HOPA website. We expect this to happen sometime in May 2015.
In January the House of Representatives reintroduced the Pharmacy and Medically Underserved Areas Enhancement Act (H.R. 592) legislation, and the Senate introduced a companion bill (S. 314) for the first time. On the same day H.R. 592 was introduced, I, along with our health policy advisor, Jeremy Scott, met with the office of newly elected Congressman and pharmacist Buddy Carter (R-GA) in Washington, DC. It was a terrific introductory meeting! We had the opportunity to share information about our organization, our members, our Scope of Practice document and to offer our support for H.R. 592. HOPA will continue to actively participate in the Patient Access to Pharmacists’ Care Coalition (PAPCC) and lend our support until these bills are passed. HOPA will be working to advance our Health Policy Agenda by having a HOPA Hill Day at the end of April. HOPA’s Board of Directors and Health Policy Committee members will travel to Washington, DC, for 2 days of planning meetings and Hill visits. Our aim is for each participant to meet with his or her state’s Senators and district’s representative. For more information on these bills, please visit the Health Policy & Advocacy page on the HOPA website.
New HOPA Central Online Community Is Here
I hope you have had a chance to log in and test out the new HOPA online discussion forum, HOPA Central. Recognizing that the HOPA listserv is one of our most valuable member benefits, we realized that the listserv platform was old, provided limited functionality, and presented numerous challenges for searching the archives. HOPA Central is a much needed upgrade providing the functionality we have all come to expect but in a more user friendly interface along with better search capabilities. The Resource Library also al- lows for larger document uploads. Please help us keep a high standard of professional dialogue by reviewing the Code of Conduct and refraining from posting surveys, position announcements, and educational events.
A Goodbye and a Hello
In January we formally said goodbye to Mary Beth Benner. Mary Beth had served as HOPA Director of Operations since 2010, when HOPA became a client of Association Management Center (AMC). Mary Beth remains with AMC, however she will be focusing her efforts on another association. I had the privilege of working with Mary Beth on the Standards Committee and as a board member. Behind the scenes, I credit Mary Beth for transforming HOPA’s policy and procedures into living and breathing documents and, even more importantly, for helping identify the policies and procedures we needed. Mary Beth is engaging, insightful, helpful, and professional in everything she does. HOPA owes Mary Beth a big thank you for moving our organization forward. Thank you Mary Beth, and we wish you the best!
Kris Cichowski assumed the role of HOPA’s Director of Operations in January. Kris most recently was the executive director of the Re- habilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC) Women’s Board and Associate Board. Kris has deep experience in customer service as well as outcomes management having designed and implemented a corporate-wide knowledge management system to access customer satisfaction and functional outcomes. Welcome, Kris! We look forward to working with you.
The Final Lap
In distance-running races, a bell is sometimes rung to signify the last lap of the race. Runners will quicken their pace leading up to an all- out sprint for the finish line. As your HOPA President, I feel the bell is about to be rung. I have found myself going through countless emails to determine what I still need to complete or if I may have missed something I should have already done. While I am looking forward to the Annual Conference at the end of the month, it also signifies passing the presidential responsibilities over to HOPA President-Elect Scott Soefje. It truly has been a privilege and an honor to serve HOPA this past year. As with all presidents before me, we all hope to leave HOPA in a better place than when we started. I feel confident our association is in a better place, and the credit truly goes to the dedicated board of directors who volunteer countless hours and the HOPA staff who help make our vision a reality. Finally I want to thank the HOPA membership for all the sup- port, dedication, time, and effort they give. HOPA is successful because of its tremendous membership!
See you in Austin!