APMA News - April 2012 - (Page 42)

Federal Advocacy Forum By Seth A. Rubenstein, DPM Taking the Helm of APMA’s Legislative Advocacy Nineteenth-century Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen once wrote, “A community is like a ship; everyone ought to be prepared to take the helm.” As the APMA “community” continues to celebrate its 100th Anniversary, I gave some thought to what drove me to get involved more actively in the association and the roles that prepared me to take on one of my next professional challenges. As a young APMA member, I volunteered for political office at my local association. One tier of involvement led to another at the local, state, and eventually national level. Along the way, I also had the honor of serving on the APMAPAC Board. Today, with measures of perspective, anticipation, and reverence, I have the honor to chair the APMA Legislative Committee. The committee’s charge is directing our association’s legislative priorities. That responsibility also is considered one of our profession’s top strategic goals. Legislative advocacy has been a key function at APMA for decades. The association’s political action committee (PPAC) was organized by APMA past presidents Walter Clark, DPM, and Earl Kaplan, DPM, who started it with the intent of raising funds to hire a lobbyist to represent the profession in Washington, DC. APMA further refined its legislative focus in 2001 with the development of the Legislative Committee, originally chaired by Jerauld D. Ferritto Jr., DPM. PPAC was renamed APMAPAC in 2008 and soon after, the committee adopted the tagline, “Promoting Patient Advocacy and Professional Excellence,” nicely summarizing its mission statement and goals. Both inhouse and out-of-house lobbyists have been hired specifically to develop relationships and educate members of Congress, define our message, and promote legislation of strategic import. In 2008, Phillip E. Ward, DPM, became chair of the Legislative Committee. Under his skilled hand, the committee continued to develop and expand its mission. I can tell you with confidence the podiatric profession now enjoys more respect and influence in Washington, DC, than at any time in our history. I am grateful for Dr. Ward’s wonderful leadership and contributions to the Legislative Committee. I also am grateful to our staff, including Peter Stein, Ben Wallner, and Anita Elder, our Legislative Committee and PAC Board members, and state coordinators who donate their time and effort. They are all true leaders. Leadership can pilot a ship, but it takes a crew to make it sail. The will to achieve our profession’s legislative goals should be a personal priority shared by each of us. Legislative success does not occur spontaneously. You cannot buy it or wait for someone else to make it happen. We must be willing to roll up our sleeves and contribute to achieve our goals. 42 APMA News April 2012 The process is less complicated than you may think. Recently, I spoke with Stan Idiculla, DPM, a local colleague in northern Virginia. He mentioned how one of his patients is a delegate in the state’s General Assembly. One thing led to another, and Dr. Idiculla found himself invited to a small business breakfast with the governor of Virginia. Dr. Idiculla had the foresight to contact his state’s executive director before the luncheon to obtain some talking points on our key policy issues. In addition to discussing these issues, he had a surprising number of common interests with the governor and left the meeting with new connections to power players in Virginia politics. (See a profile of Dr. Idiculla and more about I can tell you with confidence the podiatric profession now enjoys more respect and inﬂuence in Washington, DC, than at any time in our history. his meeting with the governor of Virginia in Your APMA, our Young Physician insert, in this issue of APMA News.) Life is a never-ending parade of opportunities. We simply have to keep our eyes open and be ready to jump when they come along. This year, we hope to provide you with ample opportunities to do just that. You can communicate in a timely way with your members of Congress through the APMA eAdvocacy website (www.apma.org/eAdvocacy), you can give generously to your state and national PACs, and you can familiarize yourself with our strategic initiatives, which appear in the APMA Federal Resource Center (www.apma.org/FederalResourceCenter), including our pivotal Title XIX legislation, the Equity and Access for Podiatric Physicians Under Medicaid Act. From time to time, take a few moments to download supporting documentation from the Federal Resource Center (e.g., summaries of the Thomson Reuters and Duke studies), and familiarize yourself with the cross section of federal bills APMA is monitoring and/ or addressing. The success of our legislative initiatives depends upon each of us. I look forward to working with you! n Contact Dr. Rubenstein at sarubenstein@apma.org. http://www.apma.org/eAdvocacy http://www.apma.org/workingforyou/content.cfm?ItemNumber=1378&navItemNumber=645

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of APMA News - April 2012

APMA News - April 2012
In This Issue
Contents
Gen Z and myFEET
Dr. Caporusso’s Inaugural Speech to the House of Delegates
The Nuts and Bolts of Your House
Residency Genesis: A Priority for the Profession
Forum Builds Profession-wide Consensus on Student Recruitment
APMA By the Decade: 1942–1951
Profiles in Progress: Postgraduate Education
2011 Podiatric Practice Survey: Insurance Plan Participation
Infection Control Issues in the Podiatric Setting
Committee Member Acknowledgements
Federal Advocacy Forum
APMAPAC Chair Report
IT Consultant
Visit the Nation’s Capital for The National
Annual Scientific Meeting Preliminary Program
Annual Scientific Meeting Registration Form
Annual Scientific Meeting Sponsors
Website Wisdom
Technofile
Small Business 101
APMA All Stars
In Short
Worthy of Note
Affiliates Corner
List of Affiliated Organizations
Insurance Advisor
New Members
Death Notices
APMAPAC Update
Development Update
Awards Nominations
Classified Advertising
Dates to Remember
Advertising Index
10 Questions
Your APMA

APMA News - April 2012