Media Room

99th House of Delegates Meeting March 16–18 ❘ Washington, DC

Last month, APMA’s House of Delegates (HOD) met to take action on a variety of important issues. Read on to learn more about what took place in Washington, DC, and how the HOD’s actions will affect you as a member.

Amendments to APMA Governance Documents
In 2015, the House of Delegates directed APMA to conduct an independent review of its governance and management. Based on the outcomes of that review and input from members and delegates, the Bylaws and Procedures Committee recommended significant amendments to the APMA Bylaws and Administrative Procedures, as well as the development of a House of Delegates Operations Manual. The proposed bylaws as well as many of the proposed changes to the administrative procedures, including the identification of sections of the document that would migrate to the HOD Operations Manual, were presented at the 2018 House of Delegates meeting. The delegates offered their amendments to the proposed bylaws and gave the committee further direction in its task to redraft the administrative procedures and create the HOD Operations Manual. At the 2019 House of Delegates meeting, the proposed governance documents were adopted. Among the changes are the following:

Changes to the definition of a senior member.
Changes to the definition of a life member. Life members also will no longer be eligible to serve in the House of Delegates.
Changes to the membership application process that will result in the application process beginning with APMA rather than the state component organization.
Changes to dues rates for members in their first four years of “active” membership (following residency training) and for members in the Federal Services.

Adopted Resolutions

The house adopted the following resolutions as part of its consent agenda:

RESOLUTION #1-19 (Directive): Distinguished Service Citation
Resolved that the association’s highest honor be bestowed upon Past President Christian A. Robertozzi, DPM.

RESOLUTION #2-19 (Policy): Policy Review
Accomplished the periodic review of previously adopted resolutions.

RESOLUTION #3-19 (Policy): Inclusion of Podiatrists in Physician Health Programs

Resolved that APMA promote the position that all podiatrists identified as substance abusers be provided access to state physician health programs and that the APMA Physicians’ Recovery Network be reauthorized and funded to assist podiatrists struggling with substance abuse.

SUBSTITUTE RESOLUTION #4-19 (Directive): Podiatric Physicians’ Access to USMLE Testing

This resolution directed APMA to continue to advocate for the involvement of the American Medical Association (AMA) and American Osteopathic Association with the National Joint Task Force of Orthopedic Surgeons and Podiatric Surgeons, with the goal of working with AMA to facilitate discussions with the National Board of Medical Examiners to allow podiatric medical students to be eligible to take the United States Medical Licensing Examination.

RESOLUTION #5-19 (Directive): Blue Ribbon Panel on Special Areas of Practice and Certifying Boards

This resolution called for a Blue Ribbon Panel to study the recognition of special areas of practice and recognition of certifying boards. The panel would deliver recommendations to the 2020 House of Delegates meeting.

RESOLUTION #6-19 (Policy): Professional Inclusion in a Changing
Health-Care Environment

This resolution calls for APMA to support states in pursuing unlimited licensure for podiatrists and to encourage CPME and the colleges of podiatric medicine and surgery to provide a curriculum consistent with that goal.

RESOLUTION #7-19 (Directive): Stop the Bleed
The American College of Surgeons’ (ACS) Stop the Bleed initiative promotes education on the application of tourniquets. This resolution directs APMA to urge ACS to add podiatrists to the list of approved disciplines to provide instruction as part of the Stop the Bleed program. Once podiatrists are added to the list, APMA would also develop digital resources for members interested in participating and help educate the public about the Stop the Bleed campaign.

RESOLUTION #8-19 (Directive): Call to Collective Action
Resolved that APMA request to collaborate with AMA in the development of any guidance materials for medical staff organization for the purpose of developing a model through which podiatric physicians may participate to the fullest extent in the operation of the hospital.

Report of Elections
Each year during the House of Delegates meeting, the delegates elect officers, trustees, and other key officials. You can learn more about the officers and trustees in their candidate statements in the January-February issue of APMA News.

APMA Officers
Seth A. Rubenstein, DPM, President-elect
Jeffrey R. DeSantis, DPM, Vice President
Laura J. Pickard, DPM, Treasurer

Board of Trustees
Leslie Campbell, DPM, reelected to a three-year term
Sylvia Virbulis, DPM, reelected to a three-year term
William S. Long, DPM, elected to a three-year term

Speaker of the House
Jerauld D. Ferritto Jr., DPM, reelected to a one-year term
Joint Committee on Recognition of Specialty Boards
Anthony T. Corigliano, RPh, public member, confirmed to a two-year term
Priya Parthasarathy, DPM, APMA House of Delegates representative,
elected to a two-year term

Report of Awards
The House of Delegates meeting is an event steeped in tradition and provides a suitable backdrop for the presentation of the association’s most significant awards and honors.

Distinguished Service Citation
Christian A. Robertozzi, DPM
Humanitarian Award
Thomas E. Mancini, DPM
Dr. Glenn B. Gastwirth Leadership Award
Jon A. Hultman, DPM
President’s Award
Paul J. Liswood, DPM
APMAPAC Chair Award
Benjamin J. Wallner

Read more about the awards and this year’s recipients.

Guest Speakers
The delegates heard from the following guest speakers during the meeting:
Barbara L. McAneny, MD, President, AMA
George Dunn, DPodM, Chair, The College of Podiatry
James Hill, DPM, President, Canadian Podiatric Medical Association
Kim J. Hodgson, MD, President-elect, Society for Vascular Surgery
Ira P. Monka, DO, Trustee, AOA
Christian Jerome, President, International Federation of Podiatrists
Read more about their comments to the HOD.

Presentations
During the meeting, there are a variety of presentations to help inform and educate the delegates as they prepare to make significant decisions on behalf of the organization. This year, presentations included:

State of the Association Address, Dennis R. Frisch, DPM, President
Executive Director’s Report, James R. Christina, DPM, Executive Director
Report on Resolution #9-18: Student Recruitment, Tiffany A. Kildale,
Career Development Manager; Peggy S. Tresky, MA, Communications
Director; and Dennis R. Frisch, DPM, President
American Podiatric Medical Students’ Association, Kristen M. Brett,

APMSA President
APMA Educational Foundation Report, David G. Edwards, DPM, President of the Educational Foundation, and Seth A. Rubenstein, DPM, President-elect of the Educational Foundation Town Hall Forum: New York Population Health Initiative (Paul J. Liswood, DPM); Demonstrating the Benefit of Surgical Offloading Procedures in Diabetic Ulcer Population (Christopher S. Seuferling, DPM); State Scope-of-Practice Updates, and Value of Students Taking the USMLE/COMLEX

Examinations (Scott E. Hughes, DPM, and Jeffrey DeSantis, DPM)
President’s Inaugural Address, David G. Edwards, DPM, President-elect
Legislative Advocacy Report, Patrick A. DeHeer, DPM, Chair
APMAPAC Report, Barney A. Greenberg, DPM, Chair
Immediate-Past President’s Farewell Remarks, Ira H. Kraus, DPM

Other Actions
The delegates also adopted the proposed Fiscal Year 2019–20 APMA budget, along with the recommendation from the Affiliate Review Committee to revoke recognition of the American Society of Podiatric Medicine as a clinical education affiliate.