President's Report 2008 - Part 1

In this time of giving thanks, 2008 was a year Acupuncturists in Pennsylvania have much to be thankful for. Our numbers have grown by at least 11 more, with the first graduating class of the Won Institute joining us into the great profession of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. Like the rest of us, these 11 will get to enjoy the benefits of our other major achievement this year: our bill SB1023 being signed by the Governor making us officially Licensed in the eyes of the state of Pennsylvania. We've come a long way from 7 years ago when I first joined the APA and we still carried the burden of medical supervision, and the Won Institute couldn't even legally exist. All of the above happened with the hard work and action of our Executive Board, particularly Ben Griffith and David Molony who have deftly waded through the political landscape in Harrisburg to bring us to where we are now. This brings me to a very key turning point for us all in 2009 and beyond:

Lobbying
In October, it was my pleasure to represent the APA at this year's AAAOM conference. As you know, the AAOM and the AOM Alliance merged 2 years ago. The merger is coming along well via the hard volunteer efforts of the Board, but there have been many growing pains. The AAAOM is unfortunately saddled with a modest amount of debt which has left one particular vacuity in the national organization: we currently do not have a national lobbyist. This is not something I personally would consider a luxury, but instead a necessity. Without our own in PA, every single patient of ours would still be seeing our medical supervisors right now.

The AAAOM has realized their mistake, and is pushing forward on fundraising and bidding to find a lobbyist. Considering the new administration that is coming to Washington, health care policy may be addressed very soon, and Acupuncture absolutely must have a seat at the table. As an aside, I was surprised to find out that the AAAOM has only 1100 members, especially considering nationally we have over 27,000 Acupuncturists. I bring this up, because this means that their fundraising capabilities are actually more limited than I thought. A national lobbyist with some wiggle room will probably cost over $160,000 annually.

This is where we come in. The AAAOM conference held a President's Council, putting all the heads of the state organizations in the same room for the first time. Though much else was discussed, we all agreed that we need to help the AAAOM reach its fundraising goals. As many of you saw, last year we had some of our own troubles raising enough money to finish our lobbying effort for SB1023. To address this, the APA will be marginally raising its annual membership fees.

New and renewing membership dues will now be $160 per year, while first year practitioners will now be $80 per year. To each member, this is a small raise of only $5 or $10 dollars annually. But together, this will ensure that statewide we have enough money to continue our own transformative efforts, plus it will give us extra money that we can send to the AAAOM to help fund a national lobbyist. I can't emphasize enough how important I think this is. Remember, lobbying is not just for times when we're passing new bills, or expanding our scope of practice, it's a matter of protection as well. I don't want to wake up one morning and find that Chiropractors have passed a law saying they can practice with a 200 hour course like the MDs and DOs. Nor do I want to wake up one day and find all Chinese Herbal Medicines banned by the FDA as they tried to do with Ephedra. A lobbyist provides us with the eyes and ears in government that we desperately need.

Regional Representatives
Ever since joining and then becoming President of the APA, I feel that all I do is ask you for money. Well, now I'd like to ask a bit more from you, namely your time. To help tighten the community of Acupuncturists in this broad state, and to begin building a grassroots effort that can be called upon when needed, I want to build a statewide network of regional representatives. Consider this the Acupuncture phone tree of the 21st century. So what will a regional representative do? Here's a small idea of what I had in mind:

1. Identifying new members to add to the community and make them feel welcome.
2. Being a local spokesperson and authority on AOM to the media and government.
3. Keeping your local Acupuncturists informed on current affairs and how they can become more involved.
4. Gauging the temperature of your local Acupuncturists on issues that arise.
5. Energize fundraising in your local area for any intense legislative activity (statewide or national) that requires it.

This is still, and will be an evolving position while we figure out how best to orgnaize everyone. If you're interested, we can most assuredly use your help.