January 2020
Planning to Vote in the APA Election? Get Details on Candidates Below

APA election season has been in full swing for a few months. BUT NOW, YOU CAN VOTE. Between now and January 31st, you can vote for the positions of APA President-Elect, Treasurer, and Trustee-at-Large. To comply with APA election rules, Area 3 Council recently met and created a survey to send to potential candidates to educate our membership. Area 3 (comprised of five District Branches of the APA: the Psychiatric Society of Delaware, Maryland Psychiatric Society, New Jersey Psychiatric Association, Pennsylvania Psychiatric Society and Washington Psychiatric Society) posed the following three questions on issues of critical importance for APA members:

1) What is your number one priority, and how would you work towards achieving that?

2) What is your position on affiliate membership for non-physicians? How will you advocate for your position within this organization?

3) From a member services perspective, what would you do to meet the professional needs of psychiatrists throughout their career from training to retirement?

A PDF of their answers have been compiled here for your review: APA election survey.pd f

The APA’s website has more information and links to the candidate’s websites (as available). Click Here for more information and to vote.
Congratulations to our new Distinguished Fellows and Fellows!

One of the greatest pleasures of the PaPS membership committee and PaPS Council is to recommend Distinguished Fellowships applications, of our eligible members, to the APA. We have recently been informed by the APA’s Membership Committee that our recommendations for 2019 Distinguished Fellowship have been approved.

The following members will be inducted during the Convocation of Distinguished Fellows during at the 2020 APA Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, PA:

Irakli Mania, MD
Mark Matta, DO
Dhanalakshmi Ramasamy, MD
Thomas Riordan, MD
John “Jack” Rozel, MD
Roomana Sheikh, MD

The APA Membership Committee also approved the following members for Fellowship:

Jane Jesse, MD
Narpinder Malhi, MD
Ajita Mathur, MD
Daniel Neff, MD
Adam Scioli, DO
Dan Udrea, MD
Frederick Villars, MD
Sanjay Yadav, MD

We are proud of all our new Distinguished Fellows and Fellows. NOTE: APA will be providing all district branches with their DF eligible lists shortly. We will provide information to eligible members and to state and local chapter leadership eligibility rosters and criteria as soon as they are available. 
Governor announces comprehensive mental health initiative: PaPS issues press release of support

On January 2nd, Governor Wolf, surrounded by cabinet secretaries and leadership within his administration, unveiled his Reach Out PA: Your Mental Health Matters campaign. During the press conference, the governor focused his comments on expanding comprehensive mental health treatment across the life span for all citizens across the commonwealth without stigma or barriers to care. Governor Wolf’s press release focuses on three areas: 1) Strengthening Mental Health Care Access; 2) Combatting Mental Health Stigma; 3) Increasing Support/Proactive Resources for Children and Young Adults; and 4) Preparing State Agencies and Workers to Help and Reach Out. A copy of his press release is detailed here.

Although no specific details and/or funding mechanisms have been rolled out yet, this statewide initiative will be unveiled throughout the year. Governor Wolf likened this plan to the administration’s concentrated focus on the opioid and heroin overdose public health emergency over the past few years. I envision that additional funding details will be part of the governor’s proposed 2020-2021 fiscal budget presentation next month.

On New Year’s Day, I was contacted by the administration to inform me of the press conference, soliciting our support for this campaign. We jumped into action, working closely with the APA, to finalize our comments. Our press release is attached here. PaPS expressed our support for the governor’s plan and our willingness to collaborate on areas of mutual interest. As additional details are available, we will provide updates.