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President's Message: Introducing Executive Officers, New Executive Director, and Important Message from Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee
Stephen (Larry) Mecham, DO
President, Arizona Psychiatric Society
(Photo at RIght (L-R: Dr. Mecham, APS Lobbyist Alexis Glascock, Rep. Amish Shah, MD, Dr. Chhatwal))

Thank you to all who attended the 2022 Annual Meeting of the Arizona Psychiatric Society scientific session in person at the Wild Horse Pass. The excitement and energy of being together in person was palpable and inspiring. As your incoming President, I thank you for this opportunity to serve the Society and build upon the advocacy and membership outreach that has been strongly supported by the leadership before me, with benefit of our supporting teams at the APA and our Executive Director, Teri. Our Summer Newsletter will follow soon, celebrating our poster authors and award recipients, resharing contributions from our meeting faculty, and thanking our exhibitors and sponsors.

Today, we are taking a moment to begin the new leadership year with celebration of our newly elected executive officers, introducing our incoming Executive Director, and sharing an important and timely message from Dr. Chhatwal, Chair of the newly formed Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee of the Society, and Teri's invitation to support the Arizona Psychiatric Society Moore Mental Health Equity 5K fundraising team in celebration of her retirement. I encourage you to contribute your voice to the work of the DEI Committee and thank Dr. Chhatwal for her leadership in this work so vital to our practice and our community.

As an early career physician, with a passion to make a difference for psychiatry and our patients through impactful advocacy and collaboration in our community, I am thankful for your membership and for each and every member who takes the time to be engaged, get to know their local legislators, contribute to conversations at the state and national level, and work together to promote improvements in care, physician well-being, and patient safety. We know the year ahead will hold many challenges and opportunities for psychiatry to be engaged in the issues. We invite you to engage, contribute to the work of the Society, join our Committees, and to invite fellow peers to become members and join in working together for our profession and the patients for whom we provide care.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee: Message Around Equity and Advocacy and Recent Events
Jasleen Chhatwal, MBBS, MD
Chair, DEI Committee
Past President

Last week’s ruling of the Supreme Court returned legislation of medical termination of pregnancy to individual states. This decision adds to sex-specific healthcare and social disparities. It places additional barriers to health for our most vulnerable populations - people of color, gender-diverse individuals, rural communities, non-citizens, and other marginalized groups.
 
In Arizona, the confusion around current legal standards creates an additional layer of complexity. We face losing the right for personal medical decisions to occur between a patient and their physician, while facing penalties for providing care that is in the best interest of our patients.
 
As psychiatrists, we are called to action in this moment. The core of our work is supporting our patients in building a satisfying and meaningful life. Taking autonomy away from women (and all birthing persons) in their individual healthcare decisions is antithetical to the principles of our profession. This is not a theoretical position; this is based on data.
 
We have clear evidence that lack of autonomy in reproductive decisions leads to harm in women, children, and families. We know that women who do not get to make this decision for themselves have higher rates of mental illness, bankruptcy, eviction; they are more likely to stay in an abusive relationship, more likely to have pregnancy or birth complications. We know that children in these families are more likely to live in poverty, more likely to witness violence and have worse developmental outcomes. We know that these dyads are less bonded. We are ethically obligated to Do No Harm, and it is clear that this ruling harms those we serve.
 
We should not be silent in this moment in history. We must use our voice and our visibility to speak for patient autonomy, privacy, community health and women’s rights. We invite you, our members, to contribute to this conversation and help define our advocacy. Please join us.
 
If you are interested in serving on the DEI committee, which will work with our members and leadership to advocate for all vulnerable populations, or would like to share your input with the committee, please contact the Society. 

To read the recent statement from the American Psychiatric Association in response to the Supreme Court of the United States of America decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, including reference to national statements from the major mental health associations and physician organizations, CLICK HERE. 
Welcome and Thanks to Incoming Executive Officers: APS 2022-2023 Elections
Please join the Society in welcoming to executive leadership the following officers elected to serve at the Annual Business Meeting on June 16, 2022. As your elected officers, they serve an important role representing psychiatry and welcome your input and contributions to those efforts, including serving on Committees and supporting outreach and activities for our members. Please reach out to the Society if you would like any assistance in contacting an executive officer directly.

President: Stephen (Larry) Mecham, DO

President-Elect: Gagandeep Singh, MD, DFAPA

Vice President: Nicholas Ahrendt, MD 

Treasurer: Srinivas Dannaram, MD 

Secretary:  Margaret Balfour, MD, DFAPA

Co Resident-Fellow Member Representatives:  

Chase Crookham, DO (UACOM – Phoenix)
Reema Chopra, DO (Creighton Arizona Health Education Alliance at Valleywise Phoenix)
Kailee Marin, DO (UACOM - Tucson) 

APA Assembly Representatives: Jason Curry, DO (Continuing Two-Year Term Through 2023), Jasleen Chhatwal, MD (Two-Year Term through 2024), Payam Sadr, MD, DFAPA (One-Year Term Through 2023)

The elected Arizona APA Assembly Representatives positions are served in staggered terms. The term of Jason Curry, DO and Payam Sadr, MD, DFAPA will continue through the close of the 2023 APA Annual Meeting (May 2023).  The term of Jasleen Chhatwal, MBBS, MD will continue through the close of the 2024 APA Annual Meeting (May 2024).
Introductory Note from Morgan DiBasilio: Incoming Executive Director
Morgan DiBasilio, Executive Director
Arizona Psychiatric Society

Hi all! My name is Morgan DiBasilio and I am the incoming Executive Director for the Arizona Psychiatric Society. I am originally from California but have spent several years growing up in both Arkansas and Arizona. About a year ago I decided to move back to Arizona, and I could not be happier! I am graduating from the University of Arkansas in the fall of this year with my bachelor's degree in Communication. Not only do I have a passion for Communication but for Public Health as well. I feel like this position found me and was meant to be. I feel as though I found a new home here at ArMA working alongside individuals who share the same enthusiasm as myself. I am eager to learn and to help in any way I can.

I welcome you to contact me by e-mail (mdibasilio@azmed.org or admin@azpsych.org) (add both e-mails to your safe senders or priority In Box to ensure you receive messages in a timely manner) or cell phone (602-909-4388). My regular office hours will be 7 am to 3:30 pm, Monday through Friday, in addition to being available as needed for Society outreach, Committee calls, and Executive Council meetings. Teri and I are working together for a strong transition through the month of July, and during the week of July 4-8, I will be on a pre-planned family vacation, and Teri will be available for any time sensitive issues. I look forward to supporting the Arizona Psychiatric Society as your Executive Director.

Have a great 4th of July!”
Support Mental Health Equity and Celebrate Teri's Retirement: Join or Donate to the Arizona Psychiatric Society Moore Equity 5K Team
A Note from Teri: On July 9, 2021, my husband, our English goldendoodle puppy Yeager (just eight months old), and I hit the desert trail to walk for the first Moore Equity in Mental Health 5K. On July 15, 2021, a dental visit resulted in a referral to an otolaryngologist and a biopsy that revealed a cancerous mass on my tongue and a hemi-glossectomy on August 24, 2021, followed in the Fall by a six week course of head and neck radiation. That journey has been a remarkable one, and one in which the support of so many, but in particular the leadership of the Arizona Psychiatric Society and its members, has made such an impactful difference. It has also been a factor in the personal decision to step into semi-retirement to provide more time with my husband, adult son, and still very much a puppy, Yeager, and to celebrate other family, friends, places, passions, and connections as I approach my sixty-third year. Those experiences have shown me what a difference that help and support from your community can make in any journey, and it would bring me even more joy to take action to help broaden that feeling of support in our community through impacting mental health equity. To that end, I invite you to join the Arizona Psychiatric Society Moore Equity 5K Team or donate to our team through my personal race page.   


You can participate in the Moore Equity in Mental Health 5K on July 9th virtually or by getting out in our community for your own 5K effort (swimming, hiking, an early morning walk, or an evening stroll).
Teri and Yeager on July 9, 2021
Teri and Yeager today (ready for July 9, 2022)
In 2021, the Arizona Psychiatric Team in 2021 raised $750, and the APA effort across the United States for the inaugural Moore Equity in Mental Health 5K successfully raised $75,000 to support mental health equity for young people of color, while promoting awareness and education about this imperative issue. The grant recipients from 2021 include:

  • Crear Con Salud, Breaking Barriers: Providing Mental Health Education to Puerto Ricans, Puerto Rico Psychiatric Society
  • Drake University Counseling Center, Enhance Equitable Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services and Access for Students of Color, Iowa Psychiatric Physicians Association
  • The Kellin Foundation of Guilford County North Carolina, Project Nia, North Carolina Psychiatric Association
  • University of Colorado Foundation Addiction Research & Treatment Services, Increased Access to Behavioral Health Services Among Spanish Speaking Youth, Colorado Psychiatric Society
  • The University of Florida Health Community Clinic, Promoting Mental Health and Emotional Well Being of Young People of Color in College, Florida Psychiatric Society

As summer rolls in, we invite you to join the APS Team or donate to support our efforts. We have a goal of raising $1,000 to support the Moore Equity in Mental Health 5K in total achieving its goal of $100,000 this year and need your help to achieve it.
APA MOORE Equity in Mental Health - July Events
In honor and celebration of Bebe Moore Campbell Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, the APA is hosting events throughout July, including a July 14th Roundtable on Advocacy and a July 23rd conversation with the 2021 community mental health grant recipients.