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President's Message
We approach a new year with a new Chapter leadership regime. I’m
looking forward to serving as your President for the next two years. Please
join me in welcoming the other newly elected Board members. I’m excited
about the possibilities for our future with our mix of new energetic leaders
and dedicated experienced leaders. There is much work to do. We need to
harness the talents of all members who are willing to serve the Chapter
for our collective good. All committees are currently looking for volunteers.
If you are interested in getting involved, please contact the committee
chair or me directly.
Our Fall Conference on November 3rd was a success. Many thanks to Dr.
Tom Murray from Orthopaedic Associates for speaking to us about shoulder
conditions, surgery and rehab. If you missed it, he was fantastic! Thanks
to all of you who made the Golf Scramble and Road Race a success this
year as well. These events have become an important Chapter tradition
that would not happen without your dedicated support.
Thanks to Jill Weybrant for her service as Chapter President. Jill’s
dedication and service went above and beyond the call of duty throughout
her two terms and additional year beyond her term limit when no candidate
for President could be found. Jill’s most recent accomplishment for
the Chapter was to coordinate the change to a new webmaster, which will
provide improved services to our members. (See Jill’s message for
details.)
I would also like to thank our out-going officers and committee chairs
for their service, not only in their immediate past position, but in their
service over the years and their continued participation:
Jon Morren, Vice President
Danielle Allain, By-laws Chair
Jan Salis, Newsletter Editor
Tanya White, District III Director
Cheryl Adams, Delegate
I’ve seen many changes in our profession throughout my more than
twenty years of being an active APTA member. We have the privilege of
improving the lives of people with disabilities, dysfunction and pain
through the use of our knowledge and hands-on skills, yet we continue
to struggle for recognition of our status as autonomous professionals.
As the professional standards for our education have been raised, our
reimbursement has been cut. We compete with those less qualified and less
educated.
Those of us who accept insurance payment are frequently paid less and
paid long after the services are provided, if we are paid at all. And
to top it off, we have to constantly keep on top of ever-changing laws
and regulations, especially under Medicare where unknowing violations
of Stark, Anti-kicback and False Claims laws can result in civil and sometimes
criminal claims. Yet I can think of no other profession that is more satisfying
and rewarding. Our rewards come in the form of appreciation from the patients
we serve for changing their lives. I feel blessed that I was led to such
a wonderful profession early in my career. I am now privileged to serve
my fellow PTs as a lawyer dedicated to helping PTs navigate through all
the legal and regulatory issues that affect our practice. As your Chapter
President, I will use my legal knowledge and advocacy experience to protect
our collective professional interests and the interests of the patients/clients
we serve.
My mission this year is to determine how your needs as practitioners have
changed in the current health care landscape and how the Chapter can best
meet those needs. The Board of Directors and other key members will participate
in a strategic planning session for the Chapter in January. We will be
soliciting feedback from members as we proceed through planning and implementation
stages. We hope to have some meetings at the local District level to provide
networking and educational opportunities. I look forward to meeting you
all when I eventually make my way around to all the Districts. As always,
I am interested in your ideas and suggestions for how the Chapter can
serve you better. Feel free to e-mail or call me anytime.
Happy holidays.
Gwen Simons, PT, JD, OCS, FAAOMPT
President, Maine Chapter APTA
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