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THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
Greetings AMDPA Members,
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I am honored to serve as your AMDPA president for the next two years. I would like to thank Dr. William Greenfield for his leadership of the organization over the past four years and I look forward to the benefit of his counsel and mentorship. I would also like to thank the Board of Directors for their tireless work on behalf of the organization and our members.
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The AMDPA was founded by visionaries, and the progress that we have made as a society and as an organization is undeniable. The theme for the 2018 scientific session was: Health Equity: “Advancing Opportunities & Assessing Challenges.” This theme served us well for a fantastic scientific session but, this theme can also serve as a framework to help guide our organization as we move forward. As with any organization, we have challenges that must be addressed such as justifying the continuing need for the organization, the scarcity of our members’ time, and membership sustainability. Along with these challenges though, we bring tremendous strength which provides excitement and a rallying point around the organization namely:
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As a true interprofessional organization of health care providers in Arkansas: Physicians, Dentists, Pharmacists, and the recent addition of Physical Therapists and Physician Assistants, we have a diverse set of perspectives and experiences that positions us very well to fulfill our mission.
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We have a dedicated core membership that provides our members and leadership team the benefit of historical perspective. For example, our predecessors ensured AMDPA has a standing appointment on the Medical, Dental, Pharmacy and Physical Therapy Boards of Arkansas.
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We have a growing number of health care professionals who come from historically underrepresented communities which continues to diversify our medical community.
With these strengths and challenges in mind, my focus and platform for the next two years will be:
AMDPA is Arkansas’ leading minority health provider association
LEADing with Purpose
In order for AMDPA to LEAD with Purpose, we will focus on:
Locating previous and potential members to increase membership engagement;
Educating members and patients so that we stay on the forefront of patient care as well as support the education of students at all stages to ensure a diverse workforce;
Advocating for issues important to our patients, their families and our members;
Developing and fostering relationships to advance the organization and interprofessional patient care.
Concentrating on these four focus areas will further solidify AMDPA’s standing as a leader in member education, student pipeline development, issues facing healthcare and underserved populations, advocacy, and interprofessional care.
I encourage each of you to make the effort to commit or re-commit to the AMDPA. We need your presence, passion, and innovative ideas.
I am looking forward to the next two years and i am excited to see how our beloved organization continues to grow.
Lanita White, PharmD