From the President …

TEXAS-Size Opportunities

Everything’s BIGGER in Texas, including the ACRM Annual Conference!

WELCOME to the largest conference in ACRM’s 92-year history. We hope you will enjoy the expanded program of up to 20 concurrent sessions including NONSTOP content for 6 diagnoses and 12 focus areas—that’s 160+ sessions and lectures offering up to 46.25 hours of continuing education in your choice of 15 disciplines.

But SIZE isn’t everything. That’s why we are excited to feature a ROCK STAR faculty delivering the latest translational research impacting today’s clinical practice. Just look who’s here!

• Helen Burstin, chief scientific officer of the National Quality Forum
• Michael Boninger, director of the UPMC Rehabilitation Institute
• Denise Park, Distinguished University Chair in Behavioral and Brain Sciences at the University of Texas at Dallas
• Marc Diamond, founding director of the Center for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
• Christoper Giza, director of the UCLA Steve Tisch BrainSPORT Program
• John Tschida, director of the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR)
• Alison Cernich, director of the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research (NCMRR)
• Joseph T. Giacino, director of Rehabilitation Neuropsychology at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital
• Leora R. Cherney, founder and director of the Center for Aphasia Research and Treatment at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago
• Juliet Haarbauer-Krupa, researcher/speech pathologist at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
• PLUS many more outstanding researchers and clinicians

Be sure to download the all NEW ACRM Conference APP to your phone, tablet or laptop to quickly search the program by track, keyword, presenter, or time. It’s a convenient way to keep all the session details, maps, and schedules right at your fingertips. Get the app today and start using it before you arrive in Dallas.

NEW in 2015, don’t miss the Poster Grand Rounds on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons featuring 8 award-winning scientific posters and an opportunity to engage the authors in Q&A.

All attendees are encouraged to attend the Early Career and First-Timers Orientation and Reception on Tuesday evening for a chance to meet the leadership of ACRM, and representatives from all 14 ACRM interdisciplinary special interest and networking groups.

This conference is all about making connections—for career development and advancement, scientific collaboration, and peer-to-peer learning—to IMPROVE the LIVES of people with disabilities. There’s no better way to connect with a community of rehabilitation professionals from around the world than by joining an ACRM interdisciplinary special interest (ISIG) or networking group. See the ACRM Meetings Schedule here.

Of course, the hub of the conference is the EXPO, where you can connect with providers of innovative rehabilitation products and service, meet with colleagues and view the scientific poster displays, and visit the food and beverage stations. Stop by ACRM Central for a chance to win exciting prizes, including free registration to the 2016 ACRM Annual Conference.

If there is something we can do to enhance your conference experience, please don’t hesitate to ask. The ACRM staff and board are here to serve you, or email us at meetings@ACRM.org. ACRM aims to be your home for rehabilitation research.

Let me also take this opportunity to congratulation those newly elected members of the Board of Governors. Most importantly, your new incoming president will be Doug Katz, MD for 2015-17, Debbie Backus, PT, PhD, will be your president-elect and Jenny Bogner, PhD will be your new secretary. We have created past treasurer and past secretary positions to ensure greater durability of institutional knowledge that can be transmitted to the newly elected Executive Finance Committee officers.

In addition to these officers elected, there are four new members-at-large. Congratulations to James McDeavitt, MD and Jeanne Hoffman, PhD, elected to three-year terms. Congratulations also to Fofi Constantinidou, PhD and Ginna Mills, MS, PT, CCM, Licensed NHA, who were appointed by the board to fill vacated positions. I am very excited to work with this new dedicated team as part of the Board of Governors.

I am also especially proud of our newly nominated ACRM Fellows. Congratulations to Susan D. Horn, PhD; Stephanie Kolakowsky-Hayner, PhD, CBIST; Dave Krych, MS-CCC-SLP, CBIS and Anne Deutsch, PhD, BSN, RN, CRRN. I look forward to celebrating your award in Dallas!

Allow me to recognize recipients of the 2015 ACRM Awards to be presented in Dallas. These include:

• John Corrigan, PhD, who will receive the Gold Key Award
• Lance Trexler, PhD, HSPP, FACRM who will receive the Distinguished Member Award
• Michael Boninger, MD who will receive the John Stanley Coulter Award
• Deidre Dawson, PhD, OT (Reg) (ON) will receive the Mitchell Rosenthal Mid-Career Award
• Tatyana Mollayeva, MD, PhD, will receive the Deborah L. Wilkerson Early Career Award
• Hubert Vuagnat, MD will receive the Edward Lowman Award
• Joshua Cantor will receive the Elizabeth and Sidney Licht Award (posthumously).

Finally, let us all take a moment to recognize the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Twenty-five years ago our nation committed itself to eliminating discrimination against people with disabilities. The ADA aims to focus on equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, integration and economic self-sufficiency for persons with disabilities. In honor of the 25th anniversary of the ADA, each month the Department of Justice will spotlight efforts that are opening gateways to full participation and opportunity for people with disabilities. ACRM would like to recognize this important anniversary.

Looking forward to seeing you all in Dallas.

Warm regards,

 

 

 

Sue Ann Sisto, PT, MA, PhD, FACRM
President, ACRM and proud member since 1998
Professor, Chair, Research Director
School of Health Technology and Management
Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY