In Nashville at the most recent quarterly meeting of the AASM Board of Directors, we reviewed reports from our committees and task forces, and we discussed ongoing projects of importance to the membership. You can download the 2019 fourth-quarter report for a summary of key decisions made at the meeting and highlights of other recent AASM initiatives. You also can visit the President’s Report webpage for an archive of previous reports.
The most important discussion during the meeting involved the finalization and approval of a new strategic plan that will guide AASM activities for the next three to five years. As a professional membership society, the AASM must remain relevant amid constantly changing circumstances by providing consistent and lasting value for our members. This requires the leaders of the AASM to frequently assess the organization’s priorities and direction to determine if they are still aligned with the needs of our members and the field of sleep medicine.
The AASM board of directors embarked on such a process in 2019. Our strategic planning was guided by a wealth of information that we gathered from multiple sources: a survey of individual and facility members, focus groups that were conducted at SLEEP 2019, qualitative telephone interviews with stakeholders representing the broad spectrum of the sleep field, and a preliminary report from the AASM Diversity and Inclusion Committee.
None of the goals in this plan would be achievable without our engaged members and committed volunteers. I am thankful for this support, and I look forward to working together to advance sleep care and enhance sleep health to improve lives.
I also invite you to join me Feb. 21-23 at Sleep Medicine Trends 2020 in sunny Tampa, Florida. This weekend course is one of the highlights of the year and one of the best opportunities to gather with other sleep clinicians to discuss the latest advances in the sleep field.
Kelly A. Carden, MD, MBA
President
