Neil Freedman, MD, FCCP

In keeping with CHEST’s commitment to advocating for our patients, we recently hosted a 2-day Health Policy and Advocacy Conference. This event aimed to carry on the tradition of the annual spring meeting held by the National Association for the Medical Direction of Respiratory Care (NAMDRC), which CHEST acquired last year.

In working with my Co-Chair, Katie Sarmiento, MD, MPH, we tried to stay true to what was so valuable from meetings past: convening stakeholders to discuss issues through their particular lens. While there were differences – this year, we gathered around a virtual table – the diversity of perspectives remained intact, bridging the landscape from clinical practice, the patients and caregivers we serve, the businesses that serve the field, and the decision-makers who must be swayed to create the change we desire.

In keeping with CHEST’s commitment to advocating for our patients, we recently hosted a 2-day Health Policy and Advocacy Conference. This event aimed to carry on the tradition of the annual spring meeting held by the National Association for the Medical Direction of Respiratory Care (NAMDRC), which CHEST acquired last year.

In working with my Co-Chair, Katie Sarmiento, MD, MPH, we tried to stay true to what was so valuable from meetings past: convening stakeholders to discuss issues through their particular lens. While there were differences – this year, we gathered around a virtual table – the diversity of perspectives remained intact, bridging the landscape from clinical practice, the patients and caregivers we serve, the businesses that serve the field, and the decision-makers who must be swayed to create the change we desire.

In keeping with CHEST’s commitment to advocating for our patients, we recently hosted a 2-day Health Policy and Advocacy Conference. This event aimed to carry on the tradition of the annual spring meeting held by the National Association for the Medical Direction of Respiratory Care (NAMDRC), which CHEST acquired last year.

In working with my Co-Chair, Katie Sarmiento, MD, MPH, we tried to stay true to what was so valuable from meetings past: convening stakeholders to discuss issues through their particular lens. While there were differences – this year, we gathered around a virtual table – the diversity of perspectives remained intact, bridging the landscape from clinical practice, the patients and caregivers we serve, the businesses that serve the field, and the decision-makers who must be swayed to create the change we desire.

CHEST leadership recently met for its fall quarterly face to face meeting prior to the CHEST Annual Meeting in New Orleans this October. Like all of CHEST board meetings, the agenda was packed with important topics and a great deal of meaningful discussion. I left the meeting more energized about CHEST and its current and future offerings for our membership. Below are a few highlights from the meeting.

The meeting was opened with an update from the outgoing CHEST President Clayton Cowl, MD, MS, FCCP. He highlighted some of the organization’s major achievements over the past year, including: Confirming and signing a new contract with our new EVP/CEO Robert Musacchio, PhD; hiring a new Chief Learning Officer, a new Editor in Chief for the CHEST® journal, and a new Chief Legal Counsel; and expansion of the international strategy with CHEST Congress in Bangkok and a CHEST Regional meeting in Athens with plans for CHEST Congress 2020 in Bologna, Italy. In addition, CHEST convened a Digital Strategy Task Force, which made recommendations to improve how members, patients, and staff interact with our organization.

EVP/CEO Robert Musacchio reviewed some additional organizational accomplishments and areas of focus for the future. These included redefining the One CHEST operating model and a continued focus on international business development with plans for CHEST Congress 2020 in Italy and exploration of future meetings in Singapore and The Philippines. CHEST continues to develop an improved membership strategy focused on improving experiences for our membership and improving member engagement to help secure the future of CHEST. Finally, CHEST remains focused on innovation though new experiences for our members, including new games, virtual patient tours, and enduring activities and products. Many of these experiences were highlighted and on display at the recent CHEST annual meeting.

Doreen Addrizzo-Harris, MD, FCCP, the CHEST Foundation outgoing President, recapped a very successful year for the CHEST Foundation with plans for increasing the impact and visibility of the CHEST Foundation going forward.. John Howington, MD, FCCP, Chair of the Finance Committee, updated the board on the financial health of the organization. Overall, CHEST had a solid financial report based on budgeted revenue and strong expense management by our executive leadership team.

John Studdard, MD, FCCP, the immediate Past President and Chair of the Governance Committee, led the Governance Committee report and discussion. The Governance Committee is composed of members of both the College Board of Regents (BOR) and Foundation Board of Trustees (BOT) and is responsible for the overall health of both boards and ensuring that the boards are consistently performing at a high level. Dr. Studdard presented slates for 2019-20 Board of Trustees and Board of Regents for discussion and approval. Five new members for the Board of Regents and four new members for the Board of Trustees were approved for the upcoming year. In addition, David Schulman, MD, MS, FCCP, and Robert De Marco, MD, FCCP, were elected as President-Designate of the BOR and BOT, respectively.

Several committees presented to the Board to review this year’s progress, future plans, and potential barriers to success. The Council of Global Governors continued to see growth in our international membership, though a potential ongoing barrier to future growth will be developing an efficient mode of communication between the Global Governors and our international members. Discussion around using the expertise within the Digital Strategy Task Force was offered as one method to improve international member communication and engagement. The Education Committee continues to be one of CHEST’s most popular committees with an unprecedented 130 nominations with exceptional credentials for the 2019-20 election cycle. The Education Committee has expanded the size of three of its subcommittees to better include and engage these individuals in CHEST education projects. The Training and Transitions Committee continues to see increased engagement from trainees and training programs. CHEST 2019 had an increased number of trainee submissions, as well as the number of accepted submissions to the meeting. The committee will continue to evolve their strategy for engaging trainees and early career professionals. Finally, Christopher Hergott, MD, FCCP, Chair of the Membership Committee, reviewed several strategies and recommendations to expand our membership offerings and improve the value that we bring to our all of our members.

Finally, it was time to say thank you and farewell to out our outgoing Board members. Clayton Cowl, MD, MS, FCCP, and Stephanie Levine, MD, FCCP, recognized the following board members for their service to CHEST over the last several years: Jack Buckley, MD, FCCP; John Studdard, MD, FCCP; David Zielinski, MD, FCCP; and Burt Lesnick, MD, FCCP.

CHEST leadership recently met for its fall quarterly face to face meeting prior to the CHEST Annual Meeting in New Orleans this October. Like all of CHEST board meetings, the agenda was packed with important topics and a great deal of meaningful discussion. I left the meeting more energized about CHEST and its current and future offerings for our membership. Below are a few highlights from the meeting.

The meeting was opened with an update from the outgoing CHEST President Clayton Cowl, MD, MS, FCCP. He highlighted some of the organization’s major achievements over the past year, including: Confirming and signing a new contract with our new EVP/CEO Robert Musacchio, PhD; hiring a new Chief Learning Officer, a new Editor in Chief for the CHEST® journal, and a new Chief Legal Counsel; and expansion of the international strategy with CHEST Congress in Bangkok and a CHEST Regional meeting in Athens with plans for CHEST Congress 2020 in Bologna, Italy. In addition, CHEST convened a Digital Strategy Task Force, which made recommendations to improve how members, patients, and staff interact with our organization.

EVP/CEO Robert Musacchio reviewed some additional organizational accomplishments and areas of focus for the future. These included redefining the One CHEST operating model and a continued focus on international business development with plans for CHEST Congress 2020 in Italy and exploration of future meetings in Singapore and The Philippines. CHEST continues to develop an improved membership strategy focused on improving experiences for our membership and improving member engagement to help secure the future of CHEST. Finally, CHEST remains focused on innovation though new experiences for our members, including new games, virtual patient tours, and enduring activities and products. Many of these experiences were highlighted and on display at the recent CHEST annual meeting.

Doreen Addrizzo-Harris, MD, FCCP, the CHEST Foundation outgoing President, recapped a very successful year for the CHEST Foundation with plans for increasing the impact and visibility of the CHEST Foundation going forward.. John Howington, MD, FCCP, Chair of the Finance Committee, updated the board on the financial health of the organization. Overall, CHEST had a solid financial report based on budgeted revenue and strong expense management by our executive leadership team.

John Studdard, MD, FCCP, the immediate Past President and Chair of the Governance Committee, led the Governance Committee report and discussion. The Governance Committee is composed of members of both the College Board of Regents (BOR) and Foundation Board of Trustees (BOT) and is responsible for the overall health of both boards and ensuring that the boards are consistently performing at a high level. Dr. Studdard presented slates for 2019-20 Board of Trustees and Board of Regents for discussion and approval. Five new members for the Board of Regents and four new members for the Board of Trustees were approved for the upcoming year. In addition, David Schulman, MD, MS, FCCP, and Robert De Marco, MD, FCCP, were elected as President-Designate of the BOR and BOT, respectively.

Several committees presented to the Board to review this year’s progress, future plans, and potential barriers to success. The Council of Global Governors continued to see growth in our international membership, though a potential ongoing barrier to future growth will be developing an efficient mode of communication between the Global Governors and our international members. Discussion around using the expertise within the Digital Strategy Task Force was offered as one method to improve international member communication and engagement. The Education Committee continues to be one of CHEST’s most popular committees with an unprecedented 130 nominations with exceptional credentials for the 2019-20 election cycle. The Education Committee has expanded the size of three of its subcommittees to better include and engage these individuals in CHEST education projects. The Training and Transitions Committee continues to see increased engagement from trainees and training programs. CHEST 2019 had an increased number of trainee submissions, as well as the number of accepted submissions to the meeting. The committee will continue to evolve their strategy for engaging trainees and early career professionals. Finally, Christopher Hergott, MD, FCCP, Chair of the Membership Committee, reviewed several strategies and recommendations to expand our membership offerings and improve the value that we bring to our all of our members.

Finally, it was time to say thank you and farewell to out our outgoing Board members. Clayton Cowl, MD, MS, FCCP, and Stephanie Levine, MD, FCCP, recognized the following board members for their service to CHEST over the last several years: Jack Buckley, MD, FCCP; John Studdard, MD, FCCP; David Zielinski, MD, FCCP; and Burt Lesnick, MD, FCCP.

CHEST leadership recently met for its fall quarterly face to face meeting prior to the CHEST Annual Meeting in New Orleans this October. Like all of CHEST board meetings, the agenda was packed with important topics and a great deal of meaningful discussion. I left the meeting more energized about CHEST and its current and future offerings for our membership. Below are a few highlights from the meeting.

The meeting was opened with an update from the outgoing CHEST President Clayton Cowl, MD, MS, FCCP. He highlighted some of the organization’s major achievements over the past year, including: Confirming and signing a new contract with our new EVP/CEO Robert Musacchio, PhD; hiring a new Chief Learning Officer, a new Editor in Chief for the CHEST® journal, and a new Chief Legal Counsel; and expansion of the international strategy with CHEST Congress in Bangkok and a CHEST Regional meeting in Athens with plans for CHEST Congress 2020 in Bologna, Italy. In addition, CHEST convened a Digital Strategy Task Force, which made recommendations to improve how members, patients, and staff interact with our organization.

EVP/CEO Robert Musacchio reviewed some additional organizational accomplishments and areas of focus for the future. These included redefining the One CHEST operating model and a continued focus on international business development with plans for CHEST Congress 2020 in Italy and exploration of future meetings in Singapore and The Philippines. CHEST continues to develop an improved membership strategy focused on improving experiences for our membership and improving member engagement to help secure the future of CHEST. Finally, CHEST remains focused on innovation though new experiences for our members, including new games, virtual patient tours, and enduring activities and products. Many of these experiences were highlighted and on display at the recent CHEST annual meeting.

Doreen Addrizzo-Harris, MD, FCCP, the CHEST Foundation outgoing President, recapped a very successful year for the CHEST Foundation with plans for increasing the impact and visibility of the CHEST Foundation going forward.. John Howington, MD, FCCP, Chair of the Finance Committee, updated the board on the financial health of the organization. Overall, CHEST had a solid financial report based on budgeted revenue and strong expense management by our executive leadership team.

John Studdard, MD, FCCP, the immediate Past President and Chair of the Governance Committee, led the Governance Committee report and discussion. The Governance Committee is composed of members of both the College Board of Regents (BOR) and Foundation Board of Trustees (BOT) and is responsible for the overall health of both boards and ensuring that the boards are consistently performing at a high level. Dr. Studdard presented slates for 2019-20 Board of Trustees and Board of Regents for discussion and approval. Five new members for the Board of Regents and four new members for the Board of Trustees were approved for the upcoming year. In addition, David Schulman, MD, MS, FCCP, and Robert De Marco, MD, FCCP, were elected as President-Designate of the BOR and BOT, respectively.

Several committees presented to the Board to review this year’s progress, future plans, and potential barriers to success. The Council of Global Governors continued to see growth in our international membership, though a potential ongoing barrier to future growth will be developing an efficient mode of communication between the Global Governors and our international members. Discussion around using the expertise within the Digital Strategy Task Force was offered as one method to improve international member communication and engagement. The Education Committee continues to be one of CHEST’s most popular committees with an unprecedented 130 nominations with exceptional credentials for the 2019-20 election cycle. The Education Committee has expanded the size of three of its subcommittees to better include and engage these individuals in CHEST education projects. The Training and Transitions Committee continues to see increased engagement from trainees and training programs. CHEST 2019 had an increased number of trainee submissions, as well as the number of accepted submissions to the meeting. The committee will continue to evolve their strategy for engaging trainees and early career professionals. Finally, Christopher Hergott, MD, FCCP, Chair of the Membership Committee, reviewed several strategies and recommendations to expand our membership offerings and improve the value that we bring to our all of our members.

Finally, it was time to say thank you and farewell to out our outgoing Board members. Clayton Cowl, MD, MS, FCCP, and Stephanie Levine, MD, FCCP, recognized the following board members for their service to CHEST over the last several years: Jack Buckley, MD, FCCP; John Studdard, MD, FCCP; David Zielinski, MD, FCCP; and Burt Lesnick, MD, FCCP.