At CMSA’s Annual Membership Meeting yesterday morning, CMSA National President Jose Alejandro acknowledged the work of the 2018-2019 board of directors and welcomed the incoming board members for 2019-2020, including President-Elect Melanie Prince, MSN, RN, RN-BC, CCM.

He also recognized CMSA’s past presidents, who continue to play an important role within the association. In addition, he recognized all the volunteers who have contributed with their efforts, including national and chapter committee or task force members, as well as chapter presidents and past presidents, and chapter board members.

 

Afterward, he introduced a moving video in remembrance of the CMSA members who passed on since last year’s annual conference. He also recognized the military veterans and active-duty personnel in the audience, as well as international attendees and first-time attendees.

 

Susie Ratterree, chair of the Bylaws Committee, took the stage to share the committee’s recommendation that the bylaws be amended to include “Professional” in front of “Case Manager” to further define the role of case manager. The motion was passed.

 

Hussein Tahan, chair of the Membership Committee, then discussed a survey the committee has undertaken to ascertain what members find most valuable about their involvement both with the national organization and with their local chapters. When complete, the survey results will appear in CMSA Today magazine.

 

Afterward, Mary McLaughlin-Davis, chair of the Hospital Case Management Task Force, and Stefani Daniels, a member of the task force, spoke about their white paper on the practice of hospital case management. Printed copies of the white paper were made available at the end of the annual meeting, compliments of the Cleveland Clinic. CMSA members can also access it for free at the CMSA website.

 

Kathleen Fraser then gave a brief overview of the programs and educational resources available to members, including the Educational Resource Library, which contains a wealth of offerings, including session recordings from CMSA conferences as well as webinars. She also discussed the Standards of Professional Case Management Practice Program; the Case Management Opioid Guide, which will be updated soon; the Motivational Interviewing online course; the Integrated Case Management Program; the Care Coordination and Transitions of Care course; and Addressing the Social Determinants of Health: Ethical Considerations. She added that new and updated products are coming out all the time.

 

Dr. Alejandro then took the stage again to introduce CMSA Foundation president Deborah Gutteridge, who spoke about the Foundation’s work and introduced the Foundation board, including Melanie Prince, the new 2019-2020 vice president. Gutteridge also recognized the 2019 recipient of the ICM Training Scholarship, and the recipients of the new Margaret Leonard Public Policy Grant. She then brought Margaret Leonard to the stage, where Peggy received a standing ovation. Deborah Gutteridge recognized the chapters that have supported the Foundation during chapter events and donated special items for the Foundation’s benefit.