NASHIA News
October 28, 2005
Greetings NASHIA Members:
It was wonderful seeing everyone at the State of the States Meeting in Nashville. I hope you have recovered, and to our friends in Florida and the rest of the Southeast, I hope you survived the hurricanes and all is well!
By all accounts, this year's SOS was a huge success. We had 205 attendees from 45 states. With the addition of our partners from the Brain Injury Association of America and the Federal TBI Program, there was a diverse group resulting in much spirited and productive discussion. I want to thank NASHIA staff, the SOS conference committee, presenters, and all participants for making this year's conference the best yet!
Planning for our 2005 SOS Meeting in Denver will begin in January. In the meantime, members who could not attend the meeting will soon receive NASHIA's Annual Report by mail. State government members will also receive a request to update their states' listing in our National Directory of State Government Brain Injury Contacts .
Not wanting to rest on our laurels, we're putting the finishing touches on the 2 nd Edition of NASHIA's Guide to State Government Brain Injury Policies, Funding and Services. Your efforts in updating state profiles are appreciated and critical to meeting our year-end publication date. We're also finalizing a series of three Behavioral Health radiocasts, which will air in late January and February.
Thanks to the advocacy efforts of NASHIA Board members Debbie Kamen and Bruce Rosen, our association has been invited to join a CMS Waiver application redesign task force. NASHIA's Director of Public Policy Susan Vaughn continues to write the State Watch and the Capitol Hill Watch (formerly known as Federal Legislative Alerts). Please let Susan know of any relevant legislative activity in your state; her email address is slvaughn@nashia.org .
As we move forward in the next two years, we face exciting and challenging times. Our first priority will be TBI Act Reauthorization. I thank Bill Ditto, NASHIA's President Elect, for spearheading this important task as well as all members our Public Policy Committee. I will keep you informed of our activities and at a later date will be asking for your help with this important issue.
NASHIA's second priority, and equally important, is membership and sustainability. As you are all aware, NASHIA's contract with HRSA to provide technical assistance for the Federal TBI Program has added substantially to our budget, but its effect on NASHIA's membership services can be deceiving. Of our $1.8 million budget in 2005, only 7% is unrestricted funds and available for essential membership services such as our State of the States Meeting, National Directory , Annual Report , www.nashia.org website, and all Federal public policy. Yet , NASHIA's Board of Directors continues to look to ways to expand membership services. It is in this quest that I am turning to our members for help.
In Nashville, voting members ratified a new membership structure and fee schedule. Our old structure and fee schedule, which had not changed in the past 10 years, no longer met the needs of NASHIA and its members. The nominal increase in membership dues will allow NASHIA to maintain its expanded role in public policy.
Equally important, the new structure will now include three full memberships in the State category. This allows members to approach their colleagues from key agencies within their state to engage them in brain injury issues as well as benefit from NASHIA membership. At a time when we all face budget shortages, it is essential that we reach out to our colleagues within state government for collaboration and education around TBI! As President of NASHIA I am challenging each state and territory to obtain a State membership and build these collaborations.
Since my election as President of NASHIA, members have provided excellent suggestions regarding potential activities. With each suggestion I become excited about the possibilities, only to be confronted with the reality of how we pay for such activities. Hopefully as our new membership structure comes on line and more funds are available for membership services, NASHIA will be better able to take on these activities. But how do we do so now?
As I think about this dilemma and consider NASHIA's resources, what constantly comes to mind is our membership. NASHIA is blessed with a diversity of talented, energetic individuals who understand state government and TBI. So I turn to NASHIA's membership and call for volunteers. It is only with volunteers that we will be able to reach our goals and create change in state government for those with TBI. Many NASHIA committees need member involvement, including:
Conference Planning Committee, chaired by Manfred Tatzmann
Finance & Sustainability Committees, chaired by Tom Brown
Membership Committee, chaired by Colleen Ryall
Policy and Procedure Committee, chaired by Dianne Kayala (RI)
Public Policy Committee, chaired by Bill Ditto (NJ)
Please think about how you can be a greater part of NASHIA. Look at the various committees, pick one to join, and send an email message to the committee chairperson. Remember, NASHIA is only as strong as its membership participation! At any time, please feel free to contact me or NASHIA's Executive Director Susan Connors with your ideas! Thank you for your continued support.
The mission of the National Association of State Head Injury Administrators is to assist state government in promoting partnerships and building systems to meet the needs of individuals with brain injury and their families.
Susan H. Connors,
Executive Director
301.656.3500
