Jeffrey L. Apfelbaum, M.D.

e end 2007 having made major strides forward. We are stronger and more focused than ever in serving the needs of our members, profession and, most importantly, our patients. With record attendance at our Annual Meeting, it is clear our members’ commitment to ASA is at the core of our strength as a Society. There are several major areas of significant change for ASA that began this year and will continue over the next several years as we build an even stronger ASA.

The Organizational Improvement Initiative (OII) is a two- to three-year sustained improvement effort that will implement appropriate “best practices,” enabling ASA to deliver exceptional service to its members and our patients. Of equal importance, the OII will enable us to meet current and future challenges posed by a rapidly changing health care environment. To date, the OII has focused on improving planning and annual meeting processes, developing a human resources function, developing and implementing standard management operating practices, and training and developing staff.

ASA’s strategic plan has been completely revamped. Committees and staff are currently working on operational plans to achieve the objectives of the strategic plan. We are using our strategic plan to ensure that members and staff are working toward the same goals and that we have the staff capabilities and organizational infrastructure to support the achievement of our strategic objectives.

ASA now has a top-notch human resources professional as our first Director of Human Resources. Starting in January, we will have a performance management process in place that connects staff jobs and individual objectives to accomplishment of the strategic plan. Additional staffing needs are also being assessed to ensure that we have the staff support needed to achieve our strategic plan.

The Washington D.C. office is moving into a new office space designed to meet their needs and provide new capabilities for ASA. To accommodate a substantial increase in personnel at the Park Ridge, Illinois, office, renovations of office space and the parking lot have been initiated.

One of the major efforts in process improvement is the development of procedural calendars detailing tasks pertaining to the Society’s governance, internal and external communications, and interdepartmental coordination. This effort will result in increased efficiencies for all aspects of ASA’s operations, yielding an organization that is able to more quickly respond to member and patient needs.

ASA will launch a major branding campaign this coming year. The campaign, which you will hear more about in the coming months, will allow ASA to increase its presence in the marketplace, determine the messages we need to be sending and position ASA as the preeminent leader among health care associations.

Our goals are ambitious, our change efforts intense, and our commitment to ASA’s mission and values steadfast. 2008 will be an exciting year of innovation and building that will ensure an even stronger ASA.

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