Best Practices: FMDA Conference A Growing Success

There is so much that the Florida Medical Directors Association (FMDA) would like to share with you about its annual conference. FMDA has come a long way since its early days and we are very proud of our progress.

With the help and support of the incredibly dedicated volunteer leadership, the Board of Directors has steered FMDA ahead of the curve. They have tried and succeeded in keeping the association relevant and have enhanced and improved member services over the years.

For example, FMDA’s 15th annual meeting in 2006, was very unique in that for the very first time, the conference had its own permanent name, "Best Practices in the Geriatrics Continuum." We plan to reuse it year-after-year, and we also have a striking new customdesigned logo to match.

One of the reasons we chose a permanent name is because we continue to draw attendees from all over the country. In addition, this annual conference is joint-sponsored by the FMDA and AMDA in conjunction with the Florida chapter of the ASCP, and in collaboration with AAHCP and the Florida AGS chapter. This is a powerful alliance that gets stronger every year.

Best Care Practices in the Geriatrics Continuum 2006 (from left): AAHCP Past-President George Taler, MD; AAHCP Executive Director Connie Row; FMDA President Carl Suchar, DO, CMD; FGS President Sandhya Nemade; AMDA President Steven Levenson, MD, CMD; FMDA IAB Co-Chair Malcolm Fraser, MD, CMD; FL-ASCP President Toni Harrison, and ASCP President Robert Miller.

Over the years we’ve added more educational sessions and more CME/CE intensive educational programming. It wasn’t that long ago when we hosted weekend conferences where one could earn up to 12 CMEs. Those days are gone. In 2006, the total offering was nearly 30.0 CME hours.

In addition to CMEs provided for physicians and physician assistants, our conference also offers contact hours for senior care pharmacists, nurse practitioners, licensed nurses, and nursing home administrators. This format is very unique and has worked very well since we first started it five years ago.

In addition to seminars, we also have poster presentations. And, in 2006, we introduced a new FMDA Futures grant program to encourage physician practice in long-term care and geriatrics.

John Potomski, Jr. DO, CMD, Vice President, FMDA (left), and Boa An Andy Gia Le, MD, FMDA’s first Futures Program awardee.

Attendance at our conference has grown steadily over the years. In 1999, there were approximately 125 attendees. In 2006, there were 382. In 1999, there were approximately 20 vendors exhibiting. In 2006, there were 47 vendors with 49 displays.

One of the great things about being in Florida is that we have some amazing hotels and resorts where we can host our conference.

For more information about this amazing geriatrics medical conference, please call FMDA at (561) 659-5581, visit our Web site at www.fmda.org, or e-mail me at ian.cordes@fmda.org.

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