CSAM-SMCA BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING of January 24, 2017
R / G. Budd / R / C. Chase / X / N. el-Guebaly / R / M. Markentin / X / R. FraserX / M. Morin / R / M. E. Goyer / X / R. Hering / X / L. Evans / X / M. Dorozio
X / D. Martell / X / M. Manak / X / W. Shublaq / X / M. Willows / X / K. Mellor
X / P. Sobey / X / J. Brasch / R / R. Lim / X / N. Riese
Call to order by President P. Sobey 5: 05 PM (PST)
Motion to Accept October minutes: N. el-Guebaly, Seconded by ME. Morin
Additions to agenda:
Housekeeping:
- Everyone was asked to use only the to contact K. Mellor at the CSAM administration office
- A reminder that the teleconference numbers sent out for BOD meetings and Committee meetings are the same every time.
Motion to Accept the agenda: P. Sobey, Seconded by M. Willows
Review of last minutes and action items of October 2016
P. Sobey:
- P. Sobey to write letter of recommendation for W. Shublaq
- P. Sobey and M. Manak working around opioid epidemic
- P. Sobey sitting in on all committees. Committees are going well
- Bylaw committee would like board approval to revise current bylaws as below:
· Add back in old article 6.2 to become new article 8.2
· Add additional info to 5.6 (a)
- N. el-Guebaly’s term on the board is ending in 2017. An exoficio position needs to be created for him to continue as Editor in Chief of the journal. N. Reise will draft a brief statement with specific terms for the new position, and then present them at the next BOD meeting
- P. Sobey will schedule teleconference with D. Martel and W. Shublaq to continue discussions around Big Pharma
- Congress World would like to work with CSAM on conferences. This item will be discussed at next Conference committee
- Grant Funding - W. Shublaq, D. Martell, and P. Sobey will look over the grant funding information submitted by K. Mellor and make a recommendation to the board. N. el-Guebaly would like K. Mellor to source out information on how CSAM could establish a foundation.
Executive Report:
2017 Priorities:
- Build on the momentum created by the success of the Montreal conference. Recognition was given to N. el-Guebaly for his contribution to the Montreal conference.
Conference App:
- P. Sobey sourcing companies to create a conference app. He has an upcoming teleconference with QuickSource, a Vancouver-based company to discuss the app’s capabilities and cost.
CSAM Policy Statment:
- There are two key isses that need a statement from CSAM: Marijuana and Opioids. P. Sobey and M. Manak are working on an opioid statement, and P. Sobey would like to hear from BOD volunteers willing to work on creating a marijuana statement.
Fundamentals:
- There is an opportunity to build on Fundamentals and make it into a recognized educational program.
Canadian Medical Association:
- CMA has offered CSAM the opportunity to go from an Associate status to an Affiliated status. The affiliation will give CSAM voting rights at the CMA board level, and help CSAM with credentialing. A CSAM affiliation with CMA will also help create alliances, and provide knowledge on how to co-develop policy statements with other alliances.
Motion for P. Sobey to communicate to the CMA with the objective of CSAM becoming an affiliate member of the CMA: Seconded by M. Manak
CCSA:
- The CCSA would like to cross promote conferences with CSAM. The next CCSA conference will be held in Calgary on November 13-15, 2017. P. Sobey to bring the discussion up again at the Conference committee meeting and the next IT committee meeting. The CCSA sponsorship levels start at $25,000. Is there potential to adjust CSAM’s sponsorship fees?
Neworld Detox:
- A treatment center in Ontario was using the CSAM logo in an unauthorized manner. CSAM sent a letter of warning to the board of Neworld, and the logos were immediately removed. There was a discussion about putting a Disclaimer button on the website. K. Mellor to send the disclaimer notification to P. Sobey again.
Reginal Leaders Report:
- Directors would like to send a personal report/update to each CSAM member in their individual provinces. The report will be sent after each BOD meeting and AGM. N. Reise will create the template for the letter this month, and a different director will take it on each time a report is generated. L. Evans mentioned that her preference would be to have the letter sent from her personal email, and not from the CSAM office “on behalf of”. K. Mellor cautioned about using the gmail function of “Undisclosed Recipients”. If not done properly, the letter could expose all email addresses bcc’d on the letter. K. Mellor to send out the template with minutes.
Financials/Trial Balance:
- $120,000 profit was made from the joint Montreal conference. Profit was split between CSAM and ISAM.
Journal:
- In his capacity as Editor in Chief, N. el-Guebaly has chosen Wolters Kluwer to be the professional publishing company that
publishes The Canadian Journal of Addiction. Using a professional publishing company is CSAM’s opportunity to become more recognized in the world of addiction medicine. N. elGubaly chose Wolters Kluwer as the publisher for the journal as they also publish JAM, (ASAM) and Addictive Disorders & Their Treatment. The CJA will be able to piggyback off the other journal’s success. Working with Wolters Kluwer will increase the CJA impact factor which is currently limited, and crediential CSAM
- A decision has to be made if we are going to purchase insurace to cover the cost of liability insurance for the CJA. The firm Encor was identified, with an annual quote for $1500 CND for one million aggregate or $1950 for two million. N. el-Guebaly feels the one million dollar coverage would be sufficient
- There is a need to increase CSAM membership dues to cover the cost of the journal. The increase will be:
· $22.00 USD per full active members
· $12.00 USD per Residents, Affiliates, etc
· $12.00 USD option will be given to our student members
Motion to have N. el-Guebaly pursue dialoge with Wolters Kluwer: N. el-Guebaly, Seconded by M. Manak
- N. el-Guebaly asked that the cost of running the editorial office also be covered by the increase in membership dues.
Certification Process:
- The process is currently being reviewed by M. Markentin and M. Willows. The old process only required that applicants had a license to practice and that they had passed the ISAM or ASAM exam. M. Willows asked the question if there should be a deadline so the committee doesn’t have to approve all year. ( ?no action)
The new CSAM Certification process:
· Copy of license to practice
· Proof they have passed the ISAM or ASAM exam
· Up to date resume
· Two brief reference letters from a member of CSAM, ISAM or ASAM. Letters of reference must be sent to the CSAM office direct from the author, and be independent of the other documents submitted by the applicant. No letter required if the applicant provides a letter of reference from ISAM or ASAM that is dated within the last two years
· A short letter outlining the applicant’s experience in addiction medicine, and the contribution the applicant has made to addiction medicine throughout his/her career. Letter will also include reasons for pursuing a CSAM certification
- M. Willows will create the CSAM reference letter from the current ISAM reference letter template, and send out to board members within the week.
CRISM (Canadian Research Initiative in Substance Misuse):
- The initiative was designed to facilitate communication and collaboration among addiction service providers, researchers, and policy-makers. R. Hering has been identified as the BC lead to help develop guidelines. R. Hering asked that all members of the CSAM board give the document a thorough vetting from an academic and practical view when it is released.
Committee Reports:
Bylaws Committee Report: N. Reise
- The Bylaw committee recommends two (2) changes to the current bylaws:
1. Revise current bylaws to include Article 6.2 which was inadvertently omitted in a previous revision. Article 6.2 will become Article 8.2 in the current bylaws:
§ Recommended inclusion of Article 8.2: Term and Removal of Officers: With the exception of the president and past president, the officers of the corporation shall hold office until the earlier of the first directors’ meeting following the next annual meeting of members, the date they resign, the date they are removed and the date their successors are elected or appointed in their stead. The president and the past president of the corporation shall each hold office until the earlier of the first directors’ meeting following the second annual general meeting of members following appointment, the date they resign, the date they are removed and the date their successors are elected or appointed in their stead. Notwithstanding the foregoing, officers (including the president and past president) shall be subject to removal by ordinary resolution of the board at any time
2. Add an extension to Article 5.6(a):
§ Existing Article 5.6(a): Directors will be elected by Members by ordinary resolution. Directors hold office for a term not more than four (4) years. A director not elected for an expressly stated term ceases to hold office by the annual meeting following his/her election. Directors not elected at a meeting of Members, the incumbent directors continue in office until their successor(s) have been elected.
§ Recommended addition to Article 5.6(a): Directors will be elected by Members by ordinary resolution. Directors hold office for a term not more than four (4) years. A director not elected for an expressly stated term ceases to hold office by the annual meeting following his/her election. Directors not elected at a meeting of Members, the incumbent directors continue in office until their successor(s) have been elected, subject to any additional terms which apply to directors who become officers of the society.
Motion to make changes to the bylaws: N. Reise, Seconded by P. Sobey
Journal Committee Report: N. el-Guebaly
- See Executive Report
Conference Committee Report: P. Sobey
- The first meeting of the year will be on Wednesday, January 25th. P. Sobey will give progress report at next BOD
- The committee needs more members. Contact P. Sobey if you would like to join the committee
- Looking for good plenary speakers. Contact P. Sobey with any suggestions
- L. Evans (AB/NWT Regional Director and Treasurer) suggested that herself and M. Willows (Ontario Regional Director and President Elect) find replacements for their Regional Directors seats. L. Evans will draft a skill-set outline to present to the board at the next BOD meeting. Item tabled until next BOD
- D. Martell and M. Manak volunteered to join the Conference committee, and P. Sobey accepted.
Education Committee Report: R. Fraser
- First meeting of the year will be on Monday, January 30th
- Will identify 2017 committee priorities at the meeting
- Yelena Chorny will spearhead the Fundamentals course this year.
Membership Committee Report: L. Evans
- Had a productive first meeting of the year on January 22nd
- Reviewed the committee’s Terms of Reference (TOR)
- Decision was made to revise the TOR to increase committee members from six to ten
- ProMembership plugin on website is fixed, and all electronic membership issues are resolved
- Currently, the website sends out three notifications to members whose memberships are expiring to encourage renewal. L. Evans suggested adding a fourth notification and a short survey (will you renew/why wouldn’t you renew?)
- L. Evans would like to see additional seats added to the board. Seats for other membership levels could include: students, residents, and other interest groups. Board recommended that L. Evans come up with a business plan to present to the board for a vote. L. Evans will research the CMA’s trainee hiring process to help build her business plan.
Policy Committee: M. Manak
- M. Manak asked that the Policy committee be separated from the Standards committee on the minutes
- The Policy committee is in process of setting a date for the first meeting.
IT Committee Report: R. Hering
- First meeting of the year was held on January 12th
- Committee is looking to further develop the website, and expand on its social media efforts
- IT committee was given an initial budget of $4000 for improvements, but no ongoing budget. R. Hering asked the BOD for two (2) motions:
1. $2500 – Yearly cost of maintaining the website (IT support, domain name renewal, hosting, Vertical Response, plugin renewals)
Motion to include $2500 (yearly) in the budget for website/IT maintenance as required by the society: Motion passed
2. $2500 – Upgrades to the website with a specific focus on developing the Resources and Membership portals
Motion to include $2500 in the budget for website development in 2017: Motion passed
- N. el-Guebaly mentioned that there may be a need for specialty upgrades to the website to accommodate the new partnership with Wolters Kluwer and the CJA
- The IT committee would like to develop a conference app before the October 2017 conference in Niagara. The app would be custom designed to CSAM and simplify events and conferences for organizers, sponsers, and attendees. The app helps organizers build an audience, engage audience and garner feedback, while attendees get real time event updates and the chance to connect with like-minded people. The bilingual app would be used going forward at all CSAM conferences, with only slight adjustments made for each conference. R. Hering asked that a budget of $5000 be allotted for the app development. More information is needed before the board can make a decision on having an app developed.