The AADE Board of Directors met on Saturday, April 29, 2017, and addressed several issues of interest to the members:
- Science and practice initiatives were discussed, including the upcoming revision of the National Standards for DSMES and the joint journal article with the American Diabetes Association (ADA) on the “Use of Language in Diabetes Care and Education.” They also requested revisions to two practice documents, one exploring the educator’s role in the development of formularies, and the second defining AADE’s role in regulatory decisions.
- They met with a representative of Baker Donelson, a well-established public policy firm, and approved them as AADE’s public affairs representative in Washington, D.C.
- They approved the establishment of a workgroup to explore a model for accrediting virtual DSMES programs. The intent is to use the existing National Standards for DSMES as the framework, but to identify the requirements/attributes for doing so within a virtual platform versus the traditional in-person model.
- A discussion about the BC-ADM credential led them to request an in-depth discussion of the broader credentialing needs of the diabetes educator profession.
- Staff were encouraged to move forward with an initiative exploring the connection between diabetes educators and the diabetes online community (DOC). This includes identifying the strengths and weaknesses of existing online communities, educators’ perceptions of the DOC, opportunities and barriers affecting referral to the DOC for ongoing self-management support.
- AADE CEO Chuck MacFarlane provided an overview of the staff organization, including the framework for its employee opinion survey, and the most recent results and progress since the last survey in 2015.
- In relation to more routine operational issues, the Board received the association and Foundation 2016 audits from CliftonLarsonAllen. Both organizations received “clean audits,” the gold standard of the audit world. The Board also selected the association’s 2017 award recipients and gave final approval of the CEO’s annual performance goals. In addition, they reviewed AADE’s internal benchmarking report, as well as an assessment of the association’s performance compared to like organizations using the American Society of Association Executives Benchmarking Report. The Board approved minor revisions to several Board policies. Related to the latter, the Board asked that staff review existing organizational committee charges to ensure that they adequately address issues related to technology, which are increasingly driving the field.
AADE Education and Research Foundation
Following the AADE Board of Directors Meeting, the leadership convened the AADE Education and Research Foundation Board of Trustees Meeting, where they approved a policy for the Foundation’s support of a fellowship program with Children with Diabetes – Friends for Life, and selected two fellowship recipients for 2017. They also reviewed the Foundation’s current financials and approved the distribution of funds for AADE17 scholarships and for the Diabetes Educator of the Year award.
As a reminder, each Coordinating Body has a Board member appointed to serve as its liaison to the Board. These individuals are happy to talk with you about any issues that are concerning to your state.
Meet your Board liaison.