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IPA Bulletin

President’s Report - Reisberg Presidency a Time of Exciting Growth for IPA

Dear Colleagues,

In my last opportunity to write in this space as President of the International Psychogeriatric Association, I want you to know that the past two years have been a high point in terms of my service to our community. IPA’s considerable growth during this period, in both its membership and its staff, is a reflection of the organization’s very real influence on relevant issues and the many significant developments occurring in psychogeriatrics around the world. During my tenure I have sought to help strengthen IPA through some important new initiatives, which are presently coming to fruition and which are increasingly becoming part of the fabric of IPA. Many of IPA’s leaders, all of whom are highly esteemed in our field, have made important contributions to IPA during this time. I thank each of them personally for their support and commitment to advancing the goals of our organization.

IPA has held exciting and important meetings around the world during my tenure as President, including those hosted in Istanbul, Turkey; Munich, Germany; and Beijing, China. Additionally, we are all looking forward to IPA’s forthcoming Congress in Vancouver, Canada.

The Istanbul meeting was superbly hosted and extraordinarily well attended by Turkish physicians and other health care professionals. This was an important event for IPA because of our very real desire to reach and interact with national and regional colleagues. In this regard, I am delighted to note that approximately 300 of our Turkish colleagues attended in conjunction with 150 IPA members and representatives from around the world.

Our Munich meeting was held in conjunction with an array of related national and regional organizations, and presented our colleagues in IPA with the opportunity to interact with members of several multidisciplinary professional groups. The result of such interaction is enhanced growth and professional and cultural stimulation for all who participate.

I am particularly pleased that IPA recently held its first meeting in China. The meeting, held in Beijing, brought IPA to the world’s most populous nation, one with an increasingly important aging population. Once again, there was considerable representation and interest on the part of our colleagues in the host nation, with more than 550 Chinese professionals participating. Clearly, their participation is indicative of the interest in our field in China at the present time. This superb attendance is also indicative of IPA’s very able and sincere friends in this part of the world, to whom we are indebted for hosting this meeting. We look forward to returning to China in the future.

The Congress in Vancouver promises to be a fantastic success. It appears it will be IPA’s best attended Congress to date. I am certain that many will conclude it will be the best in other ways as well. These achievements are the result of the continuing efforts of an exceedingly dedicated and extraordinarily well organized group of Canadian leaders who have been working for the past several years, selflessly and diligently, for the success of this meeting, which we will all thoroughly enjoy and from which we will uniquely benefit. I look forward to seeing you there.

Our initiative on the affiliation to IPA of related organizations is an activity of far-reaching importance. The Board had discussed this issue for several years. It has long been my view that we must work closely with national and regional organizations in support of our common goals in the area of mental health of the elderly. Toward this end, a Committee on Affiliation was formed and criteria for affiliation established. This effort is already bearing fruit and we are indebted to the Committee for the initiative’s early success. Related organizations were invited to participate in the process of affiliation. A number of applications were received and are in the final process of mutual approval. We also would wish to thank the Japanese Psychogeriatric Society, who truly initiated the process of affiliation with IPA a number of years ago, and whose example has served as a stimulus in moving forward in this regard.

IPA is renowned for a long tradition of holding special meetings in areas of greatest relevance to our field. Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD), a field which IPA helped to define, has been the subject of two ground-breaking meetings. The most recent of these, an Update Conference on BPSD, held in Lansdowne, Virginia, in May, 1999, built upon a seminal BPSD meeting held in 1996. In 1998, IPA published the BPSD Educational Pack, made possible by an unrestricted educational grant from Janssen-Cilag and Organon, which has been well received and widely distributed. The Update meeting brought together more than 60 experts who shared knowledge and developments over the past 3 years with field experts, regulatory authorities, and others. This information will be embodied in a special supplement to International Psychogeriatrics, which is to appear in the next few months.

IPA continues to be at the forefront in dissemination of valuable educational information. Our peer-reviewed journal, International Psychogeriatrics, continues to grow in stature, with high-quality, thought-provoking articles by scientists and clinicians from around the globe. IPA Bulletin, our quarterly newsletter, has developed into a compelling 'read,' featuring the most up-to-date details about the practice of psychogeriatrics internationally. And IPA now offers an ever-expanding web site (www.ipa-online.org) where professionals as well as the lay public can go for information concerning mental health of the elderly.

IPA’s Research Awards in Psychogeriatrics, sponsored by Bayer since 1989, continue to be extraordinarily successful and have provided a great stimulus for the scientific and geographic growth of our field. Submissions have come from all corners of the world and have included papers which have become classics in our field. These papers have frequently stimulated research endeavors which have, in a short time, favorably influenced the health of the psychogeriatric population we serve worldwide. It is a pleasure to report that 43 papers were submitted for the 1999 competition. The three winning papers will be presented at a special ceremony during the opening session of our Vancouver Congress.

Another significant effort has been IPA’s recent alliance with an international medical communications group. Since this relationship is only now being fully solidified, it would be premature for me to elaborate in great detail at this time. However, considerable time was expended in evaluating potential partners before choosing one considered appropriate for IPA. It appears that IPA’s potential for growth will be realized more expeditiously as a result of the resources which this new relationship offers.

I am deeply indebted to all of IPA’s officers, as well as our outstanding Executive Director, for making time for bi-monthly telephone conferences, which have enabled IPA to move forward on a continual basis, rather than from meeting to meeting. I also want to express my appreciation to our directors, whose increasing input into IPA activities reflects the growing desire by many leaders in our field to be actively involved with the important educational efforts of our organization. For the past two years, members have participated, as well, in the process of nomination and election to IPA’s Board.

In welcoming IPA’s next President, Ed Chiu, I can assure him that he will find the opportunity to be IPA’s President enormously satisfying. I am certain that IPA’s successes and growth will continue under Ed’s very able leadership. I take this opportunity to wish him spectacular success.

It has been an honor to have helped foster the growth of our organization and our field, in small measure, in my role as IPA’s President. I thank the entire membership for the privilege of having had the opportunity to serve in this capacity.

Sincerely,
Barry Reisberg

Reprinted from IPA Bulletin, Volume 16, Number 2