"We knew we had a successful ASCP Annual Meeting last November ~ including our Phootloose in Phoenix dinner event and the art auctions ~ thanks to our great volunteers and generous donors," said ASCP Foundation Executive Director Lisa M. Gables, CPA. "But the 2006 year-end results reported to the Board of Trustees at its February meeting turned out to be even better than expected," she continued. "We ended the year with a favorable variance to the budget and an increase in net assets from 2005. We're counting on an even more successful 2007!"  

This news is particularly important to the financial health of the Foundation in light of the evolving needs of consultant and senior care pharmacists concerning such issues as Medicare Part D, Nursing Facility State Operations Manual changes, and Medication Therapy Management Services.

Over the past several months, ASCP Foundation staff and a strategic planning committee chaired by Foundation Trustee Joan Hyde, PhD, have been working on the development of a new strategic plan for the Foundation. A consultant with extensive strategic planning experience facilitated a three-phase process involving: 

• Stakeholder Input ~ Surveys of the ASCP membership and ASCP Foundation Trustees plus a focus group of selected individuals to determine what key stakeholders think about a range of issues related to the Foundation and its mission. 
• Peer Organization Input ~ A half-day meeting with representatives from a number of other aging-related organizations (see below) to help identify priority trends and critical issues facing consultant pharmacists and the aging network. (Not surprisingly, one of the results of this meeting was a desire to continue collaboration efforts in the future.) 
• Strategic Planning Retreat ~ A one-day meeting with selected members of the leadership of the Foundation and ASCP to incorporate the input of stakeholders and peer organizations into the vision and goals of the Foundation.

Our thanks to the following organizations for participating in the discussion of trends and issues in the field of aging:

• American Society on Aging
• American Association of Homes & Services for the Aging
• Easter Seals
• Gerontological Society of America
• Institute for the Future of Aging Services
• National Alliance for Caregiving
• National Association of State Units on Aging
• National Council on Aging 

Application materials are now available for the ASCP Foundation's Parkinson's Disease Pharmacotherapy Traineeship. The deadline for receipt of applications is March 9. 

Two traineeship sessions will be conducted in 2007: May 7-11 and October 1-5. The traineeship is conducted at the Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Center, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois. 

The Parkinson's Disease Pharmacotherapy Traineeship provides individualized, intensive, didactic and experiential training for pharmacists. It offers pharmacists the opportunity to observe and participate in the development of treatment plans for persons with Parkinson's disease and other neurological disorders, including alternative clinical diagnoses, control of medication adverse effects, drug interactions, dementia and depression, adjustment of therapy, and the use of adjunctive medications. The traineeship also offers the opportunity for pharmacists to work with an interdisciplinary team consisting of physicians, nurses, social workers, speech and physical therapists, caregivers, family members, and patients to positively impact the treatment outcome. 

Comments from last year's participants: 

• It is not often in one's profession when one has access to the finest experts in a particular field. This is one of those experiences, and I will not soon forget it. 
• The traineeship was one of the highlights of my career as a pharmacist. I expected to leave with enhanced knowledge of Parkinson's disease, but I left with much more.
• The quality of teaching was beyond my expectations. The preceptors believed in our ability to make a difference in the lives of patients. 
• This was an incredible experience. I would certainly recommend this program to my colleagues, and I look forward to incorporating this new knowledge into my practice. 

The Parkinson's Disease Pharmacotherapy Traineeship is supported by an educational grant from Teva Neuroscience.

Sandi Johnson has been with the North Shore Senior Center in Northfield, Illinois, since 1978, serving as its executive director since 1992. The North Shore Senior Center, a private, nonprofit center for older adults, has been serving the suburban Chicago community since 1956. The organization annually serves more than 35,000 individuals and their families in 23 communities. The center was one of the first to be accredited ~ and the first to be reaccredited ~ by the National Institute of Senior Centers, a constituent unit of the National Council on Aging. The center provides adult day services, a learning center, special interest groups, computer classes, a fitness center, and much more. 

Ms. Johnson is a fellow with the Buehler Center on Aging at Northwestern University. She has served in numerous capacities with the National Institute of Senior Centers, most recently as National Accreditation Board Chair. She is a member of the National Council on Aging, the Gerontological Society of America, and the American Society on Aging (ASA) and served on the task force for ASA's Medication Adherence joint project with the ASCP Foundation, which resulted in the web-based resource Adult Meducation. Ms. Johnson also served on ASA's Brain Health Task Force in 2005, and her publications include "A Community-Based Approach for Promoting Brain Health" in Attitudes and Awareness of Brain Health, published by ASA and the Met-Life Foundation in 2006. 

Ms. Johnson also serves as a field instructor in social work administration for the University of Chicago. She received her bachelor's degree from Seattle University and her master's in social work from St. Louis University. Before joining the North Shore Center staff, Ms. Johnson was a clinical social worker with the Harvard Medical School Family Health Care program and the Bedford (MA) Veterans Administration Hospital. 

*Second in a Series of New Trustee Profiles ~ The ASCP Foundation Board of Trustees elected six new public members at its meeting last October. Public members are individuals outside the leadership of ASCP who bring to the Board expertise and perspective from disciplines involved in geriatric medicine, gerontology, public policy, and long-term care. Over the next several months, this e-newsletter will feature profiles on these new board members.

Make your pledge of $500 or more early in 2007 and join the ASCP Foundation's "Pacesetters" donor club. What counts towards your total? All raffle ticket purchases and charitable gifts to the Foundation during the calendar year. 

• Make a gift to the Tim Webster Endowment. It counts. 
• Make a donation in memory or honor of a friend, family member, or colleague. It counts. 
• Sign on as a Tim Webster Classic Golf Tournament player or sponsor. It counts. 
• Buy tickets to our annual dinner event during the ASCP Annual Meeting. It counts. 

• Visionary ~ $5,000 or more 
• Leader ~ $2,500 to $4,999 
• Innovator ~ $1,000 to $2,499 
• Catalyst ~ $500 to $999