2020 General Business Meeting Recap

Every year, the Academy of Pelvic Health Physical Therapy conducts its General Business Meeting at the APTA Combined Sections Meeting (CSM). This year, the meeting was held in Denver, Colorado on February 14, 2020. The meeting focuses on the state of the Academy and provides members with highlights of the previous year’s performance. The Business Meeting concludes with the Town Hall, a membership forum that allow members to ask the Academy leadership questions.

Academy Election Results

The following members have been elected and have taken their oath of office at the business meeting.

• 2020-2021 President-Elect, Cathy Konkler, PT
• 2020-2023 Secretary, Kelly Huestis, MPT, WCS
• 2020-2021 Treasurer, Molly Lisenby, PT
• 2020-2023 Director, Programming, Carina Siracusa, PT, DPT, WCS
• 2020-2023 Director, Financial Development, None
• 2020-2023 Nominating Committee Member, Jeanice Mitchell, PT, BCB-PMD, WCS
• 2020-2021 EPSIG Director, Ariana Jones, DPT (1-Year Appointment)

Academy’s Outgoing Members

• Secretary, Amy Pannullo, PT, DPT, MA, ATC, CLT
• Director, Financial Development, Alex Hill, PT, DPT, WCS
• Past President, Pat Wolfe, PT, MS
• Nominating Committee Chair, Karen Snowden, PT, DPT

Call for Nominations for the 2020 Elections

Members have been asked to nominate fellow members for the following positions. Self-nominations are accepted. If interested in running for office, please visit our Elections web page.

• 2021-2022 President-Elect
• 2021-2024 Director of Research
• 2021-2024 Director of Education
• 2021-2024 Nominating Committee Member
• 2021-2022 Student SIG Director at Large (4 positions)
• 2021-2022 Early-Professional SIG Director at Large (2 positions)

Recognition & Awards

• WCS Newly Certified Recipients | View Roster
• WCS Newly Recertified Recipients | View Roster
• CAPP-Pelvic/OB Recipients | View Roster
• Friend of the Academy, Susan Iris & Navigate Strategies
• Volunteer of the Year, Karla Wente, Education Review Chair
• Education Excellence Award, Whitney Bartley, CAPP Committee Member, Instructor, Lab Assistant
• President’s Award, Aika Barzhaxynova, Executive Director
• Elizabeth Noble Award Presentation by Karen Brandon, PT, DPT (Speech coming soon)
• Elizabeth Noble Award Recipient, Ramona C. Horton, MPT, DPT

2021 Events Announcement

• Pre-Conference 1: Gynecologic Oncology: Research, Evidence and Treatment Ideas
• Pre-Conference 2:  Let’s Talk About Sex Sexuality and Treating Sexual Dysfunction: Panelists will talk about sexual trauma, sex as a transgender individual, sex after cancer treatment and more.
• Call for Educational Session Proposals: Deadline is March 18, 2020 | Learn more
• Call for Poster and Platform Abstracts: Deadline is  July 13, 2020 | Learn more
• Next year’s Business Meeting will be in offered in a different format. Academy leadership is considering making part of the business meeting virtual to better optimize time and to avoid conflicting with other concurrent events happening at CSM.

Town Hall Q&A Highlights

Below is a synopsis of additional questions electronically submitted to us some of which we were able to answer at the live, in-person meeting.

Q. With the name change from the Section on Women’s Health to Academy of Pelvic Health PT, will the name of the journal also change? A. No, currently there are no plans to change the name of the journal. Continued goals for the
journal are to include more robust research articles and work towards indexing.

Q. Is there a plan to have subgroups for women’s and men’s health? A. The academy is currently focused on building
special interest groups as part of our infrastructure. There is a post-partum, student group, and early professional group. We are looking to explore additional community options. Please let us know if you have a specific interest at hello@aptapelvichealth.org.

Q. Will the academy be reinstating the research grant? A. While this is on hold for 2020 due to budget restructure, it is a goal of the academy to reinstate the grant for 2021. New: We are actually exploring other fundraising opportunities to make the research grant a possibility in mid-2020. Please stay tuned for updates!

Q. Please share the budget and accounting for last year. A. The academy is currently developing an annual report with the financials from last year incorporated. This should be completed by mid-March or earlier and will become available in the Academy’s digital library for its members.

Q. Would the board consider looking at the bylaws to amend the rule that sets up a three-year total term for President as president-elect, President, and Past President? A. This structure is still new to the academy and
continues to be evaluated for its success. Currently, there is no plan to change the structure as it has only been in place for 1 year.

Q. How will the name change affect those previously board certified as WCS and those who will sit for the exam this year? A. The examination is administered by ABPTS, a separate entity of the Academy of Pelvic Health. Currently the board certification name will not change as a result. Further questions about this can be directed to ABPTS. You may contact the ABPTS at spec-cert@apta.org.

Q. How long will the womenshealthapta.org URL be pointing to our new Academy URL? A. The old www.womenshealthapta.org website URL reroutes visitors to the new website at www.aptapelvichealth.org. Initial planning has been to keep the URL for 1 year. There have been some suggestions to keep it for 3 years. The Executive Director, Aika Barzhaxynova, will re-evaluate this.

Q. Any thoughts on offering a course on nutrition for pelvic floor PT? A. Yes! We welcome ideas for additional course
offerings. Please submit any suggestions for courses to the Director of Education, Jenn Davia, at education@aptapelvichealth.org. Learn about how to submit a course proposal. Submit a course proposal here.

Q. Please discuss the new biofeedback codes and how they are to be implemented? A. Refer to our blog’s billing and advocacy posts to see the definitions and advice behind the new codes for 2020. Currently, we are awaiting feedback from therapists to determine if this is being reimbursed. Please let our Director of Practice, Kim Parker-Guerrero, know if you have feedback from using the codes at practice@aptapelvichealth.org. CMS is still stating that there must be a failed trial of pelvic floor exercises documented prior to billing the biofeedback codes. Continue to think about what you are using biofeedback for when choosing your codes and be sure that your codes closely reflect your documentation and intent for treatment. Consult with individual third-party payers to determine if they will cover the new codes prior to billing.