October 2002 • Volume 8 • Number 10 |
The AAFP positioned itself for the future by announcing changes Aug. 29 that will create a leaner, more strategically focused Academy. The changes, which include more than 70 expense reductions and several revenue enhancements, resulted in the elimination of 11 Academy staff positions. The AAFP Board of Directors adopted the expense reductions and revenue enhancements at its Aug. 13 18 meeting -- the final step in a budget priority process that has been under way since spring 2001.
"The bottom line underscoring this arduous process is that the Academy cannot be all things to all people," said AAFP President Warren Jones, M.D., of Ridgeland, Miss. "To ensure a bright future, the AAFP must focus on doing fewer things, and doing them extremely well."
Through its strategic planning process, the Academy must identify activities at which it can be truly great, and then put its energy and resources behind those activities, the Board decided.
"Just as important, the Academy must know which activities not to pursue, no matter what the source," Jones said. "And finally, the entire organization -- on all levels of leadership and staff -- must be in strategic alignment and 'live the plan.'"
Back to the future
What sparked the budget priority process? In spring 2001, the Board of Directors and the Commission on Finance and Insurance looked at five-year projections for the financially strong AAFP. They decided the Academy needed to prioritize its activities in order to maintain that financial health in the future, and they established the budget priority process to accomplish that goal.
In October 2001, the Board chair appointed a subcommittee of AAFP officers, Board members and senior staff to develop recommendations with a positive financial impact of about $7 million. Since then -- thanks in part to the hard work of AAFP staff during the last budget cycle -- the target was cut to $3.8 million, Jones said.
The subcommittee reviewed more than 400 priority suggestions from AAFP members and staff, plus suggestions from all AAFP commissions and committees. "The subcommittee researched every suggestion before making final recommendations that the full Board considered in August," said Jones. "Members should have great confidence in the thoroughness and the integrity of this process."
The outcome
| AAFP President Warren Jones, M.D.
"Members should have great confidence in the thoroughness and the integrity of this process." |
See the story "Changes affect key AAFP stakeholder groups" for highlights of the revenue enhancements and expense reductions the Board adopted to maintain AAFP's financial strength.
Five Academy employees lost their jobs as a result of the changes announced Aug. 29. One additional staff position will be phased out, and five unfilled positions also were eliminated.
A Board report to the Congress of Delegates detailing the budget prioritization actions is posted online at http://www.aafp.org.
A town hall meeting on the budget prioritization actions will be held from 8 to 10 p.m. Oct. 13 in San Diego, prior to the opening of the Congress of Delegates.
FP Report is published by the
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Copyright © 2002 by
American Academy of Family Physicians.