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Home > Public Resources > Trauma Blog > 2001 - Summer > Board Focuses on Services, International Structure and Fiscal Planning at Midyear Meeting

Board Focuses on Services, International Structure and Fiscal Planning at Midyear Meeting

ISTSS

July 1, 2001

At ISTSS's mid-year board meeting held at the 7th ECOTS in Edinburgh, Scotland, many reports were filed and various issues discussed. Following are some of the highlights:

  • The board recognized the need to build ISTSS reserve funds, and in the upcoming year, fiscal stability will be the underlying principle in providing services to members.
     
  • In the past year, ISTSS has maximized organizational communication, decision-making and resources with its policies and procedures. As part of this effort, the policies and procedures manual was approved. Efforts will continue so that programs can be created for members in an efficient method. Much of the progress in this area is due to the efforts of Eve Carlson, chair of the Policy and Procedures Task Force, and Danny Kaloupek, chair of the Infrastructure Task Force and Finance Committee.
     
  • JTS is reducing its manuscript review process and the backlog of manuscripts. The Scientific Publication Committee is working with JTS publisher Kluwer to create six issues rather than four, possibly in a larger size, improving quality at no extra cost to the organization.
     
  • ISTSS is devoted to the universal problem of trauma. The board has a clear commitment to balance and integrate international and regional energy and concerns, as well as foster cross-regional collaborations. Nonetheless, there is a continual struggle as to the best way to implement goals - in operation and communication. The board discussed practical issues such as economic disparity across countries, affiliate status, North American vs. ISTSS status, JTS subscriptions, energy to sustain structure and communication across regions, differences in the needs of developing vs. nondeveloping countries, and differences between countries that have easy access to trauma experts and countries that don't. Also discussed were the pros and cons of forming and modeling a federation among all organizations or creating a structure within ISTSS to accommodate those concerns. A committee chaired by Merle Friedman and Matthew Friedman was formed to review these issues in depth and make recommendations to the board. Send opinions and suggestions to committee chairs at [email protected] or [email protected].
     
  • The board agreed on the need to have quick access to members interested in responding to current news. The Public Education Committee will discuss this issue and make recommendations to the board. Send suggestions to Laurie Pearlman ([email protected]) or Ed Varra ([email protected]).
     
  • Policies for complimentary admission to the annual meeting for press, special guests invited speakers were finalized and added to the conference budget, helping to keep down costs and implement consistency. The program chair for next year was selected very early to shadow this year's program chair. This pilot is a successful way to enhance continuity over the years and provide the conference chair with training to help make chairing the program more manageable.
     
  • Discussions about future annual meetings concluded that the 18th Annual Meeting would convene in Baltimore, Nov. 7-10, 2002.