My dream is to make the TSAPAC the strongest PAC in the country and, with your help, we can accomplish that. My goal is for us to reach an annual budget of $500,000. This ambitious goal is almost three times what we achieve currently, but, since only about 20% of TSA members currently support the TSAPAC, the goal is achievable. We must do better! Did you know that, this past session alone, there were 26 bills that would have granted nurses independent practice or allowed another midlevel practitioner to perform anesthesia. This is compounded by the fact that we had the second largest freshmen class of legislators in the past two decades. Without your generous support we will not be able to forge such strong relationships with our legislators.
I hope to start a recognition program for all those who contribute $1,000 or more. This would include recognition at the TSA Annual Meeting, private collaborative gatherings, monthly email updates, and dinner with a legislator to be named later. We will also soon begin a monthly newsletter to keep you up-to-date on all the current legislative events and key individuals that have a direct impact on our specialty. Each month, a different TSA member will share what it has meant for them to be a member of the TSAPAC. Our first contributor will be current TSA President, Dr. Tim Bittenbinder.
Thank you to all of our members who have worked diligently this past year to advocate for our patients and our profession.
Additionally, I would like to thank our own TSA Governmental Affairs Director, Bonnie Bruce, and our TSA Lobbyist, Jaime Capelo, who work diligently to advocate for the specialty of anesthesiology.
In closing, I want to make myself available to each of you so I can listen to your comments, ideas, recommendations, and suggestions. I look forward to serving as your TSAPAC Chair and hope to hear from you soon at tsapac@tsapac.org.
TSA delegation meets with Cong. Gene Green, ranking member of the
Subcommittee for Health for Energy and Commerce, during the ASA
Legislative Conference. (L:R Jaime Capelo, Dr. Mercier, Cong. Green,
Bonnie Bruce)
