Stephen,
As an accreditation body, the ABC has not been a membership organization since
the ’70s. You or your company pays an annual credential renewal fee to the ABC
to maintain your Certification and the Facility Accreditation. It is not a
membership dues. The same is true of the education programs credentialed by
NCOPE.
The confusing part is that as an Academician you vote for the AAOP
representatives (3) and as an AOPA member you vote for the AOPA representative
(also 3). Currently ABC Certifies and ABC Accredited Facilities that are not
members of either the AAOP or AOPA have no say on who(m) is on the ABC board
and any actions that the Board takes. As an autonomous body, only the election
of board members can influence the direction of the ABC. (Having said that,
all four boards have been responsive to needs of the O&P community. It is in
their best interest, of course.)
Stephen, you have recognized one of the “problems” that I have talked about for
years. If an individual (or their corporation) decides not to be a member of
the AAOP then they, as individuals, will have much less control of their
professional destiny. (And you are right, the consolidation vote is a prime
example of this.) To me that is the number one reason that I have always been
a member of the Academy and why I continue to be actively involved with it.
And, I’m sure that strong supporters of AOPA have similar feelings about AOPA.
Stephen, for those APC practitioners that are not Academicians they have two
options. Either join the AAOP or hope that raising their vioces in forums like
this will influence those that do have the right to vote. As I said before,
the choice was easy for me, I have always been a member.
Terry Supan, CPO (Current ABC Board member [elected by AAOP] and AAOP Trustee
on CARF. Former AAOP President and Board member of AAOP, NCOPE, and CAAHEP.)
————
Lux orthotics wrote:
> The issue of consolidation affects individuals that belong to ABC and the
> Academy. If we are going to consolidate, then any individual that it
> affects and who belongs to one of the organizations that is to be affected
> should have a say in what happens! What makes the Academy the only
> significant entity worthy of a vote. ABC practitioners who do not belong
> to the Academy should have a voice in what happens!
> I am an Academy member and a member of ABC. I still feel that anyone
> affected by consolidation deserves the right to their opinion with a vote.
>
> ———-
