AOTA Board of Directors Approves Priorities for FY 2011

At its winter meeting in February, the AOTA Board of Directors prioritized the organization’s Centennial Vision goals for the 2011 fiscal year, which begins July 1, 2010. The priorities are being shared with AOTA leadership and volunteer bodies to facilitate alignment with the goals for the planning for projects and activities.

Board discussions were guided by a logic model that used the Centennial Vision as the basis for creating activities, strategies, outcomes, and measures that would enhance the profession while building and delivering member value. The tenets of the Centennial Vision ranked highest by the Board for FY 2011 are those that support increasing the influence and recognition of the profession, ensuring that the profession is science driven and evidence based, and fostering the development of leaders.

The 2011 priorities include actively recruiting AOTA volunteers and promoting leadership among members; enhancing the use of the brand to promote the profession to other professionals and consumers; continuing broad-based federal and state advocacy to ensure that occupational therapy is represented as health care reform changes take place; promoting research by supporting researchers and scientists; and reducing faculty shortages by encouraging the pursuit of doctoral degrees. The Association also continues to engage in activities that foster more international collaboration within the global occupational therapy community.

 The activities ranked as the most critical for staff, financial and volunteer resource allocation, and attention for FY 2011 are listed below, followed by the measures to be achieved.

Engage in broad-based advocacy to ensure funding for OT in traditional and emerging areas.
·         Medicare continues to cover OT in all current, new, and emerging settings, encompassing the full scope of practice of occupational therapy, especially in low vision, home modifications, driver rehabilitation, and community participation.
·         Overall expenditures for occupational therapy under Medicare increase commensurate with Medicare expenditure increases for services in Parts A, B, and C.
·         Medicare adopts OT-appropriate documentation and outcome measure standards as these items change.
·         The occupational therapy role in home health expands by 2014.
·         Occupational therapy information affecting armed services issues is provided to members of Congress.
·         AOTA holds at least 3 Hill days, in addition to facilitating Board and program directors’ visits to the Hill.
·         State autism insurance legislation supports OT services.
·         OT is fully covered by Medicaid in 35 states by 2013 (a 15% increase).
 Engage in advocacy to promote federal support for OT/OTA education.
·        By 2012, appropriations are secured for at least one training grant that includes occupational therapy.
·        Language for OT loan repayment for doctoral and other students is included in federal legislation by 2012.
 Create an outcomes database.
·        A national database for occupational therapy outcomes is created by 2011, and members are informed about how to use and participate in it.
·        Competencies using outcome measures and interpreting and applying outcomes data are incorporated into OT education curriculum and standards by 2013.
 Promote dissemination of evidence-based knowledge.
·        Evidence is used to support areas of practice to external decision makers (policy, reimbursement, licensure, ethics).
·        By 2015, evidence supports interventions that are taught in academic programs.
 Promote alignment of OT research with the AOTA–AOTF research agenda, and create a research database.
·        Ten funded intervention studies, aligned with the AOTA–AOTF research agenda, are launched by 2013.
·        The research agenda is used and referenced in reports, articles, and comments to federal agencies.
·        AOTA maintains a database with AOTF for research and training grants awarded to OT programs, and for occupational therapists involved in interdisciplinary extramural research including NIH, DOD, NIDDR, DOE, and foundations.
 Build research capacity in the profession.
·        Relationships and networks are established with research funding agencies (public, large, private) that have priorities related to the profession.
·        AJOT’s impact factor is in the top three of rehabilitation journals and the highest in occupational therapy.
·        Researchers from diverse backgrounds increase by 10% by 2015.
 Develop programs to encourage faculty to pursue doctoral degrees.
·        The number of doctorally prepared occupational therapists increases by 10% by 2015.
·        The occupational therapy faculty vacancy rate decreases by 10% by 2015.

AOTA members will find more details on the Board rankings of Centennial Vision outcome measures and priority activities in the Logic Model (Part 1 http://www.aota.org/Governance/BOD/Model-1.aspx   and Part 2  http://www.aota.org/Governance/BOD/Model-2.aspx ) in the Board of Directors section of the AOTAWeb site.