Meet The Society's New President

Hi, I'm Cari Levy, and I'm a physician in Denver, Colorado, and I practice at the Denver VA Medical Center, and at the University of Colorado. I am a geriatrician first, and a palliative care physician also. I've been doing nursing home medicine, and belonged to AMDA since the completion of my residency program.

I became involved when I was a Fellow. I had the opportunity to go to the Futures program; and at the time I didn't know anything about the Society, but I saw an advertisement about the Futures program in San Diego that seemed like a nice place to go, and I was instantly struck by how kind all the people were at AMDA. How just welcoming the group was, and the opportunity that was available. So, I found my family, and I've gone to every conference since that time, almost 20 years now.

I'm very excited about all that's happening [in post-acute and long-term care (PALTC)] and that we are now at the table. In the past we have always been marginalized on the sidelines, and it's been hard to make our case that what we do is valuable and that caring for medically complex individuals is key if we're going to do a good job of managing ever-rising healthcare costs for individuals who are now entering Post-Acute and Long-Term Care. We are now at the table, and all the folks I've talked to at this conference, and those that I talk to around the country are being invited to participate in critical conversations about how to manage populations of individuals well. It is a scary time, because we need to be representing what we do well and I think if we could do that the game is changed, and we have the opportunity to change it for the better.

The challenges are that the population of individuals coming to us are sicker. We are constantly navigating the pressure of getting folks who are there for rehabilitation purposes out more quickly, and trying to do that in a thoughtful manner. That is certainly a distinct pressure we're facing now. The other thing we're facing is just the word salad of regulations that are constantly being thrown at us, and all of the requirements for measurement and measurements that don't matter. What we're really faced with is trying to create measures that actually matter and that we can feel good about participating in. I think that the challenge is not getting distracted by all the legislation that is a frustration at times.

The Society is becoming the soft place to land for those who work in PALTC. It's been really neat to see those who are in physical medicine and rehab, and those in physical therapy, and speech therapy, and lots of different disciplines who are not finding a home in their traditional professional organization, because there are so many unique things about our environment, and they are finding a home in The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care. It’s been neat to welcome brand new sub-specialties of individuals who want to come into this space. I think that will be a trend. I hope sincerely we are a welcoming environment. We have always been welcoming, it’s the reason I got involved with The Society. I think we’ll continue to be a wonderful place for others who work in PALTC, regardless of what discipline they’re in, to come and to be collaborative. This is an interdisciplinary sub-specialty and we should be training that way, we should be educating that way, we should be in community that way. It is my sincere hope is that this is a big tent that we're all under, and we are working for the same mission: creating competent clinicians that work in this space and offering quality care for those in PALTC.

Coming to this conference is never even a question. This is where my professional family is, and if I didn't come here I think I might wither on the vine. So it is just not a question. I am obligated to come do this and stay healthy and to stay relevant in my field and I'm thrilled every year to be with my people. It would be like missing a family reunion to not come to the annual meeting.

Joining a committee is really first expressing an interest in an area that you think you may have a particular talent or skill to bring to the table and contacting us. Reach out to anyone and let The Society know you have an interest and we’ll connect you to the right people.