Open Forum
An OPEN FORUM provides an opportunity for pediatricians, state government officials and child health advocates to review, discuss and
debate important child health issues.
OPEN FORUMS are held on a specific topic of interest to pediatricians. Panelist experts make a short presentation (usually 5 or 10 minutes) about their individual or agency/organization role as related to the topic. After these short presentaitons, open discussion is enjoyed among panelists and pediatrician attendees. The tone of an OPEN FORUM is collaborative and collegial; with panelist experts and pediatricians sharing experiences, learning from each other, and identifying next steps to improve the lives of Arizona children.
AzAAP hosted 3 OPEN FORUMS in 2007. The first was held in Phoenix in January and focused on Legislative Issues. Panelist experts and attendees included representatives from state agencies, legislators and representatives from our other medical professional associations. These discussions influenced the AzAAP Legislative and Executive Committees in their decisions about what bills to endorse/ oppose during the legislative session.
The second OPEN FORUM, entitled, "Navigating the State Agencies for Children with Special Healthcare Needs", was held at the Sedona Hilton in June. Panelist experts included representatives from state agencies that have a role in the care of these children. At the forum's conclusion, AzAAP members were urged to contact AzAAP Executive Director Sue Braga (sue.braga@azaap.org) with specific problems so that the chapter could work with these agencies to resolve them. By using the chapter as a medium, specific trends could be identified. AzAAP continues to work with these representatives to provide the membership with important resources identified at the forum. The panelists also provided the membership with their personal contact information (see the "For Members" section of this website).
The most recent open forum focused on Children's Mental Health issues and was held in Tucson on November 1st. Morning discussions focused around the public sector and private sector issues were discussed in the afternoon. The upcoming AzAAP NEWS newsmagazine will include an article about this event, and the planning group will be discussion specific follow up items in the near future.
TO LEARN MORE or to HELP PLAN upcoming forum events, please contact rebecca.nevedale@azaap.org.