Members Present: Mary Hennings, Eric Bersh, Brenda Merriweather, Liz Boehm, Jay Spitulnik, Danny Sands, Daniel H-R

Welcome: Mary H

Minutes from last meeting: Vote

• Approved

Review of reports

• Overview of financials
• Down 13 members
• Dan H-R suggests giving gift memberships from Board member contributions

Foundations updates

• 20 “friends of SPM” interviews completed
  • Reactions very positive
  • “Most meaningful thing SPM has undertaken”
• A few more interviews needed
• Review of PPT deck
• Need to define funding strategies, members, etc.
• Dan H-R sees a business case for our new direction
• Review of thinking on next steps
• Potential partners: Beryl, Planetree, IHI, MHQP, PCORI; academic partners (if possible)
• Index project requires a large “all hands on deck” (Slide 4 shows a potential process timeline)
• Board needs to help on aspects of next-phase structure (reach out to Mary)

Journal Update

• Next steps
  • Some candidates ID’d as Editors and Ed-in-Chief. JMIR will help with supplying candidates

NEU Event

• Jay: using topic proposed by Brenda. Audience from many health care professional groups. Several NEU departments working on conference
• Dan suggests making topic open to major life-changing medical diagnosis as opposed to cancer only. Idea opens conference to broader audience

Membership

• Mary asks Board to reach out to members on select list
• Danny says members are more engaged if they are can contribute
• Suggestions
  • Find ways to drive new indie memberships
  • Reduce membership dues
  • Make membership free
  • Abandon indie memberships as a requirement to join SPM

Board recruiting

• Eric to reach out to two members; Liz has members to talk to
• Liz suggests doing a mini-survey with members as “pulse of the membership”
• Should we start telling the membership about what we’re up to?
  • Membership committee (Mary) to take first crack at a blog that does this
• Danny suggests we should eliminate Society dues
• Dan HR disagrees; Jay agrees
• Honor roll of people who contribute to the Index
• John G. suggests that our membership system costs more than we bring in for memberships. Other options are available

Other business; announcements

• Nomination: Marie (Mary) Maloney, nominated by Jay
  • Associate Director Health Informatics at NEU. Has great organizational chops
  • Mary H. will interview Marie

 Adjourned at  7:30 p.m. EDT.  Next meeting: August 27, 2024, 6:00 – 7:30 pm ET

Respectfully submitted,

Eric N Bersh, SPM Board Secretary

*Note: No August Board meeting.  Delayed until September 10