During this season of thanksgiving, I would like to acknowledge and express our gratitude for our members and volunteers who lead many of our programs, our outstanding staff who work tirelessly, and our heart failure patients who make our mission meaningful. In the following paragraphs, I will try to recognize some of our team members who spearhead these important initiatives at the HFSA. The list below, of course, is not inclusive of every team member, as HFSA is a big multidisciplinary family that is expanding in membership, committees, task forces and work groups. As we embark on many new initiatives, we look forward to having you on-board and participating in HFSA’s growing platforms.
Board of Directors
The Board comprises the officers listed below and the following additional members; Cynthia Chauhan, MSW; Maria Rosa Costanzo, MD, FACC, FAHA; Mark Drazner, MD, MSc, FHFSA; James Fang, MD, FHFSA; Michael Felker, MD, FHFSA; Mona Fiuzat, PharmD, FHFSA; Gregg Fonarow, MD, FACC, FAHA, FHFSA; Michael Givertz, MD, FHFSA; David Lanfear, MD, MS, FHFSA; Colleen McIlvernan, DNP, ANP; J. Herbert Patterson, PharmD, FHFSA, and Wilson Tang, MD. View the full Board roster here.
Executive Committee
Our Executive Committee comprises the officers including myself as the president, Randy Starling, MD, MPH, FHFSA (Past President); Nancy Albert, RN, PhD, FHFSA (President-Elect); Corrine Jurgens, RN, PhD, FHFSA (Treasurer); John Teerlink, MD, FHFSA (Secretary); and two board members Mona Fiuzat, PharmD, FHFSA; and Mark Drazner, MD, MSc, FHFSA. We meet every other week to address strategic and operational issues needing timely attention and prepare discussion items for the board. I cannot thank my colleagues enough who volunteer endless hours to do our job right.
HFSA Staff
2020 Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) Committee Co-Chairs
Our 2020 ASM committee already started planning for next year’s sessions. Many thanks to Javed Butler, MD (Chair); Peter Liu, MD (Co-Chair); Sandra Dunbar, RN, NP (Co-Chair); and Herb Patterson, Pharm-D (Co-Chair) who will be working diligently this year to plan for our big event.
Committees
We have fourteen very active committees. Each committee comprises of approximately seven members and a chair, with a one-year term, with a possibility of reappointment. Committees hold at least quarterly meetings, develop and implement initiatives related to strategic priorities of the HFSA, inform and advise the executive council and the board. You can see the full list of current committees (and chairs) here. We thank our committee members and chairs for their impactful work. The announcement for new openings and call for nominations will be sent by email in March.
Task Forces
We currently have four task force committees; including the HFSA Certification Task Force (Mandeep Mehra, MD, FHFSA, Chair), Journal of Cardiac Failure Review Task Force (Barry Greenberg, , MD, FHFSA, Chair), AHFTC Fellowship Match Program Task Force (Ken Margulies, , MD, FHFSA, Chair) and Research Funding Task Force (Michael Felker, , MD, FHFSA, Chair); which will soon be five, with the addition of Women in Heart Failure Task Force that has been formed by an HFSA Board decision. We are thankful for the endless hours our task force members and chairs spend to lead these critical initiatives.
Work Group
We recently formed a work group for the Optimization of Guideline Directed Heart Failure Management Initiative. Stay tuned, as we strategize to close the gaps in heart failure care with initiatives to optimize guideline directed heart failure management.
Patients and Caregivers
Members
We value our members and their contributions to the HFSA. This year, we will be building new platforms to enhance member participation and representation at the HFSA. Here are some of the activities we seek your contribution in the following months.
Send us your ideas for new heart failure awareness podcast
We are seeking your input on monthly themes, topics for podcasts, statistics for infographics, and other ideas. Please keep in mind that the audience for all of this is the general public and patients/caregivers. All ideas can be submitted here or sent directly to Laura Poko at [email protected].
Renew your membership and profile
Through HFSA membership you will have access to many HFSA products
Members have access to discounted registration rates to the Annual Scientific Meeting, comprehensive HF Review and HF Board Review Courses, free and discounted educational sessions exclusively for HFSA Members, consideration for fellowship as FHFSA, travel and clinical research grants, one-on-one mentoring programs, subscription to Journal of Cardiac Failure, complimentary copies of the HFSA Education Modules, Heart Failure Storylines App, opportunity to participate in HFSA committees, HFSA Board of Directors and the advocacy initiatives.
Submit your scientific work to the Journal of Cardiac Failure (JCF)
Submit your work for consideration for publication at the JCF online here. JCF’s 2018 Impact Factor (IF) is 3.967, showing an increase from 2017’s 3.942. This is the highest IF JCF has ever recorded and is the fourth straight year the IF has increased. Congratulations to the JCF Editorial Board team and to our HF authors.
Volunteer for committees and board activities
The announcement for the HFSA members to submit their names for consideration to serve on the HFSA Board of Directors or HFSA committees will be sent by email in March. Please update your membership information and consider applying.
Submit your abstracts for the Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM)
Consider sharing your work at the 24th HFSA Annual Scientific Meeting in
We are excited about HFSA’s new initiatives and look forward to your participation, feedback and suggestions. Best wishes for a wonderful Holiday season.
Best regards,
Biykem Bozkurt, MD, PhD, FHFSA
HFSA President
Twitter: @BiykemB