A Message from the President

April 2, 2020

Dear Aphasia Access Friends,

First and foremost, I hope this note finds you, your family and your community healthy and managing in this changing environment. I wanted to take a moment to follow up on my note from the middle of last month to share what we’ve done to date in response to COVID-19 and our current plans.

So many of our members have been rolling up their sleeves to make sure that Aphasia Access can support the work that you are continuing to do, albeit virtually. I couldn’t be more proud to be a part of this organization.

Over the last two weeks…Aphasia Access has:

  • Held two fireside chats. My thanks to Maura Silverman for hosting a chat on managing programs and Tim Nanof (ASHA) for sharing an update on policy and reimbursement issues.

  • Created a page of COVID-19 related resources on the Aphasia Access website. You can share your resources with the community by emailing them to [email protected].

  • Increased the frequency of our newsletter to twice a week to help share important information more effectively and efficiently.

In the coming weeks, Aphasia Access will:

  • Continue with additional fireside chats, giving our members the opportunity to share their knowledge, skills, and experiences with the community.

  • Initiate virtual meetings. We will host our first virtual town hall meeting later this month. The goal of which is to give everyone the chance to both connect and hear from each other about what’s working in our backyards.

  • Continue with our plans for Aphasia Awareness month. We are working on an approach that reinforces the power of our international community, bringing together colleagues from not just the United States and Canada. It’s a work in progress right now but we’re cautiously optimistic that in the end, we’ll create a special gathering for our community.

As we move forward, please know:

  • Aphasia Access wants to hear from you about how we can support the work you are doing. Please email me anytime at [email protected].

  • We will be suspending dues billing for the month of April. Mid-month, our Board will revisit this decision and decide whether we should reinstate our billing practices.

I will continue to reach out with additional updates in the coming weeks and in our bi-weekly electronic newsletter. Until then, best wishes for continued good health.

Liz

Elizabeth Hoover, PhD, CCC-SLP
President - Aphasia Access
Boston University
[email protected]