Event Alert:

The following invitation has been forwarded along to the SPSSI Central Office staff.  The contents may be of interest to SPSSI members seeking to learn more about current APA advocacy efforts. 

**SPECIAL INVITATION** **SPECIAL INVITATION** **SPECIAL INVITATION**

WHAT?  The Annual APA Education Advocacy Breakfast Meeting
 
WHEN?  Saturday, Aug. 14 (7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m.)

WHERE? APA Convention – San Diego, CA (Elizabeth Ballroom A, Manchester Grand Hyatt)

KEYNOTE SPEAKER:  HRSA ADMINISTRATOR, MARY WAKEFIELD, PhD, RN Introduction by Pat DeLeon, PhD, JD, MPH, former APA President and Current Chief of Staff for U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye

Once again, we are delighted to invite you to join us for the annual Education Advocacy breakfast meeting, which will be held on Saturday, August 14th during the San Diego APA convention.  As noted above, our keynote speaker will be Mary Wakefield, PhD, RN, Administrator for the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).  At the meeting, Dr. Wakefield will speak about her vision for HRSA; plans to reorganize the agency to better meet national needs; how the HRSA reorganization aims to shrink health care gaps for underserved communities; the role of psychologists in the HRSA reorganization; and efforts to promote integrated mental and behavioral health care through HRSA programs, such as the Graduate Psychology Education (GPE) Program and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs).

With an FY2010 budget of $7 billion, HRSA’s six bureaus and 13 offices seek to address gaps in health care services for individuals who live outside the economic and medical mainstream.  Of particular interest to psychology is HRSA’s Bureau of Health Professions (BHPr), which offers grants to health professional training programs and supports scholarships and educational loan repayment programs for health professions, including psychologists.  In fact, BHPr houses the GPE Program, which provides grants to APA-accredited doctoral, internship and postdoctoral programs to support students, who receive interdisciplinary training to provide psychological services to underserved populations.

Hand picked by President Obama to serve as HRSA Administrator, Dr.Wakefield has significant expertise in care quality and patient safety, Medicare payment policy, workforce issues, and public policy.  As HRSA Administrator, Dr. Wakefield is using her expertise as a nurse and rural health care advocate to increase access to affordable, high-quality health care—including the expansion of the FQHC program—for uninsured and underserved Americans.

Mark you calendars!  As always, the breakfast meeting is free and open to members of the Education Advocacy Grassroots Network and all other interested individuals.  The annual meeting not only enables us to share legislative updates and information directly with APA members, but also gives us an opportunity to gather important feedback and support from psychologists in the field.

RSVP Required – In order to ensure adequate room and catering arrangements, please RSVP by August 1st to Miriam Berg (mberg@apa.org or 202/336-6062).