PaPs Council
Upcoming PaPS Council Meetings
- September 8th
- December 8th
All Pennsylvania Psychiatric Society (PaPS) members are invited and welcome to attend PaPS Council meetings. Questions? Call 1-800-422-2900 or 717-558-7750.
Notice of Dues Deductibility
APA and PaPS dues are generally deductible on your federal income tax return as a business expense. Under federal law, however, that portion of your dues used to support federally-defined lobbying expenses is NOT deductible. We have estimated the non-deductible portion of your 2016 PaPS dues as 36%. If the actual amount is higher, we will inform you through a notification to all members of the number after we close our books in January.
Pennsylvania Psychiatric Society Council Members
Executive Committee
President:
M. Ahmad Hameed, MD, DFAPA
Immediate Past President:
Gail A. Edelsohn, MD, MSPH, DFAPA
President Elect:
Keith R. Stowell, MD, MSPH, MBA
Vice President:
Richard Silbert, MD, DLFAPA
Treasurer:
Dhanalakshmi Ramasamy, MD, FAPA
Secretary:
Hope S. Selarnick, MD, DFAPA
M. Ahmad Hameed, MD, DFAPA
Immediate Past President:
Gail A. Edelsohn, MD, MSPH, DFAPA
President Elect:
Keith R. Stowell, MD, MSPH, MBA
Vice President:
Richard Silbert, MD, DLFAPA
Treasurer:
Dhanalakshmi Ramasamy, MD, FAPA
Secretary:
Hope S. Selarnick, MD, DFAPA
Chapter Councilors and Presidents
Central Chapter
President: Kawish Garg, MD, FAPA
Councilors: Shiv S. Aggarwal, MD
Kathleen Dougherty, MD, DFAPA
M. Ahmad Hameed, MD, DFAPA
Lehigh Valley Chapter
President: M. Aly Rifai, MD, FAPA
Councilor: John-Paul Gomez, MD
Northeastern Chapter
President: Adharsh P. Sahadevan, MD
Councilor: Richard E. Fischbein, MD, DLFAPA
Western Chapter
President: Elizabeth Ramsey, DO
Councilor: Dennis Borczon, MD
Philadelphia Chapter
President: Camille I. Paglia, MD, JD
Councilors: Shalini Dave, DO
Christopher Tjoa, MD
Pittsburgh Chapter
President: Amit Chopra, MD, FAPA
Councilors: Maher O. Ayyash, MD
Manuel David Reich, DO
Melina Spyridacki-Dodd, MD
Other Representatives Working for You
APA Assembly Representatives
Mary Anne Albaugh, MD, DFAPA
Kenneth M. Certa, MD, DFAPA
Melvin P. Melnick, MD, DLFAPA
Angelica L. Kloos, DO
Kenneth Thompson, MD
APA State Legislative Representative, APA Alternate Delegate to the AMA, APA Public Affairs Representative, Pennsylvania Medical Society (PAMED) Specialty Leadership Cabinet Representative, Representative to the PAMED House of Delegates
Kenneth M. Certa, MD, DFAPA
Early Career Psychiatrist (ECP) Representative
Hetty B. Eisenberg, MD
Editor, Pennsylvania Psychiatrist
Edward C. Leonard, MD, DLFAPA
Resident Representative
Mandar Jadhav, MD
Together, We Can Secure Our Profession
Are in you interested in increasing your investment in your profession? It's not all about finances. By serving on a PaPS committee, even on your own schedule, you contribute to the collective strength of the Society. Utilize your strengths and interests!
Consider participating in one of these committees:
Clinical
The Clinical Committee monitors policies proposed by the Pennsylvania Departments of Corrections, Drug and Alcohol Programs, Education, Health and Human Services, reviews bills introduced in the Pennsylvania General Assembly, and makes recommendations to the Government Relations Committee and PaPS Council on issues related to substance use, older adults with mental health issues, and VA/State Hospitals. The current chair of the committee is Mary Anne Albaugh, MD.
Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
The Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Committee monitors policies proposed by the Pennsylvania Departments of Corrections, Drug and Alcohol Programs, Education, Health, and Human Services, reviews bills introduced in the Pennsylvania General Assembly, and makes recommendations to the Government Relations Committee and PaPS Council on issues related to child and adolescent mental health issues. The current chair of the committee is Gail Edelsohn, MD.
Education
The Education Committee develops and conducts the Society's annual patient safety/risk management CME program. Our current co-chairs are Rajnish Mago, MD and Dominic Mazza, MD.
Ethics
The Ethics Committee reviews ethical complaints, investigates possible ethical violations, renders decisions in each case as to what, if any, sanctions are needed, makes recommendations to the PaPS Council, and informs the APA as to the findings in each case as per the APA's publication The Principles of Medical Ethics with Annotations Especially Applicable to Psychiatry. The committee co-chairs are Lawrence Altaker, MD and Kathleen Dougherty, MD.
Government Relations
The Government Relations Committee monitors bills introduced in the Pennsylvania General Assembly and makes recommendations to the PaPS Council on legislative and regulatory issues affecting the specialty and healthcare public policy. Kenneth Certa, MD and Ahmad Hameed, MD co-chair these efforts.
Membership
The Membership Committee develops and implements membership recruitment and retention programs, makes recommendations to the PaPS Council on dues relief requests, and makes recommendations to the PaPS Council on Distinguished Fellow candidates. Robert Wilson, MD and current Vice President Keith Stowell, MD serve as co-chairs.
Third Party Payer
The Third Party Payer Committee reviews and addresses third party payer issues that interfere with patient safety or best practice. This committee is co-chaired by Amita Nayyar, MD and Elizabeth Ramsey, DO.
President: Kawish Garg, MD, FAPA
Councilors: Shiv S. Aggarwal, MD
Kathleen Dougherty, MD, DFAPA
M. Ahmad Hameed, MD, DFAPA
Lehigh Valley Chapter
President: M. Aly Rifai, MD, FAPA
Councilor: John-Paul Gomez, MD
Northeastern Chapter
President: Adharsh P. Sahadevan, MD
Councilor: Richard E. Fischbein, MD, DLFAPA
Western Chapter
President: Elizabeth Ramsey, DO
Councilor: Dennis Borczon, MD
Philadelphia Chapter
President: Camille I. Paglia, MD, JD
Councilors: Shalini Dave, DO
Christopher Tjoa, MD
Pittsburgh Chapter
President: Amit Chopra, MD, FAPA
Councilors: Maher O. Ayyash, MD
Manuel David Reich, DO
Melina Spyridacki-Dodd, MD
Other Representatives Working for You
APA Assembly Representatives
Mary Anne Albaugh, MD, DFAPA
Kenneth M. Certa, MD, DFAPA
Melvin P. Melnick, MD, DLFAPA
Angelica L. Kloos, DO
Kenneth Thompson, MD
APA State Legislative Representative, APA Alternate Delegate to the AMA, APA Public Affairs Representative, Pennsylvania Medical Society (PAMED) Specialty Leadership Cabinet Representative, Representative to the PAMED House of Delegates
Kenneth M. Certa, MD, DFAPA
Early Career Psychiatrist (ECP) Representative
Hetty B. Eisenberg, MD
Editor, Pennsylvania Psychiatrist
Edward C. Leonard, MD, DLFAPA
Resident Representative
Mandar Jadhav, MD
Together, We Can Secure Our Profession
Are in you interested in increasing your investment in your profession? It's not all about finances. By serving on a PaPS committee, even on your own schedule, you contribute to the collective strength of the Society. Utilize your strengths and interests!
Consider participating in one of these committees:
Clinical
The Clinical Committee monitors policies proposed by the Pennsylvania Departments of Corrections, Drug and Alcohol Programs, Education, Health and Human Services, reviews bills introduced in the Pennsylvania General Assembly, and makes recommendations to the Government Relations Committee and PaPS Council on issues related to substance use, older adults with mental health issues, and VA/State Hospitals. The current chair of the committee is Mary Anne Albaugh, MD.
Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
The Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Committee monitors policies proposed by the Pennsylvania Departments of Corrections, Drug and Alcohol Programs, Education, Health, and Human Services, reviews bills introduced in the Pennsylvania General Assembly, and makes recommendations to the Government Relations Committee and PaPS Council on issues related to child and adolescent mental health issues. The current chair of the committee is Gail Edelsohn, MD.
Education
The Education Committee develops and conducts the Society's annual patient safety/risk management CME program. Our current co-chairs are Rajnish Mago, MD and Dominic Mazza, MD.
Ethics
The Ethics Committee reviews ethical complaints, investigates possible ethical violations, renders decisions in each case as to what, if any, sanctions are needed, makes recommendations to the PaPS Council, and informs the APA as to the findings in each case as per the APA's publication The Principles of Medical Ethics with Annotations Especially Applicable to Psychiatry. The committee co-chairs are Lawrence Altaker, MD and Kathleen Dougherty, MD.
Government Relations
The Government Relations Committee monitors bills introduced in the Pennsylvania General Assembly and makes recommendations to the PaPS Council on legislative and regulatory issues affecting the specialty and healthcare public policy. Kenneth Certa, MD and Ahmad Hameed, MD co-chair these efforts.
Membership
The Membership Committee develops and implements membership recruitment and retention programs, makes recommendations to the PaPS Council on dues relief requests, and makes recommendations to the PaPS Council on Distinguished Fellow candidates. Robert Wilson, MD and current Vice President Keith Stowell, MD serve as co-chairs.
Third Party Payer
The Third Party Payer Committee reviews and addresses third party payer issues that interfere with patient safety or best practice. This committee is co-chaired by Amita Nayyar, MD and Elizabeth Ramsey, DO.
