President’s Message
On Decision Making, the Annual Meeting, and Fiduciary Responsibility
A MESSAGE FROM SAHM PRESIDENT
DAVID L. BELL, MD, MPH
On Tuesday, January 25, the SAHM Executive Committee and the SAHM Annual Meeting Program Committee made the difficult decision to change the SAHM 2022 Annual Meeting to a virtual format. This has disappointed some SAHM members and has pleased others. The Executive Committee, the Program Committee and SAHM staff met several times in January to discuss options, after gathering as much data and information as we could to make an informed decision.
This was not an easy decision. Many factors were considered and I want to take this opportunity to explain some of them.
Low Projected Attendance
Each year, SAHM tracks registrations, hotel reservations, and the number of workshop proposals and abstracts submitted for the meeting. Years of data helps estimate the number of people who will attend. Generally, the number of people who register for the in-person annual meeting is usually about 400 at that point before the meeting. As of January 25, 2022, there were 100 registrants. Generally, the number of hotel room reservations is approximately 1,483 room nights at six weeks out from the meeting dates. For 2022, there were 434 room nights. Workshop submissions were half what they were for the 2019 and 2020 meetings, and abstract submissions were down by approximately 100. These factors led us to conclude that final registrations would be far lower than we had hoped and budgeted for in 2022.
Financial Considerations
Due to clauses in the contract with the hotel, SAHM had to make a final decision before January 30 to avoid astronomical costs. Our hotel and A/V contract prices are the same regardless if there are 20 or 2,000 attendees. SAHM would have been financially responsible for more than $260,000 in hotel food and beverage and A/V expenses that our registration numbers would not come close to covering. Given our timely decision on January 25, the hotel allowed us to cancel without penalty by re-booking the conference there in 2024.
COVID-19
Given the ongoing COVID-19 public health emergency, the health and safety of our attendees, speakers and staff, and the workforce shortages many of us are encountering, we believe the responsible action for our colleagues is to remain local and be available when needed.
We heard some rumors about this decision, and I want to dispel those as well. SAHM purchases cancelation insurance for the annual meeting every year. Pandemics, however, are not covered. Insurance had no bearing on the decision to move to a virtual format. The decision to convert to a virtual meeting was made on January 25, and not before. We held out hope that registration numbers and hotel reservations would rise, but they did not.
The Meeting Program Planning Committee has worked hard to make this an outstanding Annual Meeting. You can learn more about their plans in an article by Program Committee Chair Nicholas Westers, elsewhere in this newsletter.
We all look forward to gathering in person, connecting with colleagues and friends, learning new procedures, and sharing ideas and research. I know everyone who had registered for the meeting, and even those who had not yet had the chance, were personally and professionally looking forward to meeting in person. We will work to make this the best experience possible given the circumstances we find ourselves in.
Best,
David
David L. Bell, MD MPH
President, The Society of Adolescent Health and Medicine
