As the newly elected Chair of NAQC’s Board of Directors, I would like to extend greetings on behalf of the Board to all of you!

The first meeting of the Board for the 2012/2013 year was held in Tempe, Arizona on October 25-26. We held an orientation for incoming Board members Diane Canova (American Legacy Foundation) and Amy Lukowski (National Jewish Health) prior to the Board meeting. The agenda included review and monitoring on a number of NAQC governance policies (including conflict of interest), presentation of the CEO’s reports on financial planning, budgeting and asset protection; review of the annual audit and taxes; planning for this year’s Nomination Committee; and in-depth discussions on the future of quitlines.

The Future of Quitlines!

For nearly two years, the Board has been discussing the future of quitlines. We have gained input from opinion leaders in tobacco control, NAQC’s Advisory Council and the membership-as-a-whole. Most recently, the Board held a Vision Café on the future of quitlines at NAQC Conference 2012. Feedback from NAQC’s membership was incredibly helpful to the Board’s deliberations.

In many ways, the Board discussions mirrored those of the full membership at the Vision Café. We considered the dynamic landscape and the influences of a variety of factors -- health care reform (eg, the Affordable Care Act), tobacco cessation treatment measures published by the Joint Commission, changes in technology applications, and the movement toward health systems change and chronic disease management -- on quitlines and cessation. The current and future roles of stakeholders were considered, including quitline funders, service providers, federal agencies, health plans and insurers, and national organizations such as NAQC.

The Board provided its guidance to staff. Over the next 10-12 weeks, staff will develop a paper on the Future of Quitlines (with funding from the CDC). We look forward to sharing this paper with the full membership and hearing your feedback on it. It is an exciting time for quitlines and cessation!

For a complete list of all NAQC Board members and to learn more about the Board, please visit the Board of Directors page on the NAQC Web site. If you have any questions or comments, please email me at Board@NAQuitline.org.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the Board,

Wayne Tormala
Chair