From the NLA President: Passing the Torch

“Skate to where the puck is going to be, not to where it has been.” Wayne Gretzky

As I write this last president’s letter for the annual Potpourri edition of the LipidSpin, I’m reminded of how fortunate I’ve been to serve as the President of the National Lipid Association (NLA) during the past year. The year has been a very exciting one, and I’m so privileged to have served with such distinguished company. The eternal flame of our organization has always been the combined passion of our members. It consists of individuals with tremendous energy, drive, determination, and conviction; to make a difference in the lives of others. Whether we make a difference one on one in a clinical setting or in the broader community where we live, our efforts through education, research, and advocacy have been quite impactful. It is indeed exciting now to pass the torch glowing bright with energy and passion to the next set of capable NLA leaders.

We fulfilled many of our important missions this year including publishing the full report of the “NLA Recommendations for Patient-Centered Management of Dyslipidemia,” which appeared in the April 2015 issue of the Journal of Clinical Lipidology (JCL). The NLA has also been very diligent in the development of Part II of our NLA Recommendations, which will focus on special populations including children, elderly, women, African Americans, Hispanic and Latinos, and those of Asian/South Asian descent. Our Recommendations will be announced during our annual meeting in Chicago, and a public comment period will be made available to all members and interested stakeholders. What we have learned from our comment period with the NLA Part I Recommendations is the importance of receiving feedback and being open to stakeholder concerns, interpretations, suggestions, and values. We welcome and encourage all NLA members to give their feedback during our public comment period. Once all the comments and suggestions have been fully vetted, the NLA will release Part II of the NLA Recommendations for Patient-Centered Management of Dyslipidemia in the Fall of 2015.

Although there were many NLA milestones during the year that I am very proud of, a few stand out in my mind. First, the NLA was able to come together and put forth our core beliefs and recommendations in one document. This has been something that the NLA has wanted to do for many years, but whose time course was accelerated by the release of the 2013 ACC/AHA Cholesterol Guidelines. Although the NLA could have taken a different direction and solely concentrated on a critique of the strengths and weaknesses of the current guidelines, we decided that it was more important that we put forth our own recommendations. I believe that this is one of the defining moments in the history of the NLA. Despite tremendous external and internal pressure, we were able to stand strong, articulate our beliefs based on the totality of the science, and formulate evidence-based recommendations that will help move the field forward. Finally, one other accomplishment that I think will help the NLA and other allied health providers far into the future, was the release of the first NLA Annual Summary of Clinical Lipidology. This initial effort spearheaded under the leadership of Harold Bays, MD, involved the participation of 27 NLA clinical lipidology experts, and will become a yearly update that will help to codify the latest developments in clinical lipidology. Thus, over time, this “living document” with future clinical updates will become a source of “one-stop shopping” for all of the latest advances in the science of lipidology. This will surely be of value to our members, and to the broader primary care and subspecialty community for many years ahead.

After spending the year hearing from our members on ways to improve the NLA, the NLA leadership convened a Strategic Planning Retreat in February 2015 in Orlando, Fla., to embark on future strategies that will help both our members now and serve the NLA well into the future. With representatives from each region across the country, members of the executive committee, chairs of our key committees, select representatives from the NLA Board of Directors, the NLA Foundation, the American Board of Clinical Lipidology, and the Accreditation Council for Clinical Lipidology, we plotted a strategic path forward for the NLA. We are very excited to share here a few key features of our strategic recommendations going forward. We propose the following changes to the organization:

1. Recommend that the NLA focus on the enhancement of member and membership services by creating an independent Membership Services Council.
2. Recommend that the NLA expand its advocacy efforts by the creation of a new Science and Policy Council.
3. Recommend that the NLA address the fast changing national needs of the organization, by expanding the number of regional participants on each National committee, and creating a newly independent council of Regional Affairs. In doing so it will be an opportunity to get more regional members involved early in leadership positions on various national level committees, thus giving more voice to the needs of members at the regional and grassroots level of our organization.

During our annual meeting in Chicago, NLA members will have the opportunity to vote on these recommendations that will change the bylaws of the organization.

The future of clinical lipidology is indeed very bright. We will continue to work on improving the standing of the lipidologist through the recognition of lipidology within the respective disciplines of healthcare organizations. We will continue to offer high quality educational programs through multiple venues. We will try to engage more members to become active at the national level so that we accomplish even more with individuals with a diverse set of skills. Finally, we will continue to pursue and endorse advances in the science base, which allows us to differentiate ourselves from other member organizations, in order to translate the very best evidenced based medicine into practice. In other words, according to the great hockey player Wayne Gretzky, we will skate to “where the puck is going to be, not to where it has been.” With the advent of new therapies such as the PCSK9 inhibitors, we will not only have the opportunity to make a serious dent in managing those at highest cardiovascular risk, but also in preventing the disease of atherosclerosis as we know it today. The future is indeed great and I look forward to working with other members of the NLA in eliminating the number one cause of death and disability in this country — Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease.

While my time as the President of the NLA has come to an end, I am thankful for the opportunity to serve such a wonderful membership. I am particularly thankful to our hardworking Executive Committee (Carl Orringer, MD; Robert Wild, MD; Joyce Ross, MSN; and Matt Ito, PharmD), our Chief Scientific Officer (Peter Jones, MD), the awesome administrative staff and leadership (Chris Seymour, Brian Hart) of the NLA, and to the many members that have shared their wisdom, friendship, vision, and passion.

Thanks again for all you do for the NLA and for patients everywhere. I look forward to a bright future for the continued growth of the NLA and for the emerging science and art of clinical lipidology.