It has been a hectic year for AANS. The fiscal year just ended (July 1, 1999 – June 30, 2000) started off with a new executive director, Dave Fellers, CAE, coming on board. Since then, there have been many changes for the organization, including shifts in its structure.
FY 2000 has just ended as this is written and, on paper, it was a difficult one. While our bottom line showed a significant loss for the year, the vast majority of the shortfall came as a result of major changes and write-offs that set the stage for a much more efficient and effective organization. Some of the adjustments at AANS this past year have included:
Consolidation of AANS Facilities
The 10,000-square-foot headquarters build-ing in Park Ridge, Ill., and two 7,000-square-foot warehouse buildings in Rose-mont, Ill., were sold and the 1,000- square-foot book publishing office in New Hampshire was closed. To replace these disparate facilities, a new 36,000-square-foot office building was purchased in Rolling Meadows, Ill. AANS is using 24,000 square feet, has leased 1,000 square feet to THINK FIRST and will lease the remaining 11,000 square feet to an outside tenant.
This consolidation of facilities brought most staff functions under one roof, substantially increasing efficiency of operations. There also were several one-time expenses related to the move that contributed to the 1999-2000 budget deficit.
Publishing Operations Streamlined
AANS’ unprofitable print shop was closed and more cost-effective outsourcing of printing was pursued. Additionally, the AANS book publishing program was reviewed and an extensive business plan was developed to increase its efficiency and cost effectiveness.
Outdated and unusable books were eliminated from inventory, resulting in a more than $250,000 charge to the bottom line. Several thousand books were donated to residency programs and Third World countries. The AANS publishing program has previously resulted in a significant loss to the organization but is now expected to be much more cost efficient.
Archives Displayed
The move to a new office building resulted in an opportunity to showcase considerably more archive material in display cases and a library within the new facility. This will result in considerably more visibility for neurosurgical history. Additionally, the archives previously valued at $400,000 were revalued at $215,000, resulting in a paper loss of more than $185,000.
Staff Restructuring
For years the AANS staff organized and administered the Congress of Neurological Surgeons Annual Meeting. In December 1999, CNS withdrew its meeting services from AANS to establish an independent office. This resulted in a significant reduction in income and AANS immediately responded with staff restructuring.
During the past fiscal year, AANS has “downsized” by a net of 10 staff positions. While the staff adjustments were made as quickly as possible, the continuing overhead and infrastructure built by AANS to manage the CNS meeting continued. This contributed to the deficit budget for the most recent fiscal year. Steps are being taken to further reduce overhead in the current fiscal year.
Annual Meeting is a Record Success
While many of the “adjustments” during the last fiscal year negatively impacted the bottom line, the AANS Annual Meeting in San Francisco set positive records. The record number of registrants, exhibitors and sponsors resulted in the largest neurosurgical meeting in history. The Annual Meeting continues to be a major contributor to the financial viability of the AANS.
Seed Money for New Programs
One of the major initiatives of the current president, Stewart Dunsker, MD, is to increase the “value” of membership in AANS. During the past fiscal year, considerable effort has been committed to the development of new programs and services. While these new ventures are expected to generate income that will more than offset expenses, their “researcch and development” costs have been funded this past year.
Some of the new programs include:
- Malpractice Insurance through The Doctors Company
- Medical Supply Discount Program
- Informed Consent Guide
- Credit Card Processing Program
- Equipment Financing/Leasing Program
- Fraud and Abuse Insurance
- Practice Management Publications
- MBNA Credit Card Program
- Membership Certificate Framing Service
- Rental Car Discounts
- Public Education Brochures
Keep an eye out for these programs. While they will not always be the lowest priced product in every community, they will be extremely valuable programs for the majority of members. The “research and development” efforts in this past fiscal year will substantially increase the “value” of your membership in the future.
Outsourcing and Cost Efficiencies
AANS efforts to increase its efficiency will continue. Options for outsourcing certain services will be evaluated at the central office and efforts to substantially reduce overhead and general and administrative expenses will be pursued. An evaluation of priorities for AANS will help to assure that services responsive to members’ needs.
Governance Streamlined
Great strides were made over the past year in bringing the organization’s policies and governance documents up-to-date. Troy Tippett, MD, has chaired an aggressive Bylaws Committee in rewriting and streamlining the bylaws. Working with General Counsel Russell Pelton, the committee is updating its Rules and Regulations document to guide the governance of AANS. These will be presented to the members for review during the year ahead. Pulling together the historical policies of the organization has been a long-term goal of AANS Board Member Robert Page, MD, who has pulled together a comprehensive AANS Policy Manual. This document is currently undergoing review by the Board.
Look to the Future
The Association is committed to being the spokesorganization for neurosurgery and is well prepared to enhance and expand the “value” of your membership now and in the future. We feel very positive about the changes that have been made at AANS and believe we are a much more cost efficient organization as a result of them.
Roberto C. Heros, MD, is Treasurer of the AANS Board of Directors and Dave Fellers, CAE, is AANS Executive Director.