History
Membership Growth of NAPGCM
NAPGCM Presidents
NAPGCM Conference Sites
NAPGCM was formed in 1985 as the “National Association of Private Geriatric Care Managers.” Membership consisted of approximately 50 members (mostly nurses and social workers), who were business owners and who had a minimum of a Master’s Degree in a Human Resource Management field and two years of supervised experience in a geriatric care setting. The association was seen as a trade association — one dedicated to growing the businesses of members and to position those members to capture a large market share of this newly emerging field called “geriatric care management.”
NAPGCM was the first to represent the pioneers in a growing and developing field and has had its share of challenges along the way. Building a profession from the ground up is never easy, nor is it easy to build an association to represent and lead that profession. NAPGCM has been fortunate to have enlightened leaders who are dedicated to growing the profession and the association.
In 1993, NAPGCM recognized that the face of care management was not exclusively in the entrepreneurial arena. It was noted that non-profit agencies had been providing services in this area, as were individuals with baccalaureate degrees. In that same year, the NAPGCM membership voted to change the association’s name from National Association of Private Geriatric Care Managers to the National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers and to expand the voting membership base to include those individuals who provide care management in all practice settings and those with a minimum of a baccalaureate degree.
As NAPGCM changed the profile of the association to match that of the profession, the association moved from being a trade association with the primary purpose of positioning and promoting member practices to a professional association with the primary purpose of advancing the profession.
The next step in the development of the profession came when NAPGCM and Connecticut Community Care worked together to create a credentialing program for care managers. In 1996, together with eight aging network associations, they developed and initially funded the National Academy of Certified Care Managers (NACCM).
As care management evolved, so did several other “case management” associations. Fragmentation of the profession was inevitable, as no one professional truly understood the complexities of the environment of the future. The health care environment also was changing. Managed care began to infiltrate the American health care system as never before. A variety of assisted living facilities began to offer services to compete with nursing homes. Organized coalitions of health care providers began to form as they positioned themselves to work within or outside of the managed care market.
“Care management” is still becoming universally recognized as “the holistic approach” to dealing with the needs of clients and now responds to a wide range of needs, including medical, financial, social, housing, family and personal needs. Family needs have taken a new emphasis, especially as aging parents in need find themselves on the opposite ends of the country from their children, who are most likely Baby Boomers, the largest demographic group today. As the face of care management was changing, the association and the profession began to change as well. Technology, in the form of the NAPGCM Web site and member listservs, has enhanced members’ and consumers’ access to information. New products and conferences provide the tools with which members can improve their businesses and stay abreast of the latest trends in their profession.
The next significant step for NAPGCM and its members took place in August 2006, when members voted to approve a new requirement that all members in the care manager category must hold at least one of four approved certifications. The approved certifications include Care Manager Certified (CMC), Certified Case Manager (CCM), Certified Advanced Social Work Case Manager (C-ASWCM), and Certified Social Work Case Manager (C-SWCM). All current and renewing Care Manager members must hold one of these certifications as of January 1, 2010. All new NAPGCM applicants for Care Manager membership must be certified beginning January 1, 2008.
Certification is the bellwether of professional geriatric care management. By voting to approve this membership requirement, the profession is elevated and practitioners are recognized as having a specific knowledge and expertise. This will also elevate consumer confidence in the services provided by NAPGCM members.
NAPGCM has grown steadily — from 50 members in 1986 to over 2,000 in 2006, with a budget that has grown from $25,000 in 1986 to over $825,000 in 2007. The NAPGCM Board of Directors continues to meet the demands of the changing elder care environment through careful strategic planning, education, marketing and public relations, chapter development, and communication with its members and the public.
Membership Growth of NAPGCM
Year/Membership
1990 250
1991 360
1992 360
1993 500
1994 578
1995 811
1996 880
1997 1,119
1998 1,127
1999 1,311
2000 1,460
2001 1,526
2002 1,575
2003 1,717
2004 1,793
2005 2,007
2006 2,052
2007 2,159
2008 2,047
2009 1,986
2010 1,932
2011 1,904
2012 2,005
NAPGCM Presidents
Term/President
1986-1988 Sarah Cohen
1988-1992 Rona Bartelstone
1992-1994 Peter Belson
1994-1996 Ruth Cohen
1996-1998 Elizabeth Bodie Gross
1998 Mary Miner
1999 Karen Knutson
2000 Dianne Boazman
2001 Connie Rosenberg
2002 Claudia Fine
2003 Steve Barlam
2004 Lenise Dolen
2005 Deborah Newquist
2006 Linda Aufderhaar
2007 Mary Lynn Pannen
2008 Monika White
2009 Phyllis Mensh Brostoff
2010 Linda Fodrini-Johnson
2011 Susan Fleischer
2012 C. Byron Cordes
NAPGCM Conference Sites
Year/Location
1988 Philadelphia, PA
1989 San Diego, CA
1990 Washington, DC
1991 San Antonio, TX
1992 Tucson, AZ
1993 Pittsburgh, PA
1994 Nassau, Bahamas
1995 St. Louis, MO
1996 Tucson, AZ
1997 New Orleans, LA
1998 Chicago, IL
1999 San Diego, CA
2000 West Palm Beach, FL
2001 Nashville, TN
2002 Denver, CO
2003 Baltimore, MD
2004 Austin, TX
2005 Tucson, AZ
2006 Newport Beach, CA
2007 Boston, MA
2008 Orlando, FL
2009 Chicago, IL
2010 Albuquerque, NM
2011 New Orleans, LA
2012 Seattle, WA