CFSAC Nominations Due September 15th

[jspotila]

SUMMARY: The Office of Public Health and Science, Office on Women's
Health, HHS, is seeking nominations of qualified candidates to be
considered for appointment as a member of the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Advisory Committee (CFSAC). CFSAC provides science-based advice and
recommendations to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, through
the Assistant Secretary for Health, on a broad range of issues and
topics pertaining to chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). CFSAC, which was
formerly known as the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Coordinating Committee,
was established by the Secretary of Health and Human Services on
September 5, 2002. Several Committee member appointments are scheduled
to end on April 1, 2011. Nominations of qualified candidates are being
sought to fill future vacancies.

Full instructions for nominations are here: http://frwebgate2.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/TEXTgate.cgi?WAISdocID=Od5rui/0/1/0&WAISaction=retrieve

Current CFSAC roster is here: http://www.hhs.gov/advcomcfs/roster/index.html

Members scheduled to depart in April 2011 include Dr. Snell, Dr. Glaser, Dr. Hartz, Dr. Jason, and Dr. Klimas.

 

[jspotila]

I was wondering if CFSAC has any term limits and it turns out they do. From the charter:

A member who has served on this Committee cannot be considered for reappointment to the Committee for a period of one year after the expiration date of the member’s term of office, including any extensions.

So this means the departing members have to take a one year break in service. So the committee will need a new chairman (upon Dr. Snell's departure), in addition to new member replacements for all those leaving the committee. The open slots will have to be filled by those with demonstrated expertise in biomedical research and health services.

 

[shiso]

Members scheduled to depart in April 2011 include Dr. Snell, Dr. Glaser, Dr. Hartz, Dr. Jason, and Dr. Klimas.

I remember there was talk of extensions of some members for the sake of continuity at the last meeting because the last rotation brought in so many newbies. I agree with your reading of the charter provision, but maybe "including any extensions" modifies expiration date instead of reappointment (as in the expiration date = end of official term plus any extension), with the one year block from official reappointment kicking in after any extension? Wishful interpretation?

I basically don't want Jason or Klimas off the committee, ever. Wanda Jones is good at moving things along, but Jason and Klimas are usually the ones that corral everyone's circular discussions into focus and ask the most pointed questions to ex-officio members and guest speakers on the hot seat. I hope that Dr. Jason can be replaced with an equally articulate researcher who grasps the big picture (both scientific and social/political) issues surrounding this disease, case definition being the most critical.

Anyway, we should assume April 2011 is the cutoff...

 

[Hope123]

Yeah, I want to re-nominate Jason and Klimas if they are willing to re-serve when their nomination is once again possible.

There are some people who are especially knowledgeable about CFS who may not have a biomedical or health services background. I think Rebecca Artman served previously and she wasn't a science person as I understand -- she was a patient and one of the leaders at PANDORA. The current roster doesn't seem to have anyone in her role except I don't know much about Eileen Holderman. I know at one point NIH was seeking more public invovlement in its advisory committees. NCI has programs for cancer patients:

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/coping/make-a-difference/page6

Is this a requisite this time?

Also, are international candidate nominations not allowed?

 

[leelaplay]

I agree, I think most of us would want Klimas and Jason to stay on for life.

But we have to work with the charter as is, or get a motion put up to change the charter.

There are 11 committee members. "Of the 11 members, 7 shall be biomedical research scientists with demonstrated expertise in biomedical research applicable to chronic fatigue syndrome; 4 shall be individuals with expertise in health care delivery, private health care services or insurers, or voluntary organizations concerned with the problems of individuals with CFS."

And right now they have it set up so that 5 people are retiring in April 2011, and 6 in 2014. I thought that boards are usually set up so that turnover happens annually to preserve continuity.

Perhaps at thsi meeting it could be moved that the terms of the new people, as a one-time thing (well, actually 2), are 2 at one year, 1 at two years, 1 at 3 years, and 1 at four years. And in 2014, a similar motion could be passed so that the end result is that every year 2-3 people's 4-year terms end.

In terms of keeping Klimas and Jason on for the next while, the charter reads, "A member may serve no more than 180 days after the expiration of the members term if a successor has not taken office. A member who has served on this Committee cannot be considered for reappointment to the Committee for a period of one year after the expiration date of the members term of office, including any extensions. "

The only options I can think of right now are:

1. To pass a motion allowing members to apply for a second consecutive term.

2. Not appoint 2 of the 5 people immediately, and have Klimas and Jason stay on for an additional 180 days. But, that's only 1/2 a year.

3. If the motion is passed to change the terms of office for April 2011 and again fro 2014 to 1 - 4 year terms as described above, then Jason and Klimas could be nominated again to run in one year - April 2012.

In any case, I think that if anyone knows Dr Klimas and DR Jason it might be a good idea for one person (we don't want to overwhelm them with our enthusiasm - :Retro redface to contact them and ask what they would recommend. And ask how we can be useful perhaps.

I wonder if Marly Silverman would be interested in joining the committee.

 

[jspotila]

Shrewsbury points out the key provision - there are 7 biomedical research slots and 4 "other" slots ("other" is my term). The five departing are all from the biomedical research and health services categories. I wish curriculum vitae for each member were available so we could know more about them. I believe Ms. Holderman has served on the board of the Dallas CFS support group, but I would have to resurrect my notes to check my memory on that. The other new member who is not an MD is Steve Krafchik. He had not been sworn in before the October meeting and I know nothing about him.

Does anyone remember the discussion about the charter at the October meeting? I'm trying to remember if they discussed term limits or rolling terms to get at the problem Shrewsbury identified. It seems to me they did discuss it, but I don't remember any particulars.