Fellow Diplomats:
Hello! As a brief introduction, my name is Gayle Lindsey, and I am honored and humbled for the opportunity to serve you over the next two years as your President! I am a physical therapist and also hold a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Health System Management. I currently serve as Director of Physical Medicine and Wound Care Services at Methodist Mansfield Medical Center in Mansfield, Texas.
I have been a CWS since 2000 and began my involvement with our organization as a member of the Regional Committee, attending conferences and working our exhibition booth to spread the word of our certifications. I have also served as a member of the Marketing Committee and Board Nominations Committee. I have been a member of the Board of the American Board of Wound Management since 2006, serving one term as a Board member and two terms as Secretary before becoming President-Elect in 2016. I am excited for what the next two years will bring!
More importantly, I want to take this opportunity to thank Dave Mahon, MD, FACS, CWSP, our immediate past President, for his exceptional service during his two year term. Dave led our organization through important initiatives, including:
- Increasing public awareness of our certifications via media outlets and Wound Healing Awareness Month
- Building a network of ABWM certified ambassadors to serve as local promoters of our certifications
- The ongoing expansion of our mobile testing services
- Increasing the ABWM’s international involvement by traveling to Singapore to administer our certification exams to 26 Singapore physicians and nurses.
Thank you, Dave, for your outstanding service and transformational leadership!
I also wish to thank Chris Murphy, our Executive Director, and his team at Association Management Strategies for their ongoing support and hard work to keep the American Board of Wound Management the premier wound certification organization. Their efforts behind the scenes are tireless and we wouldn’t be the great NCAA certified organization we are today without them!
Turning to the next two years, my main objectives as President are:
- Keep the momentum behind the initiatives Dave began with public awareness of our certifications, the Ambassador Program, and our international presence
- Improving and streamlining the test taking experience for our Diplomats sitting for their re-certifications and for new candidates sitting for our certification exams
- Focused effort on our marketing, branding, and PR initiatives
- Increasing the Board interaction with our Diplomats to brainstorm ideas and implement new strategies
- Developing partnerships with other medical professional organizations wishing to step into the wound certification arena
We have an incredible multidisciplinary Board of Directors ready to continue their service to you. Working with our American Board of Wound Management Foundation trustees, I truly believe there is nothing we can’t do in service to our current and future Diplomats as well as to the wound community. Please reach out to us with questions, suggestions, feedback or desire to serve via the ABWM and ABWM Foundation social media platforms or at info@abwmcertified.org.
In closing, it has never been more important for all of us to spread the word of the importance of the CWCA, CWS, and CWSP certifications and proudly promote them at every opportunity.This is YOUR organization, and your involvement and participation is vital to the continued success of our certifications! Consider this a call to action to let our patients, employers, and fellow clinicians know of our ongoing mission to certify multidisciplinary wound management professionals. Those ABWM Diplomats will in turn provide the best possible evidence-based care to those suffering from chronic and acute wounds. Our patients look to us for healing and a way to experience their best quality of life. Let’s show them and the other members of our healthcare communities what we can do!
Warm regards,
Gayle
Gayle Lindsey PT, MHSM, MBA, CWS
ABWM President
