Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service

Health Services Officer Professional Advisory Committee
Top of page content

HAPAG ByLaws

  1. Name
  2. Purpose
  3. Objectives
  4. Membership
  5. Nomination Process
  6. Leadership
  7. Operations and Procedures
  8. ByLaws Update and Approval/Amendments

Article I
Name

The Healthcare Administration Professional Advisory Group shall be referred to as the HAPAG.

Back to top

Article II
Purpose

The Healthcare Administration Professional Advisory Group (HAPAG) of the Health Services Professional Advisory Committee (HS PAC) shall consider discipline-specific professional issues and advise the Surgeon General through the HS PAC and Chief Health Services Officer regarding such issues.

Back to top

Article III
Objectives

The HAPAG functions in a resource and advisory capacity to assist in the development, coordination, training and evaluation of activities related to Health Services Officers (HSOs) in the healthcare administration professional discipline in the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) with the specific objectives of:

  • Identifying issues of interest and facilitating the resolution of concerns as they relate to healthcare administration officers;
  • Assessing personnel needs of the USPHS as related to healthcare administration and assisting in meeting the needs relative to recruitment, retention, training, professional development and utilization;
  • Assessing professional development needs and developing position papers, statistical reports, and/or guidelines; where appropriate, to advise and comment on matters relating to the personnel issues of healthcare administration professionals and their practices;
  • Promoting cooperation and communication among and between other professional disciplines and health professionals;
  • Promoting all aspects of quality healthcare administration throughout the Agencies and programs of the USPHS.

Back to top

Article IV
Membership
  • Sec.1 Eligibility Requirement: Voting Members (VM) shall be Commissioned Corps healthcare administrators either by degree, position (i.e. manager/supervisor), or job description (e.g. policy analyst, public health advisor) and in the Health Services Category. All Commissioned Corps personnel must meet the Office of Force Readiness and Deployment basic readiness standards at the time they are nominated and appointed to the HAPAG and throughout their term or service on the HAPAG.
  • Sec.2 Size of the HAPAG: The HAPAG shall have up to 20 voting members (members herein) who are nominated and appointed by the HAPAG.
  • Sec.3 Term of Appointment: Each of the voting members shall serve a term of up to three years. Terms will be staggered so that approximately one–third of the members’ terms will expire annually. Members may re-apply after the first term. Terms of office may be served consecutively at the discretion of the HAPAG. No officer shall be elected to more than two consecutive (or non-consecutive) terms.
  • Sec.4 Responsibilities: Individuals selected as HAPAG Voting Members (VM) are responsible for actively participating in one of the subcommittees, attending HAPAG voting member and general meetings, responding to requests from HAPAG Subcommittee chairs and the HAPAG Executive Committee (EC), providing leadership and comments on pending changes to the Commissioned Corps, and other HAPAG priorities as needed. HAPAG Voting Members (VM) are responsible for serving in a leadership role for one year of their three year term. Voting Members will be expected to maintain a record of the HAPAG activities they have been involved with for each quarter. VM will be required to obtain a minimum of 30 hours per year. Once the VM has earned 30 hours of service, the Chair will provide recognition of such service in the officer’s electronic official personnel folder.
  • Other Considerations:
    • 1) Organizational representation of Voting Members: Participation shall be encouraged from each of the Department of Health and Human Services Operating Divisions to provide the range of experiences and perspectives necessary to address issues before the HAPAG. Efforts will be made to have the broadest representation possible among all Agencies where Commissioned Corps healthcare administrators within the Health Services Category are employed. Consideration will also be given to diversify range of rank among the voting members.
    • 2) Geographic consideration: Participation shall be promoted from members whose regular duty station is geographically removed from the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Members will be actively solicited and provisions such as teleconferencing will be made so that Commissioned Corps healthcare administrators stationed outside the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area can participate in meetings.
    • 3) Gender and Minority Representation: Diversity among officers of different cultures, race, ethnicity, and gender shall be respected and participation welcomed. Efforts will be made to ensure that the membership of the HAPAG represents the ethnic and gender diversity of the healthcare administration discipline within the Health Services Category.
  • Sec.5 Senior Advisors (non-voting /ex-officio): The HAPAG Chair along with the voting membership may identify at least two (2) senior level officers (05/06 rank) and request their service in advisory capacities to assist with issues, concerns, policies, procedures, and activities concerning healthcare administration. Advisors will also be key participants who will advise HAPAG Executive Committee and Voting Membership on the future direction and planning of the HAPAG. Advisors will utilize their depth of knowledge to advise subcommittee chairs and work with the Career Development Subcommittee to conduct a minimum of two learning sessions (brown bags) on leadership in the USPHS. Advisors must be officers with a discipline in healthcare administration with demonstrable healthcare administration expertise. Each Senior Advisor will serve a two-year term limit, alternating from each other so as to ensure overlapping guidance. In the event that a Senior Advisor is unable to fulfill his/her respective term, the HAPAG voting membership may nominate another candidate to best serve the needs of the HAPAG.
  • Members will be solicited through the HSO listserv, HAPAG listserv, and other appropriate means.
  • Individuals are welcome to serve as volunteers on HAPAG subcommittees and functions at the discretion of the HAPAG Chair. Volunteers have no voting rights.
  • Non-voting, general membership members are welcome to serve on HAPAG subcommittees and workgroups to assist in carrying out the mission and vision of the HAPAG.
  • General meetings will be open to all HSOs.

Back to top

Article V
Nomination Process
  • Sec.1 Annually, the HAPAG will solicit, through the HSO and HAPAG listservs and other appropriate means, nominations for VM vacancies on the HAPAG from all individuals whose professional disciplines are represented within the Health Services category. Self-nominations are acceptable and will be solicited. The Chair of the HAPAG Membership Subcommittee will transmit the names to the HAPAG Executive Committee and voting membership for review. Candidates for voting membership shall participate in an interview process coordinated by the HAPAG Membership Subcommittee. Upon completion of the interview process, voting members will vote on the candidates most qualified to fill vacant positions. The selected candidates’ names will be forwarded to the Executive Committee for final review. Selectee letters with the out-going Chair’s signature will be mailed to new voting members prior to October 1 of the calendar year.
  • Sec.2 This nomination process shall be conducted so that the final nomination package is available to the HAPAG Executive Committee no less than 90 calendar days prior to the expiration of the regular term of the member.
  • Sec.3. Should the need arise to fill an unexpired term; the vacancy shall be filled through the annual nomination process.
Back to top
Article VI
Leadership

The leadership of the HAPAG (Executive Committee) shall be composed of the Chair, the Chair-Elect, Secretary, and Financial Advisor. The Executive Committee (EC) to include the Chair, Chair-Elect, Secretary, and Financial Advisor shall be elected by the voting membership (both current and incoming voting members) of the HAPAG during the last voting member meeting of the calendar year, for a term of office, as defined in the bylaws, beginning on January 1. All candidates, including those running unopposed, must communicate their positions to the voting membership on how they intend to contribute to the HAPAG and must then be confirmed by a vote. In the event of a vacancy of the Chair, the Chair-Elect shall assume the responsibilities for the duration of the term. Furthermore, if both the Chair and Chair-Elect are unable to fulfill their respective terms, then a special election is required. The HAPAG voting members must nominate and elect a new Chair and Chair-Elect from the remaining voting membership. The candidate must have at least one-year prior membership in HAPAG at the time of the election.

Vacancies in other offices shall first be filled by HAPAG voting members, then open to non-voting members. All subcommittee chair positions are voted on by the current calendar year’s voting members.

Duties of the leadership positions include the following:

  • Sec.1 Chair:
    • a. The Chair is responsible for providing leadership to the HAPAG in fulfilling its mission and goals for a given calendar year. In addition, the Chair serves as a liaison to the HS-PAC. The Chair is considered an ex-officio member of the HS-PAC and is expected to attend the HS-PAC meetings and any other significant meetings affecting the HAPAG; the Chair may also designate a representative (e.g., Chair-Elect or any member of the Executive Committee) to attend such meetings. The Chair’s duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to: presiding over the HAPAG voting members and general membership meetings; creating a vision for the HAPAG with specific tasks to be accomplish for the calendar year they are in leadership; monitoring all subcommittee functions and being instrumental in appointing members to subcommittees; orienting new HAPAG voting members; writing appointment letters, recognizing newly appointed Subcommittee chairs and coordinating speakers and agendas for all HAPAG meetings.
    • b. A voting member entering into his/her second/final year can nominate themselves for Chair-Elect and serve as HAPAG Chair the year after. A voting member who takes leadership as the Chair the year after their last official year as a voting member shall serve as a non-voting member, providing leadership/guidance as required of the duties of the Chair, but will not participate in voting requirements placed on the voting members.
    • c. Term of the Chair: The Chair serves a 1-year term.
  • Sec.2 Chair-Elect:
    • a. The primary duties of the Chair-Elect is to assist the Chair and functions as the Chair when necessary. In addition, the Chair-Elect shall acquaint him/herself with the ongoing business of the HAPAG and duties of the Chair (including unfinished tasks for a given calendar year) to ensure a smooth transition when the Chair-Elect assumes the office as Chair. The Chair-Elect will assist the Chair in the execution of the HAPAG business as described in Section 1 of this Article. These duties include, provides substantive comments and guidance to HAPAG officers on the growth and future development of the HAPAG, assists the Chair in fulfilling the mission of the HAPAG and developing the vision and goals for the calendar year, orienting new HAPAG voting members, attend HS PAC meetings in the Chair’s absence, and record minutes if the secretary is unavailable. The Chair-Elect will be elected by the voting membership as stated in the Leadership Section of this Article.
    • b. Only officers who have a minimum of one year left on their voting membership term are eligible to apply or be nominated for the position of Chair-Elect. If an officer’s voting membership term will end on December 31st of the year in which they are applying to this position, they will not be eligible to apply or be nominated for that position. Officers whose term is ending the year in which they apply for Chair-Elect, must re-apply for voting membership during the call for nominations and receive a new voting member term in order to be considered for this position.
    • c. Term of the Chair-Elect: The Chair-Elect serves a 1-year term and then succeeds as the Chair.
  • Sec.3 Succession of Chair and Chairperson-Elect
    • a. Should it ever arise that the HAPAG Chair is unable to fulfill his/her term, the Chair-Elect will fill the remainder of the Chair’s term, plus one additional term (the Chair-Elect’s originally scheduled term). A new Chair-Elect will then be nominated and selected per Article V of these Bylaws.
    • b. Should it ever arise that both the HAPAG Chair and the Chair-Elect are unable to fulfill their terms, and if both leave office before they can be replaced per Article V, then a special HAPAG election is held and a new Chair and Chair-Elect is nominated from and voted on by the remaining HAPAG voting members.
  • Sec.4 Secretary:
    • a. The Secretary is responsible for providing a written record of the activities of the HAPAG. The Secretary shall record the minutes of meetings, maintain attendance reports and official rosters and documents of the HAPAG, and assist the Chair and Chair-Elect in carrying out the duties associated with their respective offices. In addition, the Secretary shall prepare the agenda for all HAPAG meetings with input from the Chair and initiate requests for additional agenda/action items from voting members (for Voting Members specific meetings) and general membership (for general meetings). The Secretary shall monitor excused absences and alternate designations.
    • b. Term of the Secretary: The Secretary serves a 1-year term.
  • Sec.5 Financial Liaison
    • a. The Financial Liaison is responsible for providing a written financial record of the activities of the HAPAG. The Financial Liaison shall record the financial transactions in a ledger, maintain reports to verify transactions documents by COA, act as keeper of the coins, track coin sales, and assist the Chair and Chair-Elect in carrying out the duties associated with their respective offices.
    • b. Term of the Financial Liaison: The Financial Liaison serves a 1-year term that is renewable for a second term.
    No officer shall be elected to more than two consecutive terms in the same position.
Back to top
Article VII
Operations and Procedures

HAPAG operations and procedures shall include the following:

  • Sec.1 Operational Year: The operational year for the HAPAG is January 1 – December 31.
  • Sec.2 Frequency of Meetings: Meetings will be held at least once per quarter. The Chair may call additional meetings as needed. Likewise, voting membership meetings will be held at least once per quarter, but more frequent if deemed necessary by the Chair.
    Written notice stating the place, day, and hour of any meeting of voting members shall be provided to each member no more than twenty or less than 10 days before the date of such meeting, by or at the direction of the Chair.
  • Sec.3 Agenda:A meeting agenda and appropriate background material will be made available to the HAPAG members at least one week prior to the actual meeting.
  • Sec.4 Recording and Reporting: Minutes of each HAPAG meeting will be recorded and approved by the HAPAG. The HAPAG Secretary will maintain a permanent file of official minutes and reports. Minutes will be distributed to the General Membership within two weeks of the meeting.
  • Sec.5 Attendance of Voting Members:
    • a. Excused Absences: An excused absence constitutes a schedule conflict that cannot be prevented or avoided. An excused absence shall be communicated to the Chair and Secretary prior to the scheduled meeting. In addition, the voting member shall inform the Chair and Secretary of his/her alternate.
    • b. Unexcused Absences: An unexcused absence constitutes an absence from a meeting where voting membership participation is expected, and no efforts of communication are made to the Chair or Secretary to detail the projected absence.
    • c. Two unexcused absences are grounds for dismissal from the voting membership. A replacement will be appointed by the Chair for the remainder of that officer’s term.
    • d. Each time a HAPAG Voting member cannot be present to participate, he/she must appoint a proxy. The proxy must be an existing Voting Member or active subcommittee member who shall represent that officer. Failure to attend or appoint an alternate for two consecutive meetings is grounds for dismissal from the membership. A replacement will be appointed by the Chair for the remainder of that officer’s term.
  • Sec.6 Voting Member by Proxy: Voting and ByLaw Amendments: Voting Members will receive nomination forms for Chair-Elect, Secretary, and Financial Advisor positions and will be notified of nominees at least fifteen days prior to voting. Votes will be tabulated by the Chair. Where voting is required, action will be determined by a simple majority of those members present as long as a quorum is met. Bylaw amendments will be made by a simple majority vote of the voting members.
  • Sec.7 Quorum: A quorum shall consist of 50 percent of the HAPAG voting membership.
    Voting either in person or by a valid proxy email is acceptable using rules of time and date of vote submissions. If a quorum is not present at any meeting of Voting members, a majority of the Voting members present may adjourn the meeting.
  • The HAPAG may have operating subcommittees to accomplish its objectives. These subcommittees will be organized and conduct business in a manner consistent with the HAPAG and HS PAC. The Voting Members of the HAPAG will vote on the chair for each subcommittee. A subcommittee chair can voluntarily remove herself/himself or be relieved of her/his duties if unable to meet the requirements of the position. A replacement for the vacancy will be addressed in a timely manner via a vote by the voting membership so as to ensure uninterrupted operations of the sub-committee. The operating subcommittees may include but are not limited to: (1) Communication

    (2) Career Development

    (3) Policy

    (4) Membership

    (5) awards.

Back to top
Article VIII
ByLaws Update and Approval/Amendments

The HAPAG shall review its bylaws as deemed necessary and recommend revisions to update its bylaws as needed, but at a minimum of every two years. Any revisions to the bylaws must be reviewed and approved by the HAPAG voting members and the HS-PAC. If in question, the HAPAG bylaws will be superseded by, and not conflict with, the HS-PAC charter and bylaws.

Back to top

Page Last Modified on 1/27/2016

This page may require you to download plug-ins to view all content. Persons with disabilities having problems accessing any PDF or document on this page may call 1-888-225-3302 toll free for assistance.

You will be automatically logged out in , losing any unsaved work. Any movement detected within the screen will allow you more time.

External Link Warning!