May 9, 2024
It’s only May, and Dallas Nelson, MD, FACP, CMD, has already had a busy year. She received AMDA’s Medical Director of the Year Award at PALTC24 in March, and she also became the Society’s new secretary during the conference. Some people would take a minute to sit back and celebrate their accomplishments, but not Dr. Nelson. She’s jumped right back into serving her patients and her profession. “I’m happy to have a seat at the table so I can deliberate on solutions to the challenges we’re facing,” she says.
Dr. Nelson has many roles. She is an active medical director, professor of medicine at the University of Rochester (UR) in New York, director of the UR Medicine Geriatrics Group, chair of the UR Medicine Home Care Board of Directors, immediate past president of the American Board of Post-Acute and Long-Term Care, immediate past president of AMDA’s New York Chapter, and chair of the Society’s Public Policy Telemedicine Workgroup. She says, “I serve all levels of the long-term care continuum from assisted living to nursing homes, so I will be able to bring that perspective to the board.”
Volunteer leadership comes naturally to Dr. Nelson. However, she says, “I get as much as or more out of it than I give.” She learns much from her AMDA colleagues, which makes her ”better able to advocate for my patients and my fellow professionals in post-acute and long-term care.” She adds that she is fortunate to have the support and flexibility at work to tend to her volunteer activities, and says she is fortunate to have a great family, including a father who provided childcare for her son, who is now 16 and makes dinner every night. Dr. Nelson is also helping her daughter look at colleges, a “volunteer” role she is enjoying tremendously.
Like so many of her colleagues, Dr. Nelson considers AMDA her professional home. “This organization speaks to the challenges that long-term care providers face, and it essentially is the place where I can learn about trends and innovations and best serve my patients,” she says.
Dr. Nelson is pleased that AMDA represents a broad range of professionals practicing in PALTC, and she looks forward to working to ensure they get the tools and resources they need from the organization. “There’s no other place that answers the needs of a long-term care medicine delivery team. We need to make sure we provide them with the networking and support they need and involve them in AMDA in volunteer and leadership roles,” she says.
Whatever challenges come Dr. Nelson’s way, you can count on her to face them head-on. She and her family recently tried indoor skydiving, an activity symbolic of her willingness to try new things and take a leap of faith.