Former CMS official Alice Bonner says the change is good news.

The American Medical Director’s Association has a new name and will now allow nurse practitioners and physician assistants full membership.

The organization’s House of Delegates voted in March to change the organization’s name to AMDA — The Society of Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine. It also voted to increase the eligible ranks of who can join the organization.

The name change reflects “the increasing prominence of post-acute care in the long-term care continuum,” the organization said. By allowing nurse practitioners and PAs to join as full members, they can serve on and chair national committees, participate in state chapters and serve as delegates. 

Geriatrics has always been a “team sport,” says Alice Bonner, Ph.D., RN, who was a non-voting Massachusetts AMDA board member from 2007 to 2009. She’s currently a Northeastern University professor.

“We work together in the clinical setting; it seemed logical for AMDA to embrace collegial structure,” Bonner told McKnight’s. “It’s taken them a while to get to this point. They started out as very physician-oriented. They wanted a place where medical directors could come together and share stories.” But having nurses and nurse practitioners, including those in policy positions, “can really bring a lot of knowledge and direction,” she said.

“It’s terrific to see the organization embrace the breadth and strength of interdisciplinary leadership,” she said.