American Urological Association, AACU announce establishment of new agreement for UROPAC

Today, the American Urological Association (AUA) and the American Association of Clinical Urologists (AACU) announced the establishment of a new agreement for UROPAC, the only political action committee (PAC) dedicated to the interests of the nation's urologists. This new memorandum serves to enhance the joint ownership of the PAC by the AACU and the AUA, and establishes a new seven-member Board, which includes equal representation from both the AACU and the AUA, as well as the Large Urology Group Practice Association (LUGPA). Under the agreement, each organization will have two representatives, with the UROPAC Chair being appointed by the AACU.

The new UROPAC Board will be chaired by Dr. Gary Kirsh, who is joined by three other officers: Vice Chair Dr. Jim Ulchaker (AUA), Secretary Dr. David Green (AUA) and Treasurer Dr. Arthur Tarantino (AACU). Rounding out the Board are Dr. Jeff Frankel (AACU), Dr. Deepak Kapoor (LUGPA) and Dr. Peter Knapp (LUGPA).

"UROPAC was founded by the AACU in 1992 and has been an effective voice for urology. The PAC continued to grow size and influence after partnering with the AUA in 2003," said AACU President Dr. Arthur Tarantino. "The addition of LUGPA to the PAC Board will capitalize on the strengths that all three organizations bring to the federal legislative advocacy arena."

"We are proud of all AUA and AACU members that have gotten involved with UROPAC," said Dr. Dennis Pessis, AUA President. "We encourage everyone to ensure the future of urology by supporting this political action committee and are pleased with LUGPA's affiliation with UROPAC."

"We are pleased to make our affiliation with UROPAC official and welcome the new change," said Dr. Deepak A. Kapoor, LUGPA President and Chairman and CEO of Integrated Medical Professionals, PLLC. "This makes it clear that national urological organizations speak in a unified voice on issues that affect patients with genitourinary disease."