What were the results of the survey?
Should I register for the NASPGHAN Annual Meeting at this time? Can I cancel my current registration?
All current registrations will be transferred automatically to the virtual event. The registration site will be down for a few days, and unable to accept new registrations or change/cancel existing registrations, while we update it for the virtual event. We will send an email out once it is accessible again.
Should I cancel my hotel reservation for the meeting?
If you made the reservation via our hotel block either online or over the phone your reservation will be cancelled automatically and without penalty.
Hotel Reservations update as on 9/28/2021 from the Gaylord: Everyone was charged one night room and tax when they booked the room. We have cancelled all the reservations and are in the process of refunding the deposits. The process usually takes 8-10 business days.
If you booked outside of the event room block then you will have to cancel the reservation directly.
What are some of the logistical issues with cancelling the in-person event for the association?
NASPGHAN signed a contract over 5 years ago that has us legally responsible for compensating the conference center (at a cost of ~1 million dollars) – whether or not we hold the meeting. Please know that our society does have a special “conference insurance policy”, but the global pandemic clause was eliminated by the insurer (as has become standard for such insurance contracts as of 2021). The health and safety of the membership, included members in the host state that are currently dealing with full capacity in their hospitals, takes priority in this situation.
Why doesn't NASPGHAN transfer the meeting to a hotel in another state?
We are contracted specifically with the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville, TN. While there are Gaylords and Marriott's in other locations, hotels are not necessarily owned by the brand and are owned by individual investment groups. Also each individual hotel is responsible for their own revenue. And that is in addition to finding a hotel that has the capacity we need for this large event.
What will the dates be for the virtual meeting?
We will be reformatting the in-person event into a virtual program the week of December 12-18, 2021. We will be releasing details of the updated program in early October. We understand the challenges of scheduling for events and that is one area where virtual events make things very flexible for you. While we would love for you to be online while the event is "live", the recordings are also posted with 24 hours and you are able to reach out within the platform to ask speakers any questions that were not covered.