SUMMARY OF THE 2002 ANNUAL MEETING OF THE
AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SURGEONS BOARD OF GOVERNORS
ANNUAL MEETING
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2002
The American College of Surgeons' Board of Regents has been increased by three members to twenty-one; this allows all specialties with advisory councils to have Board representation.
SSAT members, Robin McLeod, MD, FACS, from Toronto, Ontario, and Carlos A. Pellegrini, MD, FACS, of Seattle, Washington, were elected to the Board of Regents. Currently, nine members of The Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract are ACS Officers or Regents.
Other SSAT member news:
- J. Patrick O'Leary, MD, FACS, of New Orleans, Louisiana, was elected Chairman of the American College of Surgeons Board of Governors
- Timothy C. Fabian, MD, FACS, of Memphis, Tennessee, was elected Vice-Chairman of the Board of Governors
- R. V. Stephens, MD, FACS, of Phoenix, Arizona, was named Vice-Chairman of the Socioeconomics Committee
The College has developed and implemented the American College of Surgeons' Professional Association and the ACS-Surgeons PAC, Chaired by Andrew Warshaw, MD, FACS. The PAC was formed too late to have had an impact on the 2002 elections, but in 2004 it should be a major political player.
All surgeons need to step up and become PAC members. We need to be more proactive and increase our participation in the political process; this can be accomplished with donations of time and lots of money. The legal PAC receives more than $1,000.00 per member, per year, remember, MONEY TALKS!
The American College of Surgeons' long and adversarial relationship with the American Medical Association appears to be improving. Eight of the 21 members of the AMA Board of Trustees are ACS surgeons. Don Palmanisona, MD, FACS is the new AMA President-Elect.
In today's political reality, coalition building is very important. The College of Surgeons under the strong leadership of its Executive Director, Thomas Russell, MD, FACS, is making every effort to meet as many leaders of other specialty societies in order for the College to be a strong advocate for ALL physicians.
Survey of the membership of 2002 Board of Governors listed the top 4 concerns of its members to be:
- Physician Reimbursement
- Liability and Malpractice
- Tort Reform
- Decreased Medicare Fees
These concerns are essentially unchanged from the last five years.
The only hope for improvement is a National political solution.
Cynthia Brown of the Division of Advocacy and Health Policy Division is doing an excellent job representing the American College of Surgeons in Washington, DC. The PAC is going to significantly increase her political profile and clout.
The naming of Tennessee Senator William Frist, MD, FACS, a cardiovascular surgeon, as speaker of the United States Senate might be the first and most important step in solving some of these concerns.
Submitted by,
Robert V. Stephens, MD, FACS SSAT Governor to the American College of Surgeons
To contact Dr. Stephens please click here.
