December 3, 2020
MDHHS COVID-19 Vaccine information

MDHHS has prepared a COVID-19 Vaccine webpage for providers. It is the ‘COVID-19 Vaccine Provider Guidance and Education Resources’. Another way to access this site is directly from our COVID-19 vaccine webpage www.michigan.gov/COVIDvaccine, then selecting “Provider Guidance and Education”.

This webpage will have valuable information to support COVID-19 Vaccine Providers in the successful implementation of the COVID-19 Vaccination Program. It will also be home to our live MDHHS COVID-19 Provider Toolkit. This toolkit is currently being worked on and as soon as it becomes available, we will get a message out. This webpage will be partnered with CDC to provide important and timely education as it is arriving. Bookmark this webpage and review it frequently for updates!

Here are some topics you can find at the COVID-19 Vaccine Provider Guidance and Education webpage:
  • CDC Covid-19 Educational Resources
  • Enrollment
  • Vaccine Recommendations
  • Vaccine Billing and Vaccine Codes
  • Patient Education & Adverse Event Reporting
  • Storage & Handling (S&H)
  • Vaccine Administration
  • Ordering & Receiving Vaccine and Ancillary Supplies
  • MCIR Inventory, Dose Documentation
  • VaccineFinder
  • Communication Resources

**NEW** Provider resource document: COVID-19 Vaccine Information for Providers
This is a comprehensive document that covers important guidance for Michigan Providers with Michigan specific information regarding the COVID-19 Vaccination Program. Another way to access this document directly is from our NEW provider COVID-19 vaccine webpage www.michigan.gov/COVIDvaccine, then selecting “Provider Guidance and Education”.
Kari Hortos, DO, receives the Woman of Excellence award

Emily Hurst, DO, and Rachel Young, DO, of the Women of Excellence committee presented the 2020 Woman of Excellence Award to Kari Hortos, DO, during a virtual ceremony for the Autumn Convention. "It is truly an honor to be the fifth recipient of the Women of Excellence Award. I am deeply grateful to be amongst those who have received this award,” said Dr. Hortos.

The award is presented annually and past honorees are:
2019: Kathleen Rollinger, DO
2018: Myral Robbins, DO, FAAFP, FACOFP
2017: Carol Monson, DO
2016: Dorothy Carnegie, DO

"We began as a task force to engage female membership at the MOA and we have developed now into so much more. Today we have the annual Women of Excellence Award, our reception at the Spring Convention, a committee and we are now developing a Women's Leadership Institute." - Dr. Rachel Young

"Dr. Hortos has been serving all of us by mentoring, lecturing, and by releasing countless publications. She has really done everything I can think of to support wellness in the profession, including being a part of the ACGME wellness committee." - Dr. Emily Hurst

Thank you to Dr. Hortos for your years of leadership and investing your time in the future of healthcare!
For more information, visit: www.domoa.org/women-of-excellence
OCOMA holds first virtual Installation and awards ceremony

The Oakland County Osteopathic Medical Association held its first virtual Installation Event on Thursday, November 19, 2020, using the Zoom platform.

The first award of the evening was the Lawrence Abramson, DO, Distinguished Service Award, presented each year in honor of the late Dr. Lawrence Abramson, past OCOMA Executive Director. The Oakland County Osteopathic Medical Association board created a memorial in the form of a distinguished service award. Dr. Abramson was a past president of OCOMA, an MOA board member, involved in multiple community groups and served on a multitude of committees and boards. He loved the profession and his family, appreciated his colleagues and was just an all-around good person. OCOMA wanted the winner of this award to reflect those same qualities. OCOMA selects one physician each year that they all agree has shown dedication to their state and county organization along with their community and patients.

During this recent meeting in November, Dr. John Kilmer, OCOMA President and OCOMA Past President, Dr. Joe Gorz, were honored to present the Lawrence Abramson Distinguished Service Award for 2020 to - Dr. MaryJo Voelpel. Dr. Voelpel is a graduate of MSUCOM and has over 45 years in practice, currently in Orion, Michigan. Dr. Voelpel not only sees patients in her oncology practice, but also finds time to volunteer in the community to aid the underserved population of Detroit through Detroit Street Care, to partake in missions to Peru, to serve on the Michigan Cancer Consortium representing the MOA and the Medical Legal Committee representing OCOMA. You will find Dr. Voelpel presenting at numerous MOA conferences to educate our physicians and these are just some of the things she does to support her patients, the community, and her colleagues. In her spare time to keep in shape, she enjoys participating in ballroom dancing competitions, playing golf and marathon running. Congratulations to Dr. Voelpel, a worthy recipient of this years award.

The next award was the Charitable Donation award presented by OCOMA and MCOMA to Dr. Mark Schury as Program Director, Family Medicine Residency Program at McLaren Oakland Hospital in Pontiac. The funds will be used towards the needs of the residents in the program. Until a few years ago the counties would hold social events for their members. Last year it was decided that the counties would end their social events and instead, donate the funds each quarter to a deserving charity. Since then, the two counties pool their funds to provide a small stipend to a charitable organization as decided upon by the groups. In the past they have donated to Mission to Peru, Habitat for Humanity, and the Detroit Medical Orchestra.

Finally, the Board members were sworn in by Dr. Craig Magnatta, OCOMA Executive Director:
Ryan Christensen, DO, President
John Kilmer, Immediate Past President
Joe Gorz, DO Past President
Daniel Tobes, President Elect
Elizabeth Van Der Aue, Treasurer
Stacy Paye, DO
Jasper Yung, DO
Gary Willyerd, DO
MaryJo Voelpel, DO
Peter Habib, DO Resident Board member
Rob Schulz, DO
Raef Ali Fadel, DO
Andrew Scales Student Board Member
Craig Magnatta, DO Executive Director

We hope you will join us in welcoming the Oakland County Osteopathic Medical Association Board for 2021
Dr. MaryJo Voelpel is seen here with her husband, Larry, enjoying her passion for dancing.
PPP Loan Expenses Not Deductible

On November 18th, additional guidance on the Paycheck Protection Program loan expense deductibility was released by the IRS.

A taxpayer that received a covered loan guaranteed under the PPP and paid or incurred certain otherwise deductible expenses listed in section 1106(b) of the CARES Act may not deduct those expenses in the taxable year in which the expenses were paid or incurred if, at the end of such taxable year, the taxpayer reasonably expects to receive forgiveness of the covered loan on the basis of the expenses it paid or accrued during the covered period, even if the taxpayer has not submitted an application for forgiveness of the covered loan by the end of such taxable year.

Therefore, for most taxpayers, this means the expenses will not be deductible for the 2020 tax year. Lobbyists are still pushing for the next stimulus package to include guidance that allows the PPP loan expenses to be deductible. However, results of their efforts may not be known until early 2021.

Maner Costerisan will continue to monitor and keep you updated as additional information and guidance is released. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact them at 517.323.7500 or send us an email at maner@manercpa.com
Please join Pfizer leaders on December 8 at 4 PM – 5PM (EST) for an update on the Pfizer COVID vaccine. David Hering, President, Pfizer Vaccines North American and Alejandro Cane, MD, Vaccines Scientific and Medical Affairs Lead North America, will be the featured speakers. Topics covered will include information on the vaccine development program as well as the US distribution plans with the states. We hope you can join the call.
 
Webex Event Broadcast: This allows Presenters to Broadcast audio, video and slides one-way to up to 3000 attendees’ computers and iOS mobile devices. 
 
Event number: 145 068 5229
Event password: t6ZJM69GP3K
 
Please Note – attendees joining Webex via their iPad/iPhone cannot take part in Post Event Surveys
 
*If you have never joined a WebEx before the link will prompt you to install software to enable it to run. Allow this download and the session will then open once installed (This only needs doing once, for subsequent sessions the software will run the program without needing to install anything).
 
Audio Conference: This is a listen only service for attendees to dial in and hear the presenters but they cannot ask questions.
 
1-650-479-3208 Call-in toll number (US/Canada)
1-877-668-4493 Call-in toll-free number (US/Canada)
Access Code: 145 068 5229
2021 MOCF Student Impact Initiative

The Michigan Osteopathic College Foundation brings immense value to the MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine. This year has been remarkably different, to say the least. Not only has it changed the way we’ve been educating our students, but how we’ve been interacting with all our great partners. In 2021, instead of focusing all of our fundraising efforts on the in-person MOCF Ball—we are focusing the next four months on a virtual fundraising campaign which will continue to support student scholarships, student-related activities, post-graduate medical education and outreach efforts.

While there won’t be an MOCF Ball in February, please mark your calendar to join us for a virtual event scheduled for Saturday, February 27 at 5:00pm. More details to come.

For questions, call 517-355-9616 or email: mocfball@com.msu.edu



A recent article in The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association (JAOA) shines a light on many state physician licensing boards’ noncompliance with the American Disabilities Act (ADA) regarding mental health, as well as some compliance discrepancies between osteopathic and allopathic licensing.

Mayo Clinic Proceedings published a study in 2017 examining the impact that medical licensure questions about mental health histories have on physician reluctance to seek care, but Beth Wagner, DO, a family physician in Vermont, noticed that it only reported on allopathic licensing boards and didn’t examine their osteopathic equivalents (in states where there are separate boards).

Physician mental health has always been a topic of great interest to Dr. Wagner and her friend Katherine Lincoln, DO, another family physician in Pennsylvania. So the two of them set out to evaluate the compliance of state osteopathic medical licensing boards with ADA requirements...(Continue to full article on The DO)
Strategic Partner Spotlight: Beaumont Health

Want to truly make a difference in patient care? Join the Beaumont team. The Beaumont Career site offers a simple search for career opportunities at a variety of healthcare facilities.

TOP PLACES TO WORK IN HEALTH CARE
Beaumont Health has been recognized by Becker's Healthcare as one of the top 150 places to work in health care.
Membership Renewal

The membership Renewal notices have been sent out for the 2021 calendar year. While this has been a challenging year for all, the MOA has focused on transitioning in-person events to online events to better serve our members. We have also focused on how we can offer information and services during the time of COVID-19. Please let us know if we can help you and your practice as we navigate reopening our communities.

We thank you for your continued support and hope that all of our members are staying safe. Please know we are working hard to adapt and that we are thankful for the support our members and partners.

“As the landscape of healthcare continues to change with politics and a pandemic, the value of membership in the MOA has never been greater. I am proud to be a member of an organization that is constantly supporting my profession and fights for better healthcare policies."

- Emily Hurst, DO, MOA Board of Trustees, AOA Board of Trustees
The Michigan Osteopathic Association (MOA) is pleased to announce that Delta Dental premium rates for the upcoming year will not increase for our subscribers. Thanks to our partners at Delta Dental and the Salus Group, we were able to secure the same great rates and coverage for 2021.

If you already subscribe to an MOA sponsored Delta Dental plan, you will be notified via mail of your automatic renewal in December. If you have any questions or would like to learn more information about the MOA Delta Dental plans and other insurance options, please visit: Insurance Request Form
Weathering the Pandemic

Our social habits have changed from spring to summer and now to winter… and the new cold weather will make pandemic life more difficult to escape. Hear how to get through the next few months by better managing your physical and mental health.




September 25, 2020, saw the passing of Harry J. DeVore, DO

September 10, 2020, saw the passing of James “Jim” Brasseur, DO

September 7, 2020, saw the passing of Richard Worel, DO

June 26, 2020, saw the passing of Milton A. Raskin, DO

June 12, 2020, saw the passing of Waldo "Doc" Erhardt Robert Frankenstein, DO

May 26, 2020, saw the passing of Harold Rexford Ruettinger, DO

February 18, 2020, saw the passing of Rowland W. Hinds, DO

December 5, 2019, saw the passing of Jack Quarters, DO

Michigan Osteopathic Association | 517/347-1555 | www.domoa.org