Pueblo County Medical Society News
September 2016 - Volume 16, No. 9

Executive Director’s Message – Cheryl Law, MA, MNM
Greetings! I am honored to have been selected by the Pueblo County Medical Society Governing Board to serve as your executive director starting Sept. 14. I bring significant experience in for-profit and nonprofit leadership, communications, public relations, higher education and social justice work, and strive to advance the society’s position in the community and PCMS’s contributions to local members and their patients.

I have a Master in Nonprofit Management, a Master of Arts in Communication and a Bachelor of Science in Organizational Management. I also hold a Certificate in Motivational Speaking, and have completed coursework in the area of business communication, program development, governance and organizational leadership.

I believe PCMS is poised to support generations of physicians and medical students from all specialties who work toward the service of humanity and exhibit professional competence. I look forward to advancing PCMS’s purpose, values and vision, and continuing to build relationships and a shared sense of purpose locally and statewide. Don’t hesitate to contact me by email at pueblocountymedsoc@gmail.com or by phone at (719) 281-6073.
 
Save the date for the PCMS Annual Meeting: Nov. 17, 2016

The 2016 PCMS Annual Meeting will be held Thursday, Nov. 17, 5:30 - 9 p.m. at the Sangre de Cristo Arts and Conference Center in Pueblo. It will include cocktails, dinner and an engaging guest speaker. Watch for RSVP instructions coming soon. We hope you'll join us!
CMS Annual Meeting Report
Executive Director Cheryl Law and many PCMS members traveled to Keystone, Colo., in September for the 2016 Colorado Medical Society Annual Meeting. The re-engineered meeting was the first without a governance component, paving the way for a packed schedule of programming on the hottest topics in Colorado medicine. We attended plenary sessions on Amendment 69/ColoradoCare and medical aid in dying, as well as workshops on opioids, MACRA, physician wellness and more.

The annual meeting also included fun social events for the whole family, from Friday night’s exhibitor reception to Saturday morning’s group hike to Saturday evening’s presidential dinner when we celebrated the installment of CMS President Katie Lozano, MD, and posed for selfies with presidential impersonators and cardboard cutouts.
Elections Preview/COMPAC Endorsements
The Colorado Medical Political Action Committee has endorsed a full slate of state and federal candidates this year in advance of the Nov. 8 general election. Physicians and all friends of medicine are encouraged to consider the recommendations and, above all, to be sure to vote.

COMPAC does not endorse based on political party. Endorsements are made following a screening process that takes into account the views of the local medical community, the position of a candidate or incumbent on medical issues important to the medical society, the demographics of the district, and a candidate’s ability to win. Hundreds of physicians have participated in this process since its inception in the 2006 election cycle and it has proven instrumental in developing relationships between local constituent physicians and members of the Colorado Legislature.

View the 2016 endorsements here: www.cms.org/advocacy/compac-endorsements. The Pueblo County legislative districts are: House districts 46, 47 and 62, and Senate districts 3 and 35.
Transforming Clinical Practices Initiative (TCPi)
The time is now: Prepare your practice for compensation changes

Enroll in the Transforming Clinical Practices Initiative (TCPi) today and access a free support network designed to help your practice deliver patient-centered care and navigate compensation changes driven by the Medicare Quality Payment Program (also known as MACRA) that will also affect commercial carriers.

Data collected beginning January 2017 will affect your future compensation. The earlier you enroll, the sooner TCPi can help you evaluate, plan, measure and transform your practice. Learn more and enroll today: www.practiceinnovationco.org/tcpi/
Colorado Naloxone For Life: Narcan Training and Distribution
The Colorado Office of the Attorney General, working in partnership with the Colorado Consortium for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention, is funding the purchase of 2,500 Narcan dual-packs for law enforcement personal and first responders in 17 counties with high rates of drug overdose deaths and training in how to administer Narcan, including Pueblo County. Law enforcement personnel and first responders in Pueblo County who attend and complete the training in can receive a free Narcan Rescue Kit.

Although law enforcement personnel and first responders are the primary intended audience, this two-hour training is open to any individual interested in learning how to administer Narcan, the nasal form of Naloxone. Participants will be trained on how to properly identify symptoms and conditions of opioid overdose and will learn the proper methods for administering Narcan.

The training is free to attend and registration is required. To register, visit: http://bit.ly/CONFL. The Pueblo sessions will be held on Nov. 18 at 8:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. at the Emergency Service Center at 101 W. 10th St.
Health Elevations Magazine – Telehealth Issue
The latest edition of Health Elevations magazine is in the mail and online, and this special issue is dedicated to telehealth in Colorado. Follow this link to access the issue: coloradohealth.org/journal

The long-promised revolution of telehealth is actually here, whether patients know it yet or not, and many Colorado health leaders are working to tailor telehealth’s benefits to local needs. In this edition, contributors write about Colorado’s major insurers adopting full video telehealth services to millions of consumers; efforts to extend vital health services through tele-connections to underserved communities from Arvada to Alaska; remote monitoring as a growing way to help self-sufficient elderly patients stay in their own homes; the VA’s plan to use telehealth to catch up to burgeoning veterans’ needs in Colorado, and many more topics.
Board Officers: President: Alfredo Vargas, MD; President-Elect: Henrique Fernandez, MD; Secretary: Ross Patrick, MD; Treasurer: Lev Asherov, MD; Past-President: Teresa Braden, DO; CMS Director: Christine Nevin-Woods, DO |  Directors: Joseph Castelli, MD; Johnny Cheng, DO; Thomas Greidanus, MD; Rickland Likes, MD; Donald Luebke, MD; Robert Manguso, MD;  Julie Newburg, MD; James Roukema, MD; Vaishali Saini, MD; Robert Tonsing, MD; Atul Vahil, MD; James Valenzuela, MD |  Executive Director: Cheryl Law, MA, MNM
This newsletter is intended for the members and interested persons of the Pueblo County Medical Society.  If you have received this and wish to opt-out call 719-281-6073 or use the “unsubscribe” link below.