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In this Issue:
- Governor's Message and Transition
- ADVOCACY IN ACTION:
- ACP LEADERSHIP DAY:
- SAVE THE DATE: CTACP 2025 SCIENTIFIC MEETING
- AWARDS:
- INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL GRADUATES:
- IM2025:
- NEWS AND NOTEWORTHY:
Daniel G. Tobin, MD, FACP, ACP Governor
Ruth Weissberger, MD, FACP, Immediate-Past Governor
Governor's Message and Transition
Dear CT ACP Members:
With this newsletter, I am honored to reintroduce myself to you as the new Governor for the Connecticut Chapter of the 杨贵妃传媒!
As Governor, I am responsible for representing our Chapter to the national organization. ACP is an extraordinary community of internal medicine physicians with a wealth of talent, diversity, and opportunity. I have been an ACP member for decades, but as a new Governor I am only beginning to genuinely appreciate the amazing work going on behind the scenes. Simply put, ACP has remarkable people doing remarkable things, and I am thrilled to be a part of this team.
Part of my role is to encourage active membership, and I will do my best to promote your interests and those of our patients through advocacy in action, organizational networking, and professional development. However 鈥 as the colloquialism goes 鈥 鈥渕embership is a team sport,鈥 so we need you to get involved! Joining ACP is an important first step, but I encourage you to take advantage of the many opportunities this organization affords you. Join a committee, network with colleagues, make your voice heard, and take your next step along the path towards becoming a Fellow or Master with the College.
Keep an eye on your inbox for our newsletters and other communications from the Chapter highlighting member achievements, as well as upcoming opportunities to engage with one another. I welcome your input, feedback, and ideas. I also encourage you to visit our website frequently for updates, as well as our social media platforms, and please join us at one of our upcoming programs!
Finally, I want to extend my most sincere thanks and gratitude to Dr. Ruth Weissberger for leading our Chapter so effectively over the past four years. Ruth has paved the way for a successful transition, and I know I have big shoes to fill. Thank you, Ruth!
If you have questions, please reach out to me or our Chapter's Executive Director, Lisa Winkler (lisa@grassrootsct.com) at any time. I look forward to serving as your Governor and collaborating with you to represent the needs of our members and our patients in the years to come.
Sincerely,
Dan
Dear CT ACP Colleagues:
As I hand over the reins of leadership to Dan, I am pleased to share this final letter with you.
We are living in an extraordinary time. Biomedical research, academic institutions, and scientific journals are under attack, and many of our members, living and practicing in the US on visas, are rightfully concerned for their safety. Our most vulnerable patients face the possibility of losing their health insurance under the omnibus spending bill now moving through Congress, and we see an alarming and fatal spread of measles as anti-vaccine misinformation is promoted.
ACP speaks out strongly for the necessity of funding scientific inquiry, developing a diverse physician work force to best serve our patients, for the value of international medical graduates, who make up 25% of the US physician workforce, and the bedrock principle of our organization that all patients deserve access to high quality health care. The College does this through press releases, policy and position papers, testimony in Congress, letters to federal agencies, and amicus briefs at the Supreme Court. ACP provides resources for internal medicine physicians to counter misinformation and engage in conversations about vaccines with hesitant patients. On the state level, CT ACP participates in health policy coalitions and committees, provides testimony at the state legislature, and publishes opinion pieces and letters in local newspapers.
Now more than ever, I believe, our professional societies play a critical role in defending the evidence-based practice of medicine and adherence to professional ethics. Your membership and engagement in ACP are so important.
I look forward to our Chapter's upcoming advocacy, educational, and community-building activities and events under Dan's leadership, and to seeing you at this year's Chapter meeting.
Sincerely,
Ruth
ADVOCACY IN ACTION:
Members of the CT Chapter of the 杨贵妃传媒 met with Sen. Anwar, co-chair of the Public Health Committee to discuss Medicaid, Out of Network Caps and a host of other health issues under consideration at the state Capitol.
As a physician, Sen. Anwar is a strong voice for patients and physicians in Hartford. During the zoom meeting Sen. Anwar discussed the budget and looming federal cuts that could have a catastrophic impact on the state. With projected Medicaid cuts of $800 billion nationwide, Connecticut is expected to see a big impact. Legislative leadership had hoped to increased Medicaid reimbursement for physicians this session.
Other key programs have been impacted at the Department of Public Health because of federal rollbacks, including disease surveillance, newborn screening and vaccine programs. HeadStart, heat assistance and funding for school food initiatives have also been affected.
The senator is working on efforts to address concerns with prior authorizations, gender affirming care and reproductive rights, as well as pharmacy benefit managers. Another top priority of the physician community includes the proposed cap on out of network reimbursement that the Governor has proposed. CT ACP is working with CHA and a host of other groups to oppose the bill. Sen. Anwar made an impassioned plea in committee where the bill passed 7-6.
The group discussed concerns with Connie, the state's health information exchange and the opt out process, liability, cost and protection of health information.
CT ACP also serves on the steering committee of the Connecticut Coalition for Climate Action and Sen. Anwar has championed both SB 9 and HB 5004 to combat the effects of climate change this session.
Sen. Anwar is also working with the state's medical schools on a project to keep more medical students in the state, after their training. Currently, Connecticut ranks 47th out of 52 states and territories in retaining the physicians trained in the state.
ACP LEADERSHIP DAY:
Connecticut's delegation attended ACPs Leadership Day in Washington DC on April 28th and 29th. The two-day meeting includes helpful training sessions, important updates on the legislative landscape and a robust overview of key health priorities. Connecticut's own Dr. Rebecca Andrews, Chair of the Board of Regents, also hosted a briefing session with key members of Congress.
This year's legislative asks included co-sponsorship on H.R. 879 the Medicare Patient Access and Practice Stabilization Act - a partisan bill to halt Medicare payment cuts and increasing rates 2 percent for the remainder of 2025. Additional requests included protecting Medicaid coverage and investments in public health initiatives, research and the healthcare workforce.
(Connecticut's immediate past-Governor Dr. Ruth Weissberger, Dr. Ben Cherry, Dr. Olivia Brooks, Dr. Rebecca Andrews, Dr. Robert McLean and Dr. Jenna Gage are pictured here meeting with Congressman Joe Courtney.)
SAVE THE DATE: CTACP 2025 SCIENTIFIC MEETING
Planning is under way for the 2025 CT ACP Scientific Meeting scheduled for October 10th. Mark your calendars and keep an eye out for more details. The meeting will be held again at the Aqua Turf Club in Plantsville, CT.
AWARDS:
I am delighted to announce the 2025 Internal Medicine Resident Award recipients. This $500 award honors medical students with outstanding academic achievement and community service who are going on to internal medicine residency in Connecticut. The 2025 awardees are:
- Brian Fleischer, M.D.-Yale University School of Medicine
- Dominic Mancini, M.D.-Frank H. Netter School of Medicine, Quinnipiac University
- Ireoluwatomiwa Opayemi, M.D.-University of Connecticut School of Medicine
INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL GRADUATES:
Our IMG Council has developed a new IMG Corner on the chapter website. Click here to visit the page. Information will be added to link interested IMGs with observerships and other opportunities here in our state. The council aims to provide various resources for IMGs to facilitate their integration into the health care system while providing professional growth and mentoring opportunities.
IM2025:
The IM 2025 meeting in New Orleans was a great success and the spirit of Mardi Gras was celebrated throughout the meeting. 15 Connecticut members spoke at the meeting on a variety of topics, including Dr. Rebecca Andrews, Chair, Board of Regents, Dr. Robert McLean, Past President and Dr. Naseema Merchant, co-chair of our planning committee. Click here for a listing of Connecticut's speakers. Connecticut's Doctor's Dilemma team from UCONN competed at the national competition and Lily Zhong, a winner in the Connecticut abstract competition presented her poster at the meeting too. Connecticut held a wonderful reception with New York, and Governor Weissberger passed the baton to our new Governor, Dr. Dan Tobin.
NEWS AND NOTEWORTHY:
Congratulations to Dr. Rebecca Andrews on Receiving MACP Distinction鈥e are proud to recognize Dr. Rebecca Andrews, past Governor of the Connecticut Chapter and current Chair of the Board of Regents, on being elected to Mastership by the 杨贵妃传媒 (ACP). This prestigious honor, which grants the MACP designation, reflects Dr. Andrews' exceptional contributions to internal medicine and her steadfast leadership within the ACP.
Dr. Andrews was elected to Mastership alongside ACP President Dr. Jason Goldman during a special election held May 15, in accordance with updated ACP procedures for ex-officio leadership.
Please join us in congratulating Dr. Andrews on this well-deserved recognition!