Dear Fellow Colleagues,

Advocacy: n, the act or process of advocating or supporting a cause or proposal.

Supporting the principles that define us – advocacy - is one of the fundamental pillars of the American College of Cardiology.  At the state level, the ACC is taking an active role in assisting our chapters in their efforts to improve the environment in which we labor.

The 2010 goal of the State Advocacy Committee is to canvass all state chapters to determine their malpractice environment.  Led by our outstanding state advocacy team of Frank Ryan, Jim Boxall and Justin Beland, we hope to identify states in which the malpractice environment is favorable, states in which the malpractice climate is indeterminate, and those states where there is a negative malpractice environment.  Our hope is to assist those states with unfavorable malpractice laws to develop plans and strategies to modify the situation using the approaches successful in other states.

We are surveying our chapters to gain insight into the relationship that they have with their state medical society. Clearly, cultivating those relationships will yield strategic alliances in the years to come. We are also working to identify individuals in the state medical societies who are not currently engaged in the College, hopefully enticing them to collaborate with their chapters.

In addition, the State Advocacy Committee is actively pursuing the “white hat” issues that exist throughout cardiology.  In many instances, individuals with a particular interest allow synergistic efforts between the ACC chapter and a state legislator who can serve as the champion for the cause.  These relationships allow our state chapters to introduce public service legislation and projects that benefit the community and place the College in a very favorable light. 

2010 already looks to be an extremely eventful year in the forty-five legislatures which will be in session. The ACC state advocacy team will be hard at work monitoring and influencing these legislatures, and I hope you’ll join them in their efforts.

Sincerely,

George P. Rodgers, M.D., F.A.C.C.

David C. May, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.C.C.

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PLEASE NOTE THIS CLARIFICATION:

A notice was sent to all Chapter leaders regarding their support of various political positions in regard to the health care debate.  To clarify the statement regarding loss of non-profit status, this would affect only chapters incorporated as a 501(c)3. Section 501(c)(3) organizations are restricted in how much political and legislative (lobbying) activities they may conduct. The tax status of chapters incorporated as a 501(c)6 would not be affected.

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ACTION ITEMS:

Deadline 10/31:

Call for Committee Nominations and Applications: If you would like to participate in one of the College’s committees and councils, now is the time to let us know. All College Fellows, Fellows in Training and Cardiac Care Associates are encouraged to nominate and/or apply. Applications are due October 31, 2009. Applicants will be selected by the ACC President-Elect, Ralph G. Brindis, MD, MPH, FACC, this fall and notified of their selection in January 2010.

Committee Application Instructions and List of Openings.pdf

To nominate and/or apply, please login at the Member Center,http://members.acc.org , on ACC’s website.  Contact: Marthea Wilson, 202-375-6230 or volunteers@acc.org

Deadline 11/2:

For those practices participating in IC3, you'll need to submit your completed IC³ Program Data Collection Agreement and a Data Release Consent Form (DRCF) for each participating physician by Monday, November 2 to the ACC. These two documents allow the ACC to submit your physician's data in a HIPPA compliant manner to CMS. Contact Katie Kehoe at (202) 375-6517 or via email at kkehoe@acc.org.

BOG Steering:

The BOG Steering Committee will meet on Tuesday, October 13 at 5:30 pm Eastern.  If you have any items that you wish to bring up before BOG Steering for discussion or for informational purposes, please contact Jayne Jordan at jjordan@acc.org. In addition, if you'd like to present to the BOG-SC a "Report from the Front", a report on the work environment, legislative climate or any other issues in your state, also contact Jayne.

2009-2010 BOARD OF GOVERNORS STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP:
John Gordon Harold, MD, FACC (Chair), California: john.harold@cshs.org
Jane E. Schauer, MD, PhD, FACC (Past Chair), New Mexico: janeschauer1@msn.com
Richard J. Kovacs, MD, FACC (Chair-Elect), Indiana: rikovacs@iupui.edu
J. Chris Higgins, MD, FACC, Vermont: jch6@mac.com 
Oscar R. Jenkins, Jr, MD, FACC, North Carolina: oscarj@avlcard.com
Margo Minissian, ACNP-BC, MSN, CNS, California: Margo.Minissian@cshs.org
José Rivera Del Río, MD, FACC, Puerto Rico: joseriveradelrio@gmail.com
Thad F. Waites, MD, FACC, Mississippi: twaites@netdoor.com
Michael Widmer, MD, FACC, Oregon: michael@heartdoctorsnw.com