2008 Advocates of the Month

Kaplan, Palmer and Walsh are October/November ACR “Advocates of the Month”

Marianna Kaplan, MD, of Michigan, William Palmer, MD, of Nebraska and Mary Beth Walsh, MD, of New York, have spent the past three years as active members of the ACR Government Affairs Committee dedicating their time and efforts to promoting advocacy and ACR legislative priorities. The Government Affairs Committee convenes in Washington, D.C. twice a year, for the “Advocates for Arthritis” conference in the Spring and the Legislative Briefing in the Fall. Each of them has demonstrated a commitment to spreading the joys and benefits of advocacy and political engagement far beyond the committee. The ACR appreciates their work and would like to recognize each of them as the October/November ACR “Advocates of the Month”. Thank You Dr. Kaplan, Dr. Palmer and Dr. Walsh.

In conjunction with the ACR Legislative Briefing, the ACR hosted a mini “fly-in” on Capitol Hill. Participants met with their respective members of Congress and legislators from their areas to discuss current priorities of the rheumatology community. These priorities included the Arthritis Prevention Control and Cure Act (H.R. 1283/S. 626), the Medicare Fracture Prevention & Osteoporosis Testing Act (H.R. 4206/S.2702) and addressing the Specialty Tier Drug Copay.

September “Advocates of the Month” Are Participants of the mini “Fly-In”

Every time ACR and ARHP members meet with their Representatives and Senators on Capitol Hill or at home, make a phone call, or send an email or fax, relationships are created and issues affecting the rheumatology community are addressed. The ACR appreciates those ACR and ARHP members who took time out of their busy schedules to come to Washington, D.C. to lobby on behalf of the rheumatology community. Congratulations on being recognized as the ACR September “Advocates of the Month”.

Participants in the mini “fly-in” included:

ACR Members:		ARHP Members:
Angele Bourg, MD of Baton Rouge, LA; Will Harvey, MD, of Boston, MA; Susan Hoch, MD, of Haddonfield, NJ Jeff Lawson, MD, of Greenville, SC; Robert Levin, MD, of Dunedin, FL; Gale McCarty, MD, of Washington, DC; Stuart Rosenthal, MD, of Houston, TX; Greg Schimizzi, MD, of Wilmington, NC; David Snow, MD, of Wilmington, NC; Matthew Swartz, MD, of Manassas, VA; Joseph Weiss, MD, of Livonia, MI		Kathleen Arntsen, BA, of Verona, NY; Linda Davis, PA-C, MHS, of Fort Worth, TX; Judith Gordon, BS, of Mercerville, NJ; Nadine James, RN, MSN, PhD, of Hattiesburg, MS; ARHP President Kim Kimpton, PT, Centennial, CO; Debbie McCloskey, RN, BSN, of Monroe TWP, NJ

August "Advocate of the Month" Is Deanna Yamamoto, MSN

ARHP Advocacy Committee member Deanna Yamamoto, MSN, of San Jose, California, recently submitted an article on her experiences as an ACR advocate. A member of the ARHP Advocacy committee since 2008, Deanna attended her first “Advocates for Arthritis” conference in Washington, D.C. this past February. In the article, Deanna addresses early fears of “advocating”, but came to realize it is a simple, beneficial and fun experience. Look for Deanna’s “Advocates for Arthritis” experience in The Rheumatologist this fall.

The ACR would like to acknowledge for her ACR advocacy efforts and recognize her as the August “Advocate of the Month”.

July "Advocate of the Month" Is Charles King, MD

Charles King, MD, a rheumatologist in Tupelo, MS, is constantly advocating for the rheumatology community. Dr. King has attended the ACR "Advocates for Arthritis" conference for multiple years, developing sustaining relationships with members of Congress and congressional staff. He responds to ACR "Calls to Action" by calling on Congress for various issues, specifically an active voice on the Arthritis Prevention Control and Cure Act and the devastating scheduled Medicare cuts. He has met with congressional staff in Washington and in his home district to address these issues of concern. In recent months, Dr. King has reached out to Rep. Chip Pickering's (R-MS) office, the lead Republican co-sponsor on the Arthritis Act (H.R.1283), to encourage support and passage of the legislation as introduced. He met with Sen. Roger Wicker's (R-MS) legislative director during the district work period to address issues regarding the scheduled Medicare cuts. Furthermore, Dr. King has written a number of opinion-editorials to his local newspaper also addressing the negative effects of the Medicare cuts.

The ACR would like to acknowledge Dr. King for his fervor and dedication to ACR advocacy efforts and recognize him as the July "Advocate of the Month". Thank you Dr. King!

June "Advocate of the Month" Is Fredrica Smith, MD

Fredrica Smith, MD, FACP, a rheumatologist from Los Alamos, New Mexico, is a long-time advocate of the ACR. She is a former member of both the Government Affairs Committee (GAC) and the Committee on Rheumatologic Care (CORC) proving her commitment to the College. Through her committee involvement and devotion to advocacy, she has made numerous trips to Washington for the spring “Advocates for Arthritis” conference. (The 2009 Advocates for Arthritis conference is scheduled for March 9-10, 2009.)

Dr. Smith is also a recent appointee to the Practicing Physicians Advisory Committee (PPAC). PPAC meets quarterly in Washington, D.C. to discuss issues relating to physician practices. The ACR is grateful for her position on this committee.

The ACR would like to acknowledge Dr. Smith for her loyalty to ACR advocacy efforts and to recognize her as the June “Advocate of the Month”.

May "Advocate of the Month" Is James Engelbrecht, MD

James (Jim) Engelbrecht, M.D., of Rapid City, South Dakota is a RheumPAC Committee Member and an active American Medical Association delegate from the South Dakota delegation. He recently attended the AMA Congressional fly-in where he advocated for not only physician issues, but also rheumatology specific issues such as fair DXA reimbursement and the Arthritis Act.

Dr. Engelbrecht consistently demonstrates his dedication to advocacy through his involvement with both the ACR and the AMA.

The ACR would like to acknowledge Dr. Engelbrecht for his commitment to advocacy and to recognize him as the May “Advocate of the Month”.

April "Advocate of the Month"

Government Affairs Committee member Dr. Michael Henrickson of The Children’s Hospital of Oklahoma University Medical Center recently met with Senator Tom Coburn’s (R-OK) district staff to discuss issues affecting the rheumatology community, specifically the Arthritis Prevention Control and Cure Act of 2007 and the workforce shortage of pediatric rheumatologists across the nation.

Senator Coburn, a physician, is a member of the Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee which has jurisdiction over the Arthritis Act. The Arthritis Act would provide incentives for physicians to specialize in pediatric rheumatology, addressing the current and future shortage issue.

The ACR commends Dr. Henrickson for his initiative in meeting with Senator Coburn’s district staff and would like to recognize him as the April “Advocate of the Month”.

March "Advocate of the Month"

The ACR would like to thank everyone who participated in the “Advocates for Arthritis” Capitol Hill fly-in February 25-26. With 150 rheumatologists, health professionals, patients and advocates spending the day on Capitol Hill and wearing NO SGR stickers, the rheumatology community’s messages were received.

Since the ACR’s conference in February, the “Arthritis Prevention Control and Cure Act of 2007” (H.R.1283/S.626) has added 2 cosponsors in the House and 4 in the Senate. The “Medicare Fracture Prevention & Osteoporosis Testing Act” has added 7 co-sponsors in the House and was introduced in the Senate on March 4.

Each participant should be recognized as the ACR’s March “Advocates of the Month”. Thank you for taking time out of your schedules to come to Washington and advocate on behalf of the ACR and the rheumatology community.

February “Advocate of the Month”

The ACR would like to recognize Chris Morris, MD, of Kingsport, TN, as the February “Advocate of the Month”. While attending the ACR Leadership Development Conference in Washington, D.C. February 8-10, Dr. Morris scheduled Capitol Hill visits with Tennessee Senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker and U.S. Representative Rick Boucher (R-VA). Dr. Morris spoke with each office about the current issues facing the rheumatology community, specifically the Medicare reimbursement payment (SGR) and the Arthritis Act.

Dr. Morris also left letters requesting the Senators, Representative Boucher and/or their staff to visit his practice. Providing the opportunity for legislators to witness the daily routines within a rheumatology office gives them a great perspective of the importance of rheumatology.

Dr. Morris contacted ACR government affairs staff and requested ACR Issue Briefs to leave behind for the Members of Congress. Dr. Morris wanted to ensure the rheumatology voice was heard during his visit to Washington.

If you are going to Washington, take an hour to stop by Capitol Hill and introduce yourself to your legislators and their staff. They are there representing you and your needs. Please contact ACR government affairs staff if you need assistance in scheduling a visit or for ACR Issue Briefs.

January “Advocate of the Month”

ACR member Daniel Prince, MD, of Gadsden, Alabama, recently demonstrated an ideal example of being an individual advocate for the rheumatology community. Dr. Prince will be attending the Medical Association of the State of Alabama (MASA) Washington, D.C. Fly-In at the end of January. Participants in this event include physicians in various specialties from across Alabama. Dr. Prince wanted to ensure the rheumatology voice was heard during the MASA visit to Washington. He contacted the ACR Government Affairs staff for information and ACR Issue Briefs to leave behind on his congressional visits.

Do you have a personal trip planned to Washington? Are you going with your state medical society? If so, please contact the ACR so that you too can convey the messages of the rheumatology community to Congress!

If you would like to nominate an ACR/ARHP member as “Advocate of the Month”, please e-mail Aiken Hackett, Specialist, Government Affairs, at .