From The College January 2006

The complete newsletter is available in PDF format, below.

Featured Article

Leadership Visit with State Societies
Leaders Share National Insights at State & Local Society Meetings

Members of CORC, the Regional Advisory Council (RAC) and the ACR Board of Directors have attended meetings of numerous state and local rheumatology societies since last summer. Drs. Dan Fohrman, Cody Wasner, Audrey Uknis, David Fox, David Wofsy, Neal Birnbaum, Robert Yood and Jonathan Kay have shared ACR information and participated in Q&A sessions with ACR members in the following states: New York, Michigan, California, Pennsylvania, Idaho, Montana, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine.

Several visits have included scheduled presentations and others have been unscheduled and informal interactions. Each has provided a valuable opportunity to learn about the needs of members in these states and to share highlights of current ACR activities, such as the new workforce study, quality measures initiatives, coding information, federal advocacy activities, the MRI Task Force and RAC successes, with local members. Ideas from the state and local society meetings are carried back to CORC and RAC for consideration. Questions that cannot be answered immediately are researched by ACR staff and a response is sent to the society president for dissemination to participants.

According to Neal Birnbaum, MD, ACR President-Elect, "There's no better way to assure that the ACR is staying relevant to all rheumatologists than to meet with our colleagues across the country and address their concerns. These meetings have been invaluable to all of us.” Audrey Uknis, MD, concurred and added, “The ACR is a relatively small specialty society and these two-way communication opportunities keep us connected. In addition to being informative and thought-provoking, they have generated genuine mutual goodwill and collegiality."

Leaders of local and state rheumatology societies who wish to invite ACR leaders to their meetings should contact Sarah-Jane Bennett, Director of Practice Advocacy, at (404) 633-3777, ext. 818. Most requests can be accommodated with four to six weeks' advance notice.