Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Chicago Hilton and Towers, Chicago, IL
Present: Chair – John H. Armstrong, MD, FACS; Secretary – Thomas Whalen, MD, FACS; Treasurer – Charles Drueck, MD, FACS; Member At-Large – Randolph Gould, MD, FACS; Member At-Large --Willard S. Stawski, MD, FACS; Member At-Large – Michael Deren, MD, FACS; ACS Delegate -- Richard Reiling, MD, FACS; YPS Representative – Brigitta Robinson, MD, FACS; Jon Sutton, SCAMA Administrator; and Mindy Baker, ACS State Affairs Associate. Absent: Chair-elect – William Huffaker, MD, FACS; RFS Representative – Hannah Zimmerman, MD.
Call to Order – Dr. Armstrong called the meeting to order at 6:30 am.
Approval of Minutes – A motion was passed approving the minutes as submitted of the December 13, 2006 Executive Committee conference call. Strong consensus was expressed that having a conference call following the November Interim HOD worked better than trying to squeeze in one more meeting within the limited time available at the interim meeting, and an Executive Committee conference call will be scheduled after the I-07 meeting.
Report of the Chair – Dr. Armstrong thanked Dr. Whalen and the Program Committee for their efforts in putting together a well-attended and informative session on universal health care coverage. He noted he had received numerous comments from program attendees who thought it was an excellent session.
Report of the Treasurer -- Dr. Drueck, treasurer, reported a balance of $2,982.12 on June 11, 2007. He noted that Chase had started charging a $12 monthly account fee on accounts with a balance under $4,000, and recommended the SCAMA consider switching banks. Dr. Drueck and staff will explore options and make the necessary arrangements to move the SCAMA account.
Dr. Drueck also suggested that the Caucus consider raising dues from $25 to $30 per year to reflect increased meeting costs. The current dues amount has remained static for many years, while inflation has continued to increase. It was suggested that the Executive Committee discuss this by conference call before the 2008 dues mailing in September.
Plans for November 2007 Meeting – Considerable discussion took place regarding the SCAMA meeting arrangements for the November 2007 meeting. (Editorial Note: The Planning Committee has completed disclosure statements, and anyone who might have a potential conflict has been informed they should recuse themselves from related topics).
- Schedule – Time remains tight for the Saturday afternoon session if an educational program remains part of it. Limits on review of resolutions and reports restrict dialogue, and this dialogue is an important function of a caucus. To help alleviate some of the time constraints, it was suggested that the Saturday morning handbook review meeting be revised to become an open forum/review time from 6:30 a.m.-8:30 a.m., where society leaders/delegates would be invited to present their resolution/report priorities (perhaps develop a “Top 20” resolution/report list) and comment on them to develop a Caucus position. Screening based on the ACS review would form the initial agenda, with modifications based on the Saturday review. This would help to focus the Saturday afternoon discussion. From 6:00 a.m.-6:30 a.m., the regular Review Meeting participants could meet to conduct any necessary business.
As such, the Saturday afternoon session could focus on the educational program, some discussion of the main issues (resolutions/reports), and the conduct of necessary Caucus business (approval of minutes and the Treasurer’s report, elections, etc.). Societies would be encouraged to provide brief verbal updates, provided that they submit written material for posting on the SCAMA webpage.
There was general agreement to try this revised format for the I-07 meeting in Hawaii.
- Topics/Speakers – In light of the resolutions introduced relating to concerns with the Joint Commission, and the recent revision of staffing accreditation standards, there was support for sponsoring a session on the Joint Commission that would look at the rulemaking process and providing a who, what, when, where, how and why and looking at whether or not physicians have lost control of the process/organization. Possible speakers could include an ACS commissioner and an AMA commissioner. In addition, it was suggested that a session on the surgeon’s role in the Initiative to Transform Medical Education (ITME) would be another timely topic.
Dr. Armstrong appointed Doctors Gould, Robinson and himself to serve on the Program Committee. They will meet by conference call to plan the educational session
- SCAMA Review Meeting – Scheduled for Saturday, November 10 at 6:00 a.m. utilizing the revised format described above.
- Executive Committee Meeting – Will be a conference call scheduled to follow the completion of the I-07 HOD.
Nominating Committee Appointment – Dr. Armstrong noted that SCAMA elections will be held in November and that a Nominating Committee should be appointed. According to the bylaws, the chair of this committee should be a sitting Member At Large, and two other members of the Caucus also need to be selected. Suggestions included Don Palmisano or Mike Simon, and there was general support for bringing an anesthesiologist on to the Executive Committee since they have been very supportive of the Caucus. Executive Committee members may also recommend Caucus members to Dr. Armstrong in the next few weeks.
Other Items – Section Councils for the various specialties meet throughout the course of the HOD. A question was raised as to whether a Section Council on Surgery exists and if one does not, should it be created? It was noted that a Section Council is an AMA function, while the SCAMA is relatively independent of the AMA and as such may have more flexibility.
Adjournment – There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:30 am.
Respectfully submitted by
Thomas Whalen, MD, FACS, Secretary
