Call to Order - The meeting was called to order at 1:00 pm by Dr. John Armstrong, chair.  He extended a warm welcome to all surgeons and new members in attendance.

Educational Program -- Dr. Armstrong reported that the traditional education session of the Caucus was scheduled for Monday, June 12 from 8:00 a.m.-9:30 a.m. in the Boulevard A room.  Titled “A Surgical Approach To Disaster Preparedness,” this program had the following objectives:

• Identify strategic approaches to coordination and utilization of assets in responding to disasters

• Discus ACS Committee on Trauma programs and initiatives relating to surgeon engagement in disaster response

• Understand how individual physicians can become involved in local community disaster preparedness

Speakers for this session will include Jeff Hammond, MD, FACS, from the ACS Committee on Trauma; James James, MD, DrPH, MHA, from the AMA Center for Disaster Medicine and Emergency Response; and David Shatz, MD, FACS, faculty at the University of Miami School of Medicine.

Surgeons were encouraged to attend this session, which was designated by the ACS for a maximum of 1.5 AMA PRA Category 1 credits.

ACS Update – The Caucus was privileged to have Doctor Edward Copeland, President-elect of the ACS, and Dr. Thomas Russell, ACS Executive Director, to speak about inter-organizational collaboration, programs and initiatives of the College, and issues of importance to surgeons.  Dr. Copeland noted that partnering/collaboration had been a big issue at a recent JCAHO retreat he had attended, and he felt that this was critical if medicine and surgery were to address all the big issues facing all physicians.  He applauded the AMA and the surgeons in the HOD for all their hard work on setting health care policy and developing a more unified voice on the issues.  During his term as president, he has selected the theme of “mentoring”, i.e., older surgeons mentoring their new partners, to pass along their skills and expertise in surgical practice.  He also highlighted a number of College initiatives with a collaborative bent, including accrediting educational institutes, exploring accreditation of breast centers (similar to bariatric surgery centers), rural trauma team development, and patient safety and quality data through NSQIP.

Dr. Russell spoke of the College developing a stronger presence in Washington DC with the approval by the Board of Regents of the purchase of a building that could become the House of Surgery/Medicine if other organizations came on board and rented or purchased space.  He noted that funds had been allocated to pursue the development of a Health Policy Research Institute, since data should be the driver in policy debates on health care in DC.  He informed the SCAMA that Karen Borman, a surgeon from Mississippi and nominee of the College, had been appointed to MedPAC along with a urologist from Florida.  And he reminded everyone that collaboration would be key, along with development of appropriate metrics, if pay for performance is to be implemented.

Minutes – Minutes of the November 5, 2005 meeting in Dallas were approved.

Treasurer’s Report – Dr. Charles Drueck, treasurer, reported a balance on hand of $4,180.88 as of May 31, 2006.  He noted the SCAMA is financially sound, and encouraged all surgeons in the HOD to pay their annual dues of $25.

Reports and Resolutions were reviewed earlier in the day by the SCAMA Executive Committee and delegates from the ACS and ASGS. A chart with recommended actions was distributed at the meeting.   A number of candidates for AMA office also stopped by to address the Caucus.

Special Recognition Award – The SCAMA Special Recognition Award was presented to Jay Gregory, MD, FACS for excellent service and dedication to the Caucus during his term as Chair, 2003-2005.  Dr. Gregory thanked the Caucus for the award and noted that it had been a pleasure to help build the Caucus into a mature and influential part of the HOD.

ASGS Update – Dr. Gregory reported that the ASGS Annual Meeting will be held in December with its popular expert witness program.  The ASGS headquarters has moved to Denver, Colorado, with Carol Goddard hired as executive director.  General Surgery News is published monthly, and has had numerous hard-hitting articles.  A laparoscopy meeting is being planned for February 2007. 

SVS Update – Dr. Carlo Dall’Olmo announced that the SVS was co-sponsoring a screening for delegates and alternates on Sunday and Monday, and encouraged all to take advantage of this.

Adjournment – There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 2:45 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Thomas Whalen, MD, FACS, Secretary

Online December 28, 2006

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