From the President’s Desk
As we celebrate our 160th birthday, our year at DCMS continues to become more exciting. Programs that we initiated earlier in the year are taking hold in a positive manner. Our linkage with UF Health is tighter now than at any previous time, and other community organizations enjoy our mutual participation. We have moved forward with Public Health issues and have taken a leadership role in the Florida Medical Association. Most importantly, we will be in a new home before the end of the year located centrally in downtown Jacksonville as a result of the sale of our building this year. We are enjoying a positive cash flow for the first time in a good number of years with the successful growth and management of the organization. Programs aimed at young members have been a huge success and are offering a new path for participation for DCMS members with young families, new practice configurations, and not a lot of time. Meetings are rotated around the county and feature speakers in areas Eli Lerner, MD not covered in medical school 2013 DCMS President or Residencies and which are essential for surviving and thriving in today’s medical world. These are especially important since we are able to offer material to these youngest members of our profession that is not available to them in their formal training programs. We also have begun a series of similar programs for Residents at UF Health with various experts in practice development. The series is an ongoing partnership with UF Health and will cover the non-medical essentials of a successful practice. This promises to be an excellent introductory course and is being monitored closely by Dean Daniel Wilson and the DCMS. This effort also is helping us build stronger relations with UF Health. As the fortunes of Obamacare change almost on a daily basis, we understand the importance of this legislation on the future of health care on the local level and are preparing an in-depth conference on this topic to precede our annual meeting on December 4, 2013 entitled “ACOs and the Future of Healthcare” at the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront Hotel. This meeting is presented as a service to our membership and will include topics like how to negotiate ACO contracts, how to get the best leverage in these groups, how the ACOs work, and the legal ups and downs of our relationship with ACOs. The idea is to discuss these points on the local level where we are all practicing with local experts. It is essential for us and our patients
58 Vol. 64, No. 3 2013 Northeast Florida Medicine
that we understand ACOs and how they work to interface with the practice of medicine. It will be the most important meeting of the year in terms of our practice futures. The meeting will be followed immediately by the DCMS Annual Meeting. We were instrumental in helping in recruitment of Dr. Kelli Wells as the Director of Public Health for Duval County. Dr. Daniel Kantor was on the Search Committee and did a yeoman’s job of keeping us at the forefront of the hiring of our new County Director. We look forward to a long relationship with the county Board of Health under her tutelage. Dr. Mobeen Rathore, our President-Elect is monitoring a new viral disease, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome. His report is present in the early August edition of our newsletter and is available to all concerned with patients with possible exposure who have recently traveled to the Middle East. We are deeply involved with the leadership of the Florida Medical Association. Dr. Alan Harmon became President of the FMA at the last Annual Meeting. We are honored to have his steady, well-reasoned hand at the helm as we embark on a sea of troubled waters with the advent of ObamaCare and ACOs. His clear, concise vision will help navigate us through the tough spots and will be very effective in interactions with the state legislature. Dr. Ashley Norse continues as our District Representative on the Board of Directors. I am Council Chair for CEJA. We have Drs. Alan Harmon, John Montgomery, Ashley Norse, Ross Griffin, Nate Newman and Tom Peters representing us in the Florida Delegation of the AMA. Past Presidents Drs. Yank Coble and Cecil Wilson also represent us in the House of Delegates. Alan Harmon sits on the Council on Medical Economics. And we are moving! We sold our old headquarters and will be moving in to a new home at the Gate Riverplace Tower building on the South Bank, which also houses the University Club. This move out of the old headquarters was necessary because of the escalating expenses of staying there with yearly increases in repair bills and services. We will have new offices, and Board meetings will be held at the University Club. We will also host other member meetings at the University Club. I believe that this will be our most important change for the year. It should give us a new home at a new address that can only enhance our expanding activities. In essence, we’re moving “uptown” to a new location with a new look. If that’s not enough, we will have enjoyed several new events before my message is published including a behind the scenes tour with the Jacksonville Jaguars, the annual DCMS & Navy dinner and the DCMS Night at the Symphony. A lot to digest, but there’s more coming… Eli Lerner, M.D.; F.A.C.S
www . DCMS online . org