President Neil Batta, MD
President Elect
Blair Campbell, MD
Secretary/Treasurer
Courtney Kennel, DO
Immediate Past President
Julian Arroyo, MD
PCMS Directors
H. Matt Davis, MD
JT (John) Heffernan, MD
James “Jay” Miller, MD
Nicholas Rajacich, MD
Camille Samujh, DO
Executive Director
Linda Krause
Office Coordinator
Tanya McClain
Pierce County Medical Society (PCMS) is proud to highlight the ongoing success of the Health Care Careers Academy at Mount Tahoma and Stadium High Schools, where students are gaining valuable exposure to a wide array of medical specialties and career pathways.
This vital program continues to grow, inspiring the next generation of healthcare professionals. Our community engagement also remains strong, with recent events such as the Tacoma Rainiers' annual baseball game with residents - providing a fun opportunity for connection and camaraderie.
PCMS was honored to participate in an annual ALS Walk, showing our continued support for patients and families affected by this devastating disease. We had an excellent turnout for our “Meet Your Representatives” night, graciously hosted by TRA Medical Imaging, where members engaged in thoughtful discussion with our state legislature.
Pierce County delegates played an active role at the 2025 WSMA House of Delegates meeting, weighing in on key issues impacting the future of healthcare in Washington State. These included but were not limited to expanding vaccine access, combating medical disinformation, advancing the ethical and appropriate use of artificial intelligence, protecting physician autonomy, ensuring comprehensive medical liability reform, and safeguarding access to HIV prevention and treatment services.
We will continue to update PCMS members on any upcoming events through our monthly PCMS brief which comes out the last Tuesday of each month. As we look ahead, please save the date for our annual PCMS Holiday Party on December 9th—we look forward to celebrating the season with all of you!
Warm regards,
Neil R Batta, MD
Partnership Opportunity – Hosting Medical Assistant Externs from Mt.
Tahoma High School
Mt. Tahoma High School is seeking partnerships with medical offices and clinics to host students enrolled in our Health Care Academy (HCA) / Medical Assistant Program for a 160-hour externship experience.
This externship is a vital part of the Medical Assistant Certificate Program, offering students the opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills they have learned in both administrative and clinical areas. Students will work under the direct supervision of qualified personnel at the externship site, and under the general supervision of school staff.
Externship Details:
Total Duration: 160 hours
Supervision: On-site staff and school program coordinators
Evaluations: Conducted at 80 hours and again at 160 hours by site supervisors
Student Requirement: Completion of the externship is mandatory for certification Course Objectives:
Apply Medical Assistant training in real-world clinical and administrative settings
Demonstrate the essential duties and responsibilities of a Medical Assistant in a healthcare environment
We are looking for professional, supportive clinical sites willing to mentor the next generation of healthcare professionals. Your partnership will provide students with meaningful, hands-on experience that prepares them for successful careers in the medical field.
If you are interested in taking a student during their senior year of the Medical Assistant Program from Mt. Tahoma’s HCA class, please contact PCMS at: Linda@pcmswa.org
Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department’s mission is to protect and improve the health of all people and places in Pierce County
October 13, 2025
I hope you all had a wonderful summer and are settling in for the “long dark” or “big dark” or “ski season” or whatever you like to call it
We recently shared a Health Advisory about clade I mpox in Pierce County wastewater Two types of virus cause mpox: clade I and clade II. The vast majority of mpox cases in the United States have been caused by clade II mpox. According to CDC, six cases of clade I mpox have been reported in the U.S. in people who had recently traveled to countries with ongoing outbreaks. So far, there has not been sustained transmission of clade I mpox reported in the U.S.
Both clades cause similar symptoms; clade I has historically been thought to cause more severe disease than clade II, though this is less clear based on recent data In patients with symptoms compatible with mpox, use travel history to assess the risk of clade I mpox, e g , patients who recently traveled to (or had close contact with people who traveled to) Central or East Africa.
We have also recently seen an increase in clade II mpox cases in Pierce County and around the state. Clade II mpox continues to primarily, but not exclusively, affect gay, bisexual, or other men who have sex with men, transgender people, and nonbinary people. Please consider mpox on your differential diagnosis for patients with a compatible rash, even if you suspect herpes simplex or syphilis, and even if the person has previously been vaccinated for mpox. Patients with a history of mpox vaccination can present with a less severe, subtler clinical syndrome
I also want to share some information about respiratory illness season. We recently shared a Health Advisory about respiratory-illness season vaccine recommendations. Starting with the easy one, influenza vaccine guidance has not changed – everyone 6 months or older should get seasonal influenza vaccine.
For RSV, all infants under 8 months of age entering their first RSV season should be protected via maternal RSV vaccination (Abrysvo) or RSV monoclonal antibody. Two monoclonal antibody products are now available for infants, nirsevimab and clesrovimab High-risk toddlers aged 8–19 months entering their second RSV season should receive nirsevimab (clesrovimab is not approved for this population). We do not anticipate any supply challenges with RSV monoclonal antibodies this year and appreciate your support in raising awareness about these lifesaving immunizations. If you experience any challenges related to RSV monoclonal antibodies, please reach out to me or my team to see if we can help troubleshoot!
Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department’s mission is to protect and improve the health of all people and places in Pierce County.
Additionally, all adults aged 75 years and older should receive RSV vaccination, as well as adults 50–74 years old at increased risk of severe disease from RSV
As you have likely seen in the news, the landscape around COVID-19 vaccine recommendations has been a bit more confusing. The federal guidance differs from medical specialty society guidance and Washington State Department of Health (DOH) guidance. I recommend that you and your patients use the national medical specialty society guidance (DOH guidance is quite similar)
As a summary, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends COVID-19 vaccination for all infants 6-23 months as well as higher-risk children 2-18 years; additionally, they state that all children whose parent or guardian desires their protection from COVID-19 should be offered vaccination. The American Academy of Family Physicians recommends COVID-19 vaccination for all adults 19 and older this fall Finally, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology recommends that patients receive an updated COVID-19 vaccine at any point during pregnancy, when planning to become pregnant, in the postpartum period, or when lactating. DOH recommendations match with the specialty society recommendations except DOH also recommends vaccination for all children 6 months and older.
We’ll soon launch a new and improved respiratory illness dashboard In addition to COVID-19, influenza, and RSV data, we’ve added a new measure called “acute respiratory illness” (ARI), which captures a broader range of diagnoses from Emergency Department visits.
We hope this new measure will be useful to you and your patients as something of an overall weather report.
Now more than ever, we appreciate your partnership in ensuring that our community receives accurate information about vaccines and other health-related topics. As always, please feel free to reach out to me or my Health Department colleagues if you have questions about immunizations, notifiable conditions, or anything else!
James “Jay” Miller, MD MPH Health Officer
Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department
253-649-1500 Ext. 1610
