KAFP breaks 1,000 active member mark!

Volunteer leaders:  Thank you officers, board and committee members. YOU make the difference!

The end of October membership records from AAFP show KAFP exceeding 1,000 active members for the first ever!  Congratulations to Cayle Goertzen, MD, chair, members of the Membership and Member Services Committee, officers and board members.  Your leadership and efforts are what put us over the top! 

Reaching this milestone is significant in a number of ways: The larger our membership base, the stronger we are in political clout and in dues income, and the more we can accomplish in Topeka,  within the house of medicine.  The bigger we are the more opportunity there is for you to be involved! 

When I first started with KAFP, almost 23 years ago, we had 545 active members. Over the years I've gotten to know many active members personally, and that's what I like best about what I do!  Each year has shown slight but steady increases in membership, bringing us now to the tipping point over 1,000 active members. With all the other membership categories added, we have 1,570 total members.  Our official membership numbers are taken from reports later this year, so we will see how many we have at that point and do a news release with the official benchmark membership numbers. We celebrate this now, though, as it's the first time to cross the threshold! 

Our chapter is known for a personalized, family feel.  We pledge to work hard to retain that, continuing the personal attention and sharing that is the hallmark of our organization.

I truly appreciate and enjoy knowing individual members and interacting individually.  So as a soon-to-be- recognized large chapter of AAFP, I pledge continuing personal attention.  I believe that's what volunteer leaders over the years have recognized and enjoyed about being a KAFP leader: it's an opportunity to shine and work together to do good things for family medicine in Kansas. 

Thank you again to each leader who has contributed to this milestone along the way, and to each member for your membership!  We don't take it for granted - we hope we earn it each year. 

Thanksgiving: grateful for YOU!

Happy belated Thanksgiving!  Vacation and the Thanksgiving holiday combined this year to provide a much needed time to relax, think, unwind, and unplug, things I don't do as often as I probably should. So here is a partial list of things I'm thankful for, in no particular order:

• Family
• Friends
• Work
• Family Medicine
• Sunshine
• Rainbows & butterflies (we saw lots of those while in the BVI's!)
• and YOU!

I hope you know we value your efforts to care for Kansans and though we don't say it often enough, thank you for your support for KAFP!

Celebrate Rural Health!

Nov. 11 - 17 is National Rural Health Week 

Thank you to all the terrific rural health providers we have in Kansas, especially family physicians!   Here are some ideas on how you can celebrate National Rural Health Week:
  

 

Answer your phone on November 15, 2012 by saying “Hello … Happy National Rural Health Day”

Wear a National Rural Health Day T-shirt to work or school

Plan a group run or some other kind of fitness activity

Do something “healthy” that day – eat more vegetables, bike instead of drive to work, get your blood pressure or cholesterol checked, etc.

Write a letter to the editor or contact a local legislator to stress the importance of addressing the health needs of rural communities

Participate in one of the FREE Rural Health Week webinars noted below

Thank a rural health provider for all they do!

 

WEBINAR SCHEDULE:

The  Kansas Office of Rural Health is publicizing a national series of free webinars highlighting the good work being done to address rural health concerns.

All webinars will be recorded and made available to the public at www.celebratepowerofrural.org
Monday, November 12, 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. EST
The Basics of Rural Health
Kristine Sande, Program Director, Rural Assistance Center
Rebecca Davis, Executive Director, National Cooperative of Health Networks
Mike Shimmens, Executive Director, Rural Recruitment and Retention Network (3RNet)
Teryl Eisinger, Director, National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health

Tuesday, November 13, 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. EST
Cultural Awareness While Serving Rural Veterans
Jay H. Shore, MD, MPH, Associate Professor, University of Colorado Denver
WJ "Buck" Richardson
 
Tuesday, November 13, 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. EST
Exploring Rural Health Policy Issues
Bill Finerfrock, Legislative Liaison, NOSORH

Wednesday, November 14, 2:30 - 3:15 p.m. EST

HRSA Rural Health Update
Mary Wakefield, HRSA Administrator

Thursday, November 15, 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. ESTHRSA’s Office of Rural Health Policy - Celebrating 25 Years and theRural Assistance Center - Celebrating 10 Years
Tom Morris, HRSA Associate Administrator for Rural Health Policy
Kristine Sande, Program Director, Rural Assistance Center

Friday, November 16, 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. ESTLooking Towards the Future of Rural Health Care
Randall Longenecker MD, Project Director, Rural Training Track Technical Assistance Program
Jim DeTienne, Supervisor, Montana EMS and Trauma Systems; President, NASEMSO

For additional information, contact: Stephanie Hansen 208.375.0407
steph@nosorh.org
Click to register for a webinar - https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NRHD2012

100 years of women's voting rights in Kansas

Photo courtesy of Kansas Historical Society,
Lawrence, KS, circa 1911

I am grateful today for the right to vote. 

Yesterday was the 100th anniversary of women's right to vote in Kansas.Women in Kansas fought for equal rights since the earliest days of statehood. They won the right to vote in municipal elections in 1887.  

On Nov. 5, 1912, the Kansas amendment giving women full voting rights in state elections passed by a vote of 175,246 to 159,197.  Kansas was the 8th state to do so.  Two earlier attempts to pass a voting rights amendment had failed in Kansas in 1867 and 1894.  However, Kansas women were allowed to vote in school elections from the start of statehood in 1861, and they were allowed to vote in municipal elections in 1887. In fact, Susanna Salter was elected mayor of Argonia in 1887, becoming the first female mayor in the nation.

Read more here: http://blogs.kansas.com/weblog/#storylink=cpy

Eight years after passage in KS, the 19th amendment was adopted nationally, which provided the right for women throughout the US to vote. 

Women in some other parts of the world suffer the lack of many rights. So get out there and vote, EVERYONE! (If you haven't already.)

The fall issue of the Kansas Family Physician has a wonderful letter from our president, Chris Cupp, MD, of Scott City.  Titled "Standing on the Shoulders of Giants," it's on page 4 and you can access it by clicking here. 

While you have the KFP open, check out the other articles, especially the one on page 12 about the summer Rural Primary Care Practice and Research Program.  Some students got truly inspired this summer! 

It's another great issue, thank you, Marina! 

The Kansas Academy of Family Physicians is proud to nominate Dr. Mike Munger, a candidate known for thinking outside the box.  There is a reason his initials are M-SQUARED.  His leadership skills, diverse experience, passion for family medicine and vision for our shared future will exponentially make him the best candidate for the AAFP Board of Directors.

National Primary Care Week Oct 8-12

Next week is National Primary Care Week (NPCW).  What will YOU do to celebrate? 

We have some fun activities planned incorporating a NPCW Photo Project. Here's the scoop:  
Tomorrow is the Kansas Career Opportunities Conference, taking place at the Boat House in Wichita.  Our new staff person, Anna Deines, and I will host the KAFP exhibit.  And we will have posters and markers for participants to write what Primary Care means to them.  We will take a photo of each participant holding their poster, and post it online at the NPCW "Voices for Primary Care" webpage. 

We plan to get more NPCW Photo Project participants at two other venues: at the Kansas City Faces in Family Medicine 2.0 Dinner on 10/10, and at the KC Career Opps Conf on 10-11.  Check the Voices for Primary Care webpage after each event to see the creative ideas and comments from our participants. 

If you get inspired, write out your own comment and post it on the Voices for Primary Care webpage, too!  Let's have a BIG Kansas presence on the Voices webpage and for Primary Care! 

Primary care...  Makes people & communities healthier, is timeless, brims with hope, is the future of medicine, is changing the world, is where the Patient Centered Medical Home is located, is about value, not volume....   Fill in the blank: _______________________________________________________

A comment on our Kansas PCMH Initiative video

Click here to see a 3-minute video by the Kansas Health Foundation on our Patient Centered Medical Home Initiative.  The PCMH has been a huge emphasis for us for the last several years and we're extremely grateful to the Kansas Health Foundation, the United Methodist Health Ministry Fund, and the Sunflower Foundation for their generous grant allowing us a three-year time frame to pilot and promote the PCMH in Kansas while continuing our educational offerings on the important concept.  Leslea Roach is the project coordinator and it's great to have her expertise on this journey!

Fun with students and residents!

This week was a whirlwind of student and resident activities! The Faces in Family Medicine (FIFM) 2.0 Program is going strong with TWO dinner meetings this week. And the Resident Lunches continue to be successful. I put some miles on my car, traveling to Manhattan for the kick-off of the FIFM 2.0 Program for pre-med K-State students on Tuesday. Thank you to the following family physicians for sharing about their practice: Drs.Deb Doubek (Manhattan), Mike Engelken (Topeka), Lynn Fisher (Plainville), Doug Gruenbacher (Quinter), Bob Moser (Topeka), Verlyn Steinkruger (Manhattan) and Keith Wright (Manhattan). This is the first year the FIFM program is open for pre-med students, and it promises to be wildly successful if the student interest thus far is any measure! Thirty K-State students are signed up to participate in the FIFM program.

Then I headed off again on Thursday to Salina for the FIFM 2.0 Program for KU School of Medicine-Salina, with another good group of students – this time first and second year med students. Thank you to Drs. Chuck Allred (Salina), Cayle Goertzen, (Belleville), Shelly Gruenbacher (Quinter) and Brian Holmes (Abilene) for speaking to the students about their practice and exemplifying some of the many faces the specialty can offer. FIFM 2.0 dinner meetings have already been kicked off for WSU pre-med, KU School of Medicine-Wichita and pre-med Ft. Hays State students earlier this month.

One more dinner meeting is planned for KU School of Medicine-Kansas City students on Oct. 10. After the dinner meetings, the second element of the program is providing a family physician Mentor for interested students. Are you interested in being a mentor? Please contact me at kafp@kafponline.org.

Before the FIFM program on Thursday, Drs. Chris Cupp (Scott City) and Cayle Goertzen and I spoke at noon conference for Smoky Hill residents and faculty. The group had a great discussion about KAFP and AAFP membership benefits and different practice styles. The officers and I plan to travel to each residency program to provide this important information to Kansas residents.  They are the future of family medicine and we're hoping they view KAFP as a relevant and important part of their career!

Now accepting Family Physician of the Year and Exemplary Teaching Award nominations

I am sure you have someone you look up to, a family physician who has been a mentor in your career.  Please consider nominating him or her for one of these awards: 2013 Kansas Family Physician of the Year or the Exemplary Teaching Award.  Our 2012 FPOY, Debbie Haynes, MD, was President the year I started with KAFP, and definitely served as a mentor to me in learning about familiy medicine. 

We want to hear from YOU about KAFP members you know who are worthy of an award and we've tried to make the nomination process as easy as possible.  Here's what to do:

2013 Kansas Family Physician of the Year
Please send a letter of nomination to the Kansas Academy of Family Physicians (KAFP) by December 30, 2012 describing the candidate’s most outstanding characteristics, and how he or she meets these criteria:
1) Provides his/her patients with compassionate, comprehensive and caring family medicine on a continuing basis.
2) Is directly and effectively involved in community affairs and activities that enhance the quality of his/her community.
3) Is a credible role model professionally and personally to his/her community, to other health professionals, and to residents and medical students.
4) Effectively represents the specialty of family medicine.

2013 Kansas Exemplary Teaching Award:
Please send a letter of nomination to the Kansas Academy of Family Physicians (KAFP) by December 30, 2012 describing the candidate’s most outstanding characteristics, and how he or she meets these criteria:
1) Recognized for exemplary teaching skills by medical students, residents, or peers; OR
2) Developed and implemented innovative new teaching model(s) or program(s); AND
3) Must be a current KAFP member in good standing.
______________________________________________________________________

Nomination letters may be submitted in any of these ways:
· Online:http://www.kafponline.org/Members/Awards/

· US Mail: Kansas Academy of Family Physicians, 7570 W. 21st St., N., #1046C, Wichita, KS 67205
· Email: kafp@kafponline.org
· FAX: 316-721-9044

* Please note that past Award winners are not eligible. To see a list of past winners check out website at http://www.kafponline.org/members/awards/familyphysicianoftheyear/
and http://www.kafponline.org/members/awards/exemplaryteachingaward/

Thanks and good luck to your candidate!

AAFP Primer on Payment Reform: Rewarding Value Over Volume

Are you wondering about the nuances of the new health care payment and care delivery landscape? Confusing terms, sometimes, aren't they?  For many physicians in practice today, terms like accountable care organizations, shared savings models, risk adjustment, and value-based purchasing were never mentioned in medical school or residency training. AAFP News Now has created a special report “Primer on Payment Reform: Rewarding Value Over Volume”, which compiles information from policy experts and family physicians to help simplify the maze of health care delivery systems and payment options in today's market.  Hope you'll enjoy it!  Let me know what you think.

Welcome to Carolyn's Comments

Every now and then there are things I'd like to comment on, and so I'm developing this blog. 

I hope you'll subscribe, follow, and come back frequently to see my "take" on various issues in family medicine in Kansas. 

Feel free to make a comment yourself, and thanks for your interest!