KCMS February 27 Webinar: Update on the COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout
Jim Braibish • Feb 10, 2021
Two months after the first COVID-19 vaccines were administered, how is the rollout going in the Kansas City area? Join KCMS for an informative webinar on Saturday, February 27, from 8 to 9 a.m. The webinar follows up on our December 5 COVID-19 vaccination webinar.
Among the topics our speakers will address: Where have we succeeded and where do we need to do better? Are we getting the data we need? What efforts are being made to ensure minorities, especially African Americans, receive the vaccine? How is the health and wellness of health care workers and the public being impacted? Among COVID long haulers, what is being observed in cardiac health?
Returning are the three experts from our December vaccine webinar updating us on vaccine progress. Plus, we will hear from a cardiologist about the impact of COVID-19 on the cardiac health of those dealing with long-term effects of the disease:
- Mary Anne Jackson, MD, FAAP, FPIDS, FIDSA , dean of the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine, professor of pediatrics and an infectious disease specialist
- Kevin Ault, MD, FACOG , professor and specialist division director, Center for Pelvic Pain and Sexual Health at the University of Kansas School of Medicine, who has specialized in development of a vaccine against human papillomavirus (HPV)
- Sara Boyd, MD , infectious disease physician at Saint Luke’s Hospital
- Angel L ópez-Candales, MD, FACC, FASE , cardiologist with Truman Medical Center. Besides cardiovascular disease, he also is knowledgeable about the effects of COVID-19 on Hispanic populations in the Kansas City area.
To Members of the Kansas City Medical Society: Greetings, My name is Greg Unruh , and I am honored to be the President of the Society for 2024. By way of a short introduction, I practice anesthesiology at the University of Kansas Medical Center. I have been involved in and have held leadership positions in local, state, and national societies of organized medicine throughout the years, both in anesthesiology and non-anesthesiology societies. I was an officer in the Wy-Jo Medical Society when we merged with the Kansas City Medical Society and have remained on the Board throughout all of the reorganization. I am very proud of how far we have come, It has put us in position to speak for physicians on both sides of the state line. We have expanded our Leadership Council, and we have passionate members of our Board of Directors. I want to commend our Immediate Past President, Dr. Carole Freiberger for her leadership in 2023. She provided us with an optimistic, can-do Presidency that advanced the Society and the practice of medicine in the KC area, so thank you Carole! In addition, we have welcomed the steady leadership of our executive director, Mr. Micah Flint. We appreciate him keeping us on track and organizing our many activities. Several of the things I mention will be dealt with in more detail throughout this communication, but I wanted to highlight some the several areas the Board has chosen for our work this coming year: Advocacy We want to advocate on both sides of the state line working with both the Missouri State Medical and Kansas Medical Societies (MMSA and KMS) on behalf of physicians. On the Kansas side, the legislature is working on many issues that affect us including scope of practice, vaccinations, Medicaid reimbursement and Medicaid expansion. We are working with KMS to provide testimony and influence our legislative representatives. Support for our Foundation We want to support our crown jewel whole heartedly, the Kansas City Medical Society Foundation which continues to be a model for advocacy and education, as well as our charitable care program which provides immense benefits for our uninsured or under insured patients. The Foundation supported expansion of Medicaid on the Missouri side and is advocating tirelessly for expansion on the Kansas side. Ms. Karole Bradford is our Executive Director. Opioid abuse We have been working to help stem the tide of opioid abuse through education and visibility. We are in the process of putting together TikTok videos about the dangers of opioid abuse produced by local high school students and targeted at high school students at their level and their preferred communication platform. We also have activities targeted to school district officials and several of our Board members and members provide advice around opioid use disorder and school policies. Wellness and Suicide Prevention Our focus has been on removing the stigma that sometimes attaches to physicians help-seeking. We have been advocating for health systems and hospitals to remove credentialing language that could impede a physician from seeking help. Several systems are reviewing their language and are now trying to focus on current, not historical, mental health issues or substance use that could affect safe practice. We are also working to participate in Physician Suicide Awareness Day in September. Welcoming New Members If you are a current member, thank you! I hope you have found our activities to be meaningful for you and your practice. Please consider asking your colleagues to join our collective voices. If you are not a member, please consider joining-we’d love to have you! In conclusion, I’m excited about the year to come and look forward to hearing any and all thoughts and ideas for the Society moving forward. Thanks, and best regards, Greg
Congratulations to our 2023 Kansas City Medical Society Medical Student Scholarship Recipient
2023 Annual Meeting: An Amazing Event!
