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Chiefs’ Lineman to Receive KCMS Honorary Membership

Jim Braibish • September 25, 2020

The Medical Society looks forward to welcoming offensive lineman Laurent Duvernay-Tardif from the Super Bowl champion Chiefs as a KCMS Honorary Member at the October 21 Virtual Annual Meeting.

Durvernay-Tardif earned his medical degree from McGill University in Montreal in May 2018, completing his medical studies while playing for the Chiefs since 2014. He is the first medical school graduate to play in the National Football League. He will join the Annual Meeting via Zoom to accept the membership. Register now for the Virtual Annual Meeting.

But what is even more remarkable about Duvernay-Tardif is what he has done since the Chiefs’ victorious Super Bowl game. After serving on the football front line to protect his quarterback, he volunteered to serve on the front lines treating patients at a nursing home near Montreal in his native Quebec.

During his nine weeks at the nursing home, he administered medications and carried out other nursing duties. (Duvernay-Tardif holds a doctorate in medicine but right now cannot practice as a doctor because he still has to go through residency.) Working in the nursing home was a life-changing experience. It drove his decision to opt out of the 2020 NFL season.

“In this particular year, did playing follow my larger convictions?” he wrote in Sports Illustrated in September. “I have a responsibility toward my community from a public health perspective.”

This fall, he has begun online studies in public health with Harvard University. And he plans to return to the long-term care facility in Quebec for another tour of duty.

Read Duvernay-Tardif’s September 9 Sports Illustrated article to learn more about nursing home work and why he opted out of the 2020 NFL season.

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Letter from the President 2025

January 6, 2025

I consider it a sincere honor to serve as president of the Kansas City Medical Society this year. As we look forward to this new year, we celebrate our previous accomplishments and look for new ways to meet the challenges of our ever-changing healthcare environment. As we recognize our recent successes, I want to take the opportunity to thank Dr. Greg Unruh, our immediate past president, for his excellent leadership, and I look forward to his continued partnership, providing much-needed wisdom and experience to our board of directors as well as a leadership council. I am also deeply appreciative of Micah Flint, our executive director, now in his third year with the Society. As a board, we are prioritizing key areas where we believe the Society can make a difference for physicians and the communities we serve. With this in mind, we will continue our focus on wellness, advocacy, and expand our opportunities for in person social and educational gatherings. Our journal connects us in a variety of valuable ways, and we will continue its publication and expand its distribution. Under the directorship of Karole Bradford, the Society’s Foundation continues to do invaluable work. We celebrate those accomplishments and the charitable care they provide to our community’s vulnerable population. We are grateful for our individual members and corporate sponsors and welcome your suggestions of how the Society can best serve physicians and our community. Please mark your calendar for the Society’s upcoming events and consider inviting physician colleagues to join you as we gather to learn and support one another.