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Welcoming Betty M. Drees, MD, FACP, as 2020 KCMS President

Jim Braibish • January 17, 2020

The Kansas City Medical Society welcomes Betty M. Drees, MD, FACP, FACE , as our 2020 president. Dr. Drees is Dean Emerita of the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine, where she served as dean from 2001 to 2014. Since 2018, she has taken on additional duties as president of the Graduate School of the Stowers Institute for Medical Research. Concurrently, she continues to serve as an endocrinologist and a professor in the UMKC Department of Internal Medicine and the Department of Biomedical and Health Informatics. In addition, Dr. Drees is the program director for the UMKC Fellowship in Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism.

Dr. Drees served as KCMS president-elect in 2019 and is a member of the KCMS Foundation Board of Directors.

Dr. Drees has 30 years in clinical practice, research, education, and administration. Her research interests center around community impact and improved quality of health care, such as prevention of diabetes mellitus and prevention of fractures. She is the site principal investigator for the Enhanced Lifestyles for Metabolic Syndrome (ELM) study, which is a $9 million, six-year, multi-site trial for evaluation of lifestyle intervention for sustained reversal of metabolic syndrome. She is president of the regional American Diabetes Association Community Leadership Board.

She began her career with the Veterans Administration in the research Career Development Program, and, in addition to seeing patients for metabolic disorders and diabetes, also helped the hospital system develop its strategy to adopt the use of electronic medical records.

Among her many honors, Dr. Drees is a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha and Phi Kappa Phi honor societies and is a Fellow in the American College of Physicians and the American College of Endocrinology. She has been recognized by Kansas City’s 435 Magazine (2014) and the Kansas City Business Journal (2013) on their “Best Doctors” lists, by Ingram’s Magazine as one of Kansas City’s Most Accomplished and Successful Women (2008), among MidwestCEO ’s Influential Women (2009), and in Kansas City’s Influential Women: Inspiration and mentorship from the women who make Kansas City great, Susan Greenberg, editor (2010).

Dr. Drees obtained her medical degree from the University of Kansas and continued her training at the University of Kansas Medical Center with a residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism.

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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.