Chapter Updates
Arizona
BRIAN ADDUCCI/ISTOCKPHOTO.COM
BRIAN ADDUCCI/ISTOCKPHOTO.COM
The Arizona chapter had a well-attended meeting Aug. 13 at Ruth’s Chris Steak House in Phoenix. Hospitalists, medical students, and several chief medical officers from local hospitals listened as chapter president Tochukwu S. Nwafor, MD, of Maricopa Medical Center in Phoenix, gave a lecture on VTE prophylaxis in the hospitalized patient. He discussed the pivotal role hospitalists provide in treating this medical condition and the leadership they can provide because of their accessibility and knowledge. The France Foundation sponsored the discussion.
After the lecture, VTE prevention strategies were discussed. The chapter agreed to continue such work on VTE in the future.
Chapter business was discussed after the lecture. Plans for the coming year include another weekend continuing medical education (CME) activity on pertinent hospitalist topics. The chapter also plans to continue its outreach to such outlying areas as Tucson and Flagstaff.
Northern Nevada
The Northern Nevada chapter met Aug. 18 at the Washow Grill in Reno. The 38 attendees represented four HM groups. Chapter president Phil Goodman provided an overview of SHM and its resources, meetings, fellowship, and membership costs. The chapter elected officers based on nominations submitted via e-mail and nominations at the chapter meeting. A written ballot was conducted, and the officers elected for 2009-2010 are:
- President: Sukumar Gargya, MD, Renown Hospitalists;
- VP Logistics/Secretary (president-elect): Levente Levai, MD, president, Sierra Hospitalists;
- VP Membership: Lynda Malloy, director, NNMC EmCare;
- VP Education: Nagesh Gullapalli, UNSOM Hospitalists; and
- VP Projects: Jose Aguirre, president, Lake Tahoe Regional Hospitalists.
The next meeting is Nov. 3. The agenda includes a talk on “Difficult Decisions in Afib Management.” The chapter also plans to resume a journal club that aims to publish two to three times per year, starting in late November or early December.
Primary Piedmont Triad Chapter
The Primary Piedmont Triad SHM chapter had its first meeting June 23 at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C. The meeting was hosted by the Wake Forest Inpatient Physicians group of Wake Forest University Health Sciences and sponsored by Schering-Plough. The chapter had dissolved a few years ago, so this meeting was a “meet and greet.”
Ten hospitalists attended the meeting, which included the selection of new officers. There was no special presentation. The evening was spent socializing, reviewing survey results and deciding on a new vision for the chapter. The group was extremely enthusiastic and excited about the future of HM, even in the current economic climate and uncertainty surrounding healthcare reform. The chapter is planning to have quarterly meetings.
Southern Illinois
STUARTB/ISTOCKPHOTO.COM
STUARTB/ISTOCKPHOTO.COM
The Southern Illinois chapter met July 23 at the Hilton Garden Inn in O’Fallon. The meeting was attended by 16 hospitalists from four HM groups. Theresa Murphy, a PharmD in neuro ICU at Barnes Jewish Hospital, presented on “Euvolemic and Hypervolemic Hyponatremia and AVP Antagonishm with Vapris.” The event was a success; attendees were pleased with the topics that were discussed.
Chicago
SHM’s Chicago chapter hosted a dinner July 29 at the Reel Club in Oakbrook, Ill. The speaker was Gary Shaer, MD, professor of medicine at Rush University. The topic for Dr. Shaer’s presentation was “Managing Patients with ACS in the Acute Setting: An Interventional Cardiologist’s Perspective.” The talk generated an excellent discussion. Various HM topics were debated, including healthcare reform and the hospitalist.
The chapter also welcomed new members and newly designated Fellows in Hospital Medicine. Attendees included hospitalists from Advocate Medical Group, Loyola Medical Center, Resurrection Hospitals, Northwestern Medical Center, and Signature Group.