Practice Management Symposium

In case you missed it, the February issue of the ACC’s Cardiology magazine features a story by our own Dr. Priya Kansal – The Vision: FITs Directing Their Learning. The story details the founding of the Midwest Fellows Forum (MFF) and its successes to date. The MFF is jointly sponsored by IL-ACC, the midwest division of the AHA and the Chicago Cardiology Group. The MFF owes much of its success to Dr. Kansal, a third year fellow at John Stroger Hospital who has done a terrific job of networking with the FITs and encouraging them to attend events. If you haven’t read the story, it is on p. 28 of the February issue.

We had 40-plus in attendance at our Feb. 20 Women In Cardiology meeting at the BICE Ristorante. Our featured speaker C. Noel Bairey Merz, M.D., FACC from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center was outstanding. A special thanks to Pfizer for all of its efforts in organizing and funding this important meeting that helps mentor women interested in the field of cardiology.

Our Chapter has joined a long list of organizations (American Heart Association, American Cancer Society, American Lung Association, etc.) that supports national legislation that would give the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to regulate the tobacco industry for the first time, ending the exceptional protection granted to tobacco companies. The national ACC has signed on in support and supporters are now recruiting organizations at the state level. The proposed legislation is identified as HR 1108. Click HERE for the list of supporting organizations.

Good news, for once! The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has decided NOT to move forward with its proposed National Coverage Decision (NCD) that would have limited Medicare coverage of Computed Tomographic Angiography (CTA) to only those instances where CTA is used as part of an ongoing clinical study meeting certain standards set by CMS. For a full report, click HERE.

We are delighted to invite Women In Cardiology who are participating in a program sponsored by the ACC called Bright Futures to our IL-ACC Chapter Reception. This initiative is reaching out to women interested in cardiology as part of an effort to address the growing workforce crisis in cardiology. The group of about 14 participants and most of the local Cardiology Fellows who have volunteered to shepherd these women will be attending the IL-ACC chapter reception at our invitation. We are delighted that this important ACC group sought us out and we are even more delighted to extend the invitation. We are flattered that this important initiative of the ACC values our Illinois chapter-specific reception that recognizes our members and builds goodwill in the Illinois cardiology field. We believe our Chapter Reception is a best practice for state ACC chapters and appreciate the recognition by the national ACC organization.

Ewald Consulting, our new management company for the IL-ACC Chapter that we hired last summer, has added Andy Shelp to its Glenview, IL office as an Assistant Account Executive. Shelp most recently was the director of member services for Sigma Chi Fraternity International headquarterd in Chicago. Shelp lives in Chicago and is focused on helping the chapter achieve its ambitious goals. We welcome Andy and look forward to his contributions to the Chapter. Bill Monn, executive director of the chapter, continues in that role.

Best regards,

Diane Wallis, M.D., FACC
Governor, Illinois Chapter of the ACC