THE BULLETIN

A PUBLICATION OF THE MUSCOGEE COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETY

ERUDIRE ET DELECTARE

V O L U M E 6 1 • N U M B E R 1 1

NOVEMBER 2016

162nd MAG House of DelegatesSee page 15.

ph

oto

cre

dit

: C

hri

s Sa

vas/

Med

ical

Ass

oci

atio

n o

f G

eorg

ia

3

THE BULLETINSociety Office: 2612 Commons Blvd. • Augusta, GA 30909

706-322-1254 • FAX 706-736-8055 • www.muscogeemedical.org

C o n t e n t sPresident’s Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Hospital News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 10, 13

Editor: David H. Levine, M.D. • Associate Editor: Casey Geringer, D.O.Managing Editor: Dan Walton

Officers 2016:

President . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . W. Frank Willett, III, M.D.

President-Elect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Timothy P. Villegas, M.D.

Past President . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . James D. Majors, M.D.

Secretary-Treasurer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bret C. Crumpton, D.O.

Director to MAG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fred Flandry, M.D.

Alternate Director to MAG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . W. Frank Willett, III, M.D.

Executive Committee: James D. Majors, M.D., W. Frank Willett, M.D., Glenn E. Fussell, M.D.,Fred Flandry, M.D., Michael Borkat, M.D., Ryan Geringer, D.O., Kurt Jacobson, M.D., David H. Levine,M.D., Ken Smith, M.D., Karen Stuart, M.D.

Delegates: Michael Borkat, M.D., Benjamin Cheek, M.D., Fred Flandry, M.D., Glenn E. Fussell, M.D.,Ryan Geringer, D.O., James D. Majors, M.D., Folarin Olubowale, M.D., Karen Stuart, M.D., W. FrankWillett, III, M.D., Joseph Zanga, M.D.

Alternate Delegates: Casey Geringer, D.O., James Hagler, M.D., Kendall Handy, M.D., A. J. Jain, M.D.,David Levine, M.D., Henry Ngo, M.D., Kenneth Smith, M.D., Timothy Villegas, M.D., John D. Watson, M.D.

Ad position is at the sole discretion of the Editorial Board.

The Bulletin of the Muscogee County Medical Society is the official monthly publication of the MCMS located at 2612Commons Blvd, Augusta, Georgia. Opinions expressed in The Bulletin, including editorials, are those of theindividual author and do not necessarily reflect policies of the Society, unless stated. Advertisements in thispublication are paid advertisements and are not necessarily supported or endorsed by the Muscogee CountyMedical Society.

Members are encouraged to submit articles, current news or upcoming events for publication in The Bulletin.Deadline for copy is the 10th of the month preceding date of issue. Those wishing to advertise in The Bulletin mayrequest requirements and rates by contacting the society office. Items to be published should be sent to the societycoordinator, Stacie McGahee, via email to Stacie@muscogeemedical.org.

Greetings. Your medical society has just come back from the2016 Medical Association of Georgia House of Delegates inSavannah, Georgia. This is the forum by which your medicalsociety shapes the legislative agenda for the MedicalAssociation of Georgia (MAG) for the coming year. While wedid have slots for eight delegates, we were well represented byseven of your fellow physicians who took time out of theirbusy schedules and gave up a weekend to come and representyou at the House of Delegates. I was able to do my part and

serve as a member of the finance committee, hearing resolutions and reports putforward by the treasurer and the AMA delegation. Dr. Fred Flandry continues torepresent us well on the MAG Board of Directors. I am proud to say he has alsonearly graduated from the 9th class of the MAG Georgia Physician LeadershipAcademy Program. He was the first MCMS nominee and we plan to nominatemore physicians interested in pursuing leadership roles in the society and MAG.

We did hear and discuss issues regarding substance abuse education, over thecounter naloxone availability, strategies for reducing hepatitis C transmission, andopioid prescribing education. We also heard issues regarding nurse practitioneroversight, advertisement of board certification in Georgia, who is responsible forsigning death certificates, and of course maintenance of certification, regardinghow it should not be used regarding licensure, hospital privileges, andmalpractice insurance eligibility, was another hot topic.

As a delegation we did our best to make your voice heard at the state andultimately national level through this House of Delegates process. If you areinterested in being a delegate or an alternate please let me or Dan Walton know.Now switching subjects, as we are entering the holiday season we don’t have anymeetings planned until our next signature event, the Epic wine tasting. Again, wehave secured Martin Luther King Day (January 16, 2017) as the date so please putthat on your calendar and make sure to keep it open so you can attend what hasbecome our most popular event as a society. Come and socialize with yourcolleagues and perhaps meet MAG officers and directors. The food and wine are usually very good too. I hope to see you there.

Finally, we have sent out dues invoices for 2017 so be on the lookout. We are allmore successful as a group and we need your support to grow. HappyThanksgiving.

P R E S I D E N T ’ S M E S S A G EW. Frank Willett, M.D.

4

5

Mike SeeFully Licensed GA/AL Realtor

706-315-5289 (CELL) • mikesee@coldwellbanker.com.5670 Whitesville Road • Columbus, GA 31904

www.kpdk.com

The credit you deserve.

Loan products subject to credit approval. Banking products are provided by Synovus Bank, Member FDIC. Divisions of Synovus Bank operate under multiple trade names across the Southeast.

The Business Access Line of credit from Synovus gives your business fast, easy access to cash when you need it most. Visit your local CB&T branch or synovus.com/BAL.

columbusbankandtrust.com706.649.4900

SERVING YOU LOCALLY AS

6

C O L U M B U S R E G I O N A L H E A L T H N E W S

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit ExpansionColumbus Regional Health is proud to announce the kickoff of the NeonatalIntensive Care Unit (NICU) Expansion Project. Thanks to the tremendous supportof the community and Columbus Regional Health Foundation’s capital campaign,the NICU is set to be renovated and expanded.

The renovation will include new beds to support more patients, a new layout toincrease privacy and new features to improve patient experience to better servethe residents of the Chattahoochee Valley and surrounding counties. Phase oneof the demolition began Tuesday, September 20, when Columbus Regional Healthemployees put the first hammer in the wall. The project is expected to becompleted in late 2017.

TSYS Mother Baby Unit Wins Monthly “Award Winning Care” BannerAs a new initiative to create the best possible care for CRH’s patients, a friendlymonthly competition between floors at Midtown Medical Center (MMC) has beencreated. Criteria to win the banner include having the highest overall top boxscore of patient satisfaction scores in the 75th percentile or higher. At least fourreturned surveys must be obtained to be considered. If a floor has obtained ascore of 80 or better, a special recognition will be provided in addition to thebanner. However, if no floors score in the top 75th percentile, no floor receivesthe banner. The program started at MMC but will expand to Northside MedicalCenter at a later date.

September’s winner is the TSYS Mother Baby Unit. Employees received a top boxscore of 77. Congratulations to all employees who gave award winning care andstrive for excellence and put quality into everything they do.

2016 Clinical Ladder AwardsSeptember 21 was a night to celebrate Columbus Regional Health’s nursing staff.Seventy three employees achieved placement on the Clinical Ladder. This ladderhas different levels that nurses work to reach through a series of tasks that haveto be completed to be considered for placement. These tasks help improveprofessional development and advance patient care. Congratulations to thosenurses who continue to ACE-IT every day.

Level 2Robin King, Tameca Williams, Caroline Barri, Myrna Garcia, Kristen Coleman,Amanda Mays, Tracy Bruce, Devan Fleming, Allison Schlappi, Melissa Wolf, SherlyShajan, Rita Agerton, Brandi Ambrosio, Memory Beamon, Christa Cicora, TeriCoffman, Philip Eldrigde, Lauren Eschmann, Ivey Flynn, Joanna Hunt, MichelleMaddox, Stephanie Marcano, Rebecca Means, Morgan Presley, Christina Senger,Jennifer Watley, Laney Woods, Yvonne Zeng, Kristen Davis, Heather Roettger,Saprina Abram, Kim Pitts, Jerad Rardin, Terra Schoenberger

7

Level 3Mary Alice Stacey, Nancy Worrell, Amanda McGriff, Amber Brown, Vicki Phillips,Barbara Clifton, Donna Collazo, Patti Dunn, Georgia Eikelberry, Barbara Fleenor,Meredith Gean, Kristen Hester, Terri Jeffcoat, Robert Jeffries, Hilary Jones,Caroline Meigs, Mandy Moran, Pam Powell, Kathy Scogin, Ruthie Shemwell,Brenda Tice, Jessie Upshaw, Stephanie Wallis, Catie Wertenberger, Lynne O'Mara,Susan Williams, Tami Hobson, Frances Franks, Kimberly Hamrick

Level 4Jessica Newberry, Kayla Andrews, Anna Ashkenazi, Katie Carter, Patti Cianocchi,Sandy McClure, Sonya McFarland, Cecelia McMillian, Kim Riddle, JamieShropshire, Tonya Simmons, Vanessa Moore, Barbara Thomas

Level 5Kathy Street

Breast Cancer Awareness MonthOctober is Breast Cancer Awareness month. It is the month that the nation joinsthe fight in raising awareness around this disease. Pink is everywhere; it’s on theNFL players uniforms, ribbons, ties, t-shirts or even dyed in fountains across thecountry. The John B. Amos Cancer Center will see approximately 300 new breastcancer patients this year. This is nearly three times that of lung, colon andprostate cancer seen at JBACC. The message behind the awareness is what is mostimportant and near and dear to all caregivers, physicians, women and familiesthroughout this community— take charge, perform self-examinations, follow therecommended screening exams and find/detect early stage cancers. The earlier acancer is detected the better the outcome.

Columbus Regional’s Breast Care Center recommends annual screeningbeginning at the age of 40 for the general population. Family history, priorradiation treatment and other risk factors can equal indication for earlier agescreening. Please check with your physician or with the Breast Care Center forspecific information on those risk factors. Our charge here locally is led by Dr.Andrea Cole, Medical Director for the Columbus Regional Breast Care Center. Dr.Cole and the dedicated caregivers have made detecting breast cancer theirpersonal mission. The technical skills, compassion and commitment to excellenceare something of which we can all be proud. While October is a special month ofbreast cancer awareness, the Breast Care Center lives it every day, every month,every year.

8

9

M C M S U P C O M I N G E V E N T

M A R K Y O U R C A L E N D A R S !

Wine Tasting at Epic – January 16, 2017

Call the office at 706-322-1254 or email

Stacie@muscogeemedical.org

if you have any questions.

2821 Harley Court, Suite 300Columbus, GA 31909

(706) 576-4900

10

S T. F R A N C I S N E W S

David M. Walters, M.D. Dr. David Walters, is a board certified otolaryngologist,specializes in diagnosing and treating conditions of the ear,nose and throat. His focus areas of specialty are:• Sinus Disease & Endoscopic Sinus Surgery • Hearing & Balance Disorders• Pediatric Otolaryngology• Voice & Swallowing Disorders• Tumors of the Head & Neck

Dr. Walters is a graduate of Baylor University and TexasTech University’s HSC School of Medicine and completed his residency in headand neck surgery at the Medical College of Georgia.

Certified by the American Board of Otolaryngology since 2010, he is also amember of the Head and Neck Surgery and the Allergy wings of the AmericanAcademy of Otolaryngology.

Before joining St. Francis, Dr. Walters was a surgeon at ENT Associates ofAlabama, in Birmingham, AL. Professional appointments he has held includethose at St. Vincent’s Hospital and St. Vincent’s Outpatient Care Center,Grandview Medical Center, Cullman Regional Medical Center, Shelby BaptistMedical Center, and Walker Baptist Medical Center.

Dr. Walters has made presentations before the American Association of ClinicalEndocrinologists, the General Surgery Conference at Medical College ofGeorgia, the American Rhinologic Society, and Southern Section TriologicalMeeting. He has been published in the American Journal of Otolaryngology,Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, and co-written a chapter in thetextbook Robotics in Surgery: History, Current and Future Applications.

In 2015, Dr. Walters was named to the Birmingham Metro list of Top Doctors andwas a member of the St. Vincent’s Hospital Surgical Peer Review Committee from2010 until 2016.

Dr. Walters is committed to providing efficient, evidence-based medical andsurgical care for adult and pediatric diseases of the head and neck. His additionalclinical interests include diagnosis and treatment of inhalant and food allergies.Dr. Walters is now accepting new patients. Appointments can be made by callingSt. Francis ENT at 706.324.7753.

Dr. Amal Asiri Dr. Amal Asiri, is a fellowship trained psychiatrist, specializes in diagnosingmental conditions in children, adolescents, and young adults. She will join the

Dr. David Walters

11

team of physicians at the St. Francis Psychiatry practice thatresides on the Bradley Center campus. Her focus areas ofspecialty are:• Psychiatric Evaluation• Anxiety disorders• Mood disorders• Psychotic disorders,• ADHD• Autism spectrum• Behavioral issues which can lead to poor adherence

to medical treatment in chronic medical conditions.• Psychopharmacology Treatment• Psychotherapy Treatment

Dr. Asiri is a graduate of King Abdul Aziz University and School of Medicine andcompleted her residency in Psychiatry at Tufts Medical Center. She is trained inadult psychiatry and has completed her sub-specialty training in child andadolescent psychiatry.

She has made presentations before the International Medical Graduate Child andAdolescent Psychiatry Caucus and the Ethics and Child Adolescent PsychiatryTraining: The “Hidden Curriculum”. She is currently doing research in directsupervision in psychotherapy, as well as screening of depression and anxietydisorders in pediatrics neurology outpatient setting. She has also been in AnInternational Journal of Headache. In addition, she served on the GME residentleadership council at Tufts medical center while working on her fellowship inBoston.

Dr. Asiri is passionate about working with children, young adults, and theirfamilies. Her goal is to provide comprehensive treatment to kids by collaboratingwith their primary health providers, schools and families to ensure the bestoutcomes for her patients. Dr. Asiri is now accepting new patients. Appointments can be made by calling St.Francis Psychiatry at 706.320.3770.

St. Francis now in affiliation with Emory Clinic for Heart Surgery ProgramSt. Francis Hospital’s Cardiac Services program has announced an affiliation withThe Emory Clinic’s Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery. Hakob Davtyan, MD,Assistant Professor in the Emory University School of Medicine’s Department ofSurgery and an Emory Clinic physician, joined the St. Francis Hospital medicalstaff and began seeing patients September 1, 2016.

Dr. Davtyan joins St. Francis’ cardiothoracic surgery program’s Dr. CharlesAnderson, MD, a specialist in cardiothoracic surgery, and will lead the team as itsmedical director, overseeing cardiothoracic surgery operations, qualitymanagement, as well as performing cardiothoracic surgeries himself. TheSt. Francis - Emory Clinic affiliation will also expand the current St. Francis heart

Dr. Amal Asiri

12

DAVIDSON & SAUNDERS

Knowledgeable andProfessional Service

Call us for all your real estate needs. Gerald Saunders - 706.577.8562Skip Davidson - 706.681.1545

program’s capacity by adding two Emory-employed advanced practice providerswho are highly qualified and certified health care professionals.

“Since 1974, St. Francis Heart Hospital has been dedicated to providingcomprehensive cardiac care, offering rare and advanced cardiovascular careservices,” says David Koontz, CEO. “Our affiliation with Emory’s internationallyrecognized cardiothoracic program will not only significantly expand ourcardiovascular capabilities by bringing Emory’s School of Medicine’s expertise toSt. Francis, but it will benefit patients throughout the Columbus region andbeyond.”

The St. Francis Cardiothoracic Surgery service will be overseen by Dr. RobertGuyton, Chief of Emory’s Cardiothoracic Surgery Division and Director ofCardiothoracic Research at Emory. In addition, the affiliation will enable theSt. Francis Cardiothoracic Surgery service to align with Emory’s four existingCardiothoracic Surgery programs: Emory University Hospital, Emory UniversityHospital Midtown, Emory Saint Joseph’s Hospital, and the Emory CardiothoracicSurgery program at Athens Regional Hospital, in Athens, GA.

Members of Emory’s critical care and operating room staff have been deployed toColumbus for a number of months to participate in intensive training of St. Francisstaff to ensure alignment with quality and outcome metrics as the program grows. The Emory affiliation will expand St. Francis’ capacity for cardiothoracic volumeand expand the capacity to provide critical backup for cardiac catheterizationprocedures. St. Francis is the only hospital in the region performing open heartsurgery and valve procedures, as it has been doing for decades.

“We look forward to building this exciting partnership with the exceptionallyqualified St. Francis Cardiac Services team,” says Dr. Guyton. “This partnership willenable our combined physician and advanced practice provider teams to expandaccess to life-saving cardiothoracic care to more Georgia citizens.”

13

Since its founding, Mercer University Schoolof Medicine has continued to seek new andinnovative ways to train physicians to fulfillthe health needs of Georgia. To further ourmission, Mercer has devised several keyexperiences that promote fluency in the issues facing rural and underservedpopulations. One of our flagship efforts is the Community Medicine program.Community Medicine provides each student a longitudinal experience in a ruralor underserved Georgia community. Over the course of their medical schooltrainings, students return to their community for three, 4 week experiencesculminating in a 4th year project. Projects are specifically designed to meet a needin the community. The program centers around deep and long-termunderstanding that informs meaningful action. It is through efforts like this thatwe hope to mold thoughtful and engaged health professionals who will be theleaders of the future. We are continuously looking for physicians who areinterested in participating in our Community Medicine program. If you areinterested, please contact us for more details.

Upcoming Mercer Events:March 17, 2017 – Match DayMay 4, 2017 – Columbus Hooding CeremonyMay 6, 2017 - Graduation

If you are interested in becoming involved in medical education or in any of ourevents please contact the Columbus Dean’s office at 706-223-5171 or by email atScoggins_ct@mercer.edu.

M E R C E R U N I V E R S I T Y N E W S

6801 River Road706-327-4242

Prescription, Compounding, and Delivery Services

14

There is a difference between a nonprofit hospice and a for-profit hospice: It is in the mission. Columbus Hospice is a nonprofit hospice and our mission is to help people. Our bottom line goes back into the services we provide for our patients and families, not to owners or investors. Just look at the board of Columbus Hospice and you’ll see the difference. Our board is made up of volunteers who watch the finances, but also the level of compassionate care that is delivered.

Does being a nonprofit hospice make a difference in care? Absolutely. At Columbus Hospice our mission is about people, not profits.

7020 Moon Road Columbus, GA 31909

706-569-7992 ColumbusHospice.com

MAG BOD Meeting 10/14/2016

The following are highlights from our fall board meeting:

Interstate Medical Licensure CompactThe board deliberated a proposal that GA enter the InterstateMedical Licensure Compact. The “Compact” is an independentbody formed to streamline the acquisition of licensure inmultiple states. Seventeen states currently participate and twoother states are actively considering participation. Each state

still maintains licensing autonomy and actually issue the license, but the Compactstreamlines and expedites the application process. You can obtain moreinformation at www.licenseportability.org. The issue of GA participating in theCompact may surface in the GA 2017 General Assembly. The MAG Board has votedto support participation.

2017 Legislative Priorities• Out-of-Network Billing and Network Adequacy MAG will support reforms that require appropriate network adequacy standardsfor insurers. We will advocate for transparency for insurers entering into contractswith physicians’ practices and support legislation that will result in physicianpayment methodologies that are adequate and sustainable for out-of-networkemergency care. This issue arose last year without action being taken. Severalother states have enacted legislation with severe negative implications forphysicians and medicine. I urge you to watch this issue closely.• Medicaid Payment Parity MAG will advocate for the General Assembly to continue funding for the MedicaidParity Payment Program for all areas of primary care. • Maintenance of Certification (MOC) The Medical Association of Georgia will work to ensure that Maintenance ofCertification is not a condition for licensure or hospital privileges. We will supportefforts to alleviate the costly and burdensome aspects of MOC for physicians. • Patient Safety Options The Medical Association of Georgia will advocate for measures that improvepatient safety. • Covering the Uninsured The Medical Association of Georgia will work with the legislature and stateregulators on solutions for Georgia citizens who currently fall in the insurancecoverage gap.

Physicians’ Day at the Capitol - 2017 The 2017 Physicians’ Day at the Capitol is scheduled for Wednesday, January 25.All members are encouraged to participate and to stand in solidarity in their

M A G N E W SBy Fred Flandry, M.D., FACS, FAAOS, FACSM

15

“white coat,” as this will serve as a reminder to legislators that doctors areattentive to the policies and proposals that affect their patients and practiceenvironments.

HealtheParadigmMACRA requires that we either participate in APM’s or to report under MIPS.Bearing risk and reporting on clinical performance requires the ability to collect,analyze, and report on clinical performance data. This is an onerous task for asmall medical practice and will involve identifying high cost patients, reducingreadmissions and adverse events, coordinating care and managing resource use,or accurately reporting quality measures to various registries and payers. MAGhas endorsed HealtheParadigm with provides a network, methodology, andhealth information tools to enable our survival under MACRA, which rolls outin 2017. More information about the program is available atwww.healtheparadigm.com. If you have not initiated strategies in your practice,you can contact Cardelia Reid (877-921-7196, creid@kammco.com) to arrange apresentation of the issues you are facing and how HealtheParadigm may be aresource. Your reimbursement health depends on it.

Treasurers Report The proposed FY 2017 operating budget is based on similar principles that wehave used for the past seven years budgets and is consistent with the long-termstrategic direction set by the board of directors. In October 2009, the board ofdirectors adopted a five-year strategic financial goal of producing a $200,000surplus in each year from FY 2010-2014. MAG has surpassed our goal of $1million in surplus in 2012 and reached a cumulative surplus of $2,124,564 in2015. With this focus, we have achieved our first goal, to match current yearincome with current year revenue (2012), and our second goal, to eliminateLong Term Debt (2014), when we paid off the mortgage on our building at 1849The Exchange. We are continuing to build the financial strength of theAssociation and the proposed FY 2017 budget also calls for an operating surplusof $200,000 and thus would build further reserves for 12 months operatingexpenses.

If your practice does not have a 401K plan, MAG makes a 401K plan managed byAtlanta Capitol available to you.

It is my pleasure to continue to represent you to the MAG BOD. I am always gladto discuss any issues you have regarding the practice of medicine in ourcommunity.

16

- -

- -

--

-

-

AAsk About The Interactive Culinary

- -

17

18

Mus

coge

e C

ount

y M

edic

al S

ocie

ty26

12 C

omm

ons

Blv

d.

Aug

usta

, GA

309

09

Ret

urn

Serv

ice

Req

uest

ed

PR

SR

T S

TD

US

PO

STA

GE

PA

IDC

OLU

MB

US

GA

PE

RM

IT

NO

. 15

8