William R. Lewis, MD, FACC

I just returned from the American College of Cardiology's Leadership Forum held in Washington, DC, this past weekend. I was joined by the leaders from each of the other 49 states and ACC staff. It was an awe-inspiring weekend, and I want to convey my enthusiasm about what I learned. We heard from the new CEO of the ACC, Jack Lewin, MD. He talked about his vision for the ACC. He said that cardiologists should always be the ones "wearing the white hats" in our patients' eyes. Jim Dove, MD, the incoming ACC President, indicated that we had an unprecedented number of national committee appointees from Ohio this year. He spoke of having a passion for the mission of the ACC. The best way to demonstrate passion and gain experience in the ACC is at the "grass roots" level.

Getting involved with our Chapter is a "great way to demonstrate that passion," said Dr. Dove, who was born and raised in Ohio. Being recognized as one of the best Chapters in the ACC was exciting; I realized this weekend that there is much more that we can do to promote the mission of the ACC and support our cardiologists in their goal to give the best possible care to their patients.

GAP-D2B 
D2B: An Alliance for Quality is a new Guidelines Applied in Practice (GAP) program launched by the American College of Cardiology (ACC) to save time and save lives by reducing the door-to-balloon times in U.S. hospitals performing primary PCI.  If your hospital performs primary angioplasty for acute MI, make sure to register for our D2B Webinar on Thursday, February 1st, at 5:00 p.m. that will explain the goals of GAP-D2B and how your hospital can participate at no cost. Please register today at http://ohioacc.org/D2B.htm.

Ohio Chapter-ACC Wins Award
The Ohio-ACC was a winner of the ACC Chapter Recognition Award! The announcement was made during the Leadership Forum. This was the first year of the ACC Chapter Recognition Award Program. It was developed as a way to showcase and recognize the achievements of the ACC Chapters. Criteria included achieving goals in the areas of chapter management, membership & communication, education, quality and advocacy. Congratulations, Ohio-ACC! 

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Dr. Peter Libby will present New Insights into the Pathophysiology of the Acute Coronary Syndromes at the 44th Annual Carl J. Wiggers Memorial Lecture on Wednesday, April 25, at The Ritz-Carlton, Cleveland. Dr. Libby is the Reynolds Investigator & Center Director; Chief, Cardiovascular Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital; and Mallinckrodt Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School. Register today!

The evening begins with registration and a reception from 6:00-7:00 p.m.; dinner is at 7:00 p.m., and the lecture will be from 7:45 - 9:00 p.m.

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the Essential Areas and Policies of the Ohio State Medical Association (OSMA) through the joint sponsorship of The MetroHealth System and Ohio Chapter of the American College of Cardiology. The MetroHealth System is accredited by the OSMA to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The MetroHealth System designates this educational activity for a maximum of 1.5 AMA PRA Category Credit(s)™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

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Submit your recommendations for the upcoming Ohio Chapter-ACC elections. The 2007-09 slate includes vacancies for Trustee positions representing Cleveland, Akron, The Ohio State University, and Cincinnati. The deadline for receipt of recommendations is Friday, February 16, 2007.

You may recommend a colleague or yourself if these requirements are met: nominees must be Fellows, Associate Fellows, Affiliates, Distinguished Fellows and Honorary Fellows of the American College of Cardiology.  Please assist your Chapter by helping select its leaders.

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The Ohio-ACC Practice Managers Network is up and running to help cardiology practice managers network with each other and to address common issues facing cardiology practices. We would like to develop a special session for you during our October 27th Annual Meeting. Please let us know if you would like to be involved in planning this session. 

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When you need to contact your legislators about an important legislative issue, visit the Ohio-ACC's Legislative Action Center. You can find out your legislative district, compose messages to your legislators, identify legislation, and much more. 

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