William R. Lewis, MD, FACC

Spring has arrived and with it the arrival of our Cardiology Day at the Capitol: Advocating for A Healthy Ohio. I invite all of you to attend this important advocacy day in Columbus on Tuesday, May 20. We will begin with breakfast and a legislative briefing at the Hyatt on Capitol Square. We will then proceed to the Ohio Statehouse to meet with our legislators. It is critical that we form proactive and positive relationships with our Ohio legislators so that we can serve as key resources for them when important health legislation is on the table.

If you have never been one to engage in political activities, now is the time to get involved. There is no cost to attend, and you will learn so much about advocating for your patients and for cardiovascular medicine in Ohio. Please register to attend now at http://ohioacc.org/LegDayColumbus.htm -- the sooner you register, the sooner we can make appointments with your legislators for you.

Attend the Ohio Leg Day -- Then Apply for Scholarships to Go to Washington, DC
Our Cardiology Day at the Capitol is the ideal springboard for your attendance at the National ACC's Legislative Conference to be held on September 14-16, 2008, in Washington, DC. The Ohio-ACC is offering scholarships for your attendance. Apply today at http://ohioacc.org/LegConf08.htm

Support the Ohio Supreme Court Election
The fall will be here sooner than we anticipate. I recently attended a fundraiser for Ohio Supreme Court Justices Stratton (www.strattonforjustice.com) and O'Connor (www.oconnorforjustice.com). As you will recall, in 2002 the Ohio-ACC aggressively supported their campaigns. This has paid dividends. As you can see in the graph below, malpractice rates in Ohio are starting to decline. This can change in a heartbeat, however. And so now is the time to re-energize to support their cause. Their campaign coffers are low and need an infusion to keep up the trend to lower malpractice rates. Please click on their links, and generously support their campaigns. In the fall, we will be mobilizing the vote to maintain a fair judicial approach.

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The Ohio-ACC had two highly successful meetings on April 30th in Cleveland.The first was the 45th Annual Carl J. Wiggers Memorial Lecture, which saw its greatest attendance ever. Our guest lecturer was Dr. Marvin Konstam, who spoke on Progress in the Treatment of Heart Failure.  If you did not attend, you can learn by listening to Dr. Konstam's lecture online at http://ohioacc.org/Online_Education.htm

Preceding the Wiggers Lecture, we held The First Annual Cardiac Care Associate (CCA) Cardiovascular Update. We had 40 CCAs attend, and their feedback indicated that the meeting was excellent. We look forward to offering more programs for cardiac care associates.

Special thanks to Dr. Mark Dunlap and his committee who helped plan the Wiggers Lecture, and special thanks to Ms. Melanie Gura and her committee who helped plan the First Annual CCA Cardiovascular Update. 

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