Ohio’s delegates and alternate delegates to the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) Congress of Delegates (COD), Sarah Sams, MD; Elisabeth Righter, MD; Ryan Kauffman, MD; and Mike Sevilla, MD; submitted the following report about the virtual COD held October 11-13.
Because the COVID-19 pandemic made meeting in person an unsafe option, the AAFP COD, scheduled to be held in Chicago, was replaced by a called Special Session of Congress held via virtual platform. This abbreviated special session was not considered a full COD, however, this virtual format provided a unique opportunity for many members to participate in reference committee hearings as travel to the meeting site was not needed.
To allow for necessary technology and time for preparation of reference committee reports, the reference committees were held virtually during the weekend prior to the actual special session. For this special session of the Congress, chapters were asked to limit their resolutions to exigent issues. To facilitate this new format, resolutions were reviewed prior to reference committee hearings by the Rules Committee in conjunction with the speaker and vice speaker to determine if they were already existing policy. If so, they were pulled from debate and placed on a re-affirmation calendar. The opportunity for online testimony was followed by verbal testimony on October 3 and 4. Reference committee reports were available for review online during the week prior to the COD special session. Dr. Sams served on the Reference Committee on Advocacy and Dr. Kauffman served as an observer on the Reference Committee on Organization and Finance. Roma Amin, MD, Member Constituency Delegate, served on the Bylaws Workgroup.
In addition to OAFP’s delegates and alternates, other OAFP members in attendance included Executive Committee members Anna McMaster, MD; Teresa Zryd, MD; Doug Harley, DO; Kelly Meehan-de la Cruz, MD; and Mary Krebs, MD. Ohio attendees also included Dr. Amin and Jaividhya Dasarathy, MD, who were serving as member constituency delegates; Colette Willins, MD; Brian Bachelder, MD; Renee Markovich, MD; Ean Bett, MD; Catherine Romanos, MD; Executive Vice President (EVP) Ann Spicer; and Deputy EVP Kate Mahler, CAE.
On October 11, delegates and alternate delegates attended virtual “Meet the Candidates” rooms, followed by a town hall meeting moderated by AAFP officers. The forum allowed members in attendance to hear current information about AAFP activities and issues from its leaders. Members were afforded the opportunity to make comments and ask questions.
Many addresses from representatives of other organizations, that typically would have been delivered in-person, were placed online for members to view at their convenience. Reports from the AAFP president, president-elect, board chair, EVP, and speaker, as well as a candidate’s forum, were held live. Due to the uncontested election for board directors, speeches were given but no question and answer session was held. Candidates for president-elect presented their speeches and participated in a question and answer session. The Congress considered a total of 28 resolutions which, despite the challenges of a virtual platform, allowed for the usual discussion and debate.
For details of the actions of the COD, please visit the AAFP website.
Our own Gary L. LeRoy, MD, of Dayton, OH, completed his year as president of the AAFP, and now assumes the role of board chair. Cleveland, Ohio, native, Ada Stewart, MD, who now resides in South Carolina, was installed as the new AAFP president by Dr. LeRoy.
New officers elected by the 2020 COD include: President Elect Sterling Ransone, Jr., MD (Virginia); Speaker Alan I. Schwartzstein, MD (Wisconsin); and Vice Speaker Russell Kohl, MD (Oklahoma). New board members elected include: Jennifer Brull, MD (Kansas); Mary Campagnolo, MD (New Jersey); and Todd Shaffer, MD (Missouri). In addition, Danielle Carter, MD (New Physician); Ohio-native Anna Askari, MD (Resident); and Cynthia Ciccotelli (Student) were elected and installed.
The 2021 COD will be held in Anaheim, CA, Monday-Wednesday, September 27-29, 2021, if the COVID-19 pandemic allows for an in-person meeting. If a virtual meeting is again needed, the AAFP speaker, vice speaker, and EVP are working on plans for a full virtual COD.