President-Elect Ryan Kauffman, MD, represented the Ohio Academy of Family Physicians at the Pennsylvania Academy of Family Physicians meeting held March 11-13 in Pittsburgh.
“I had the pleasure of representing the OAFP at the PAFP Annual Meeting held March 11-13 at the Marriott City Center in Pittsburgh. The business meeting was held in conjunction with the PAFP continuing medical education conference (CME) and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s 43rd Refresher Course in Family Medicine.
The CME meeting had large lectures in the morning, then breakout sessions, including some hands-on workshops, in the afternoon. On Thursday afternoon (during the afternoon breakout), there were commission meetings and a board of directors meeting. In the evening there was a political action committee fundraiser at a nearby restaurant.
The business meeting was held during lunch on Friday. There was no discussion of resolutions/issues as those things are now handled through the committee/board structure. Guest Speaker Mike Turzai, speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, talked about the importance of being engaged in the political process. The election of officers and board members, including speeches for the contested board position, followed.
The installation and inauguration festivities started with the Lila Stein Kroser, MD, Memorial Lecture by Lauren S. Hughes, MD, a family physician who serves as the Pennsylvania deputy secretary for health innovation. She gave an inspiring talk about the traits of leadership. Next was recognition of the award winners for family physician of the year and exemplary teacher as well as the presentation of degree of fellow. The new officers and President Robert Rodak, DO, were then installed. This was followed by the president’s reception and the dinner gala including a silent auction benefiting the PAFP Foundation.
On Saturday morning, there was a reorganization board meeting. The board approved the members of the committees and selected the member of the delegation who will serve on the board. There was also discussion of the upcoming strategic planning retreat. The PAFP is nearing the end of a three-year process to reduce the size of the board and realign the commission structure to provide more effective governance.
It was a pleasure to spend time with friends from the PAFP and meet other Pennsylvania leaders as well as spend time with AAFP Board Chair Bob Wergin, MD; New Jersey Academy of Family Physicians President Robert Gorman, MD; and Kentucky Academy of Family Physicians President Lisa Corum, MD.”