President’s Letter
December 13, 2011
Dear Fellow NRS Members~
I am writing to introduce myself as the new President of the Nebraska Radiology Society. Thanks to Nick Nelson, MD, outgoing President of the Society, for his great work for the society over the past year. His leadership and expertise allowed the NRS to provide a productive year of meetings and actions for the NRS.
It is also my pleasure to make you aware that Joel Elson, MD, Omaha, will be fulfilling the role as President-Elect, while Kris Vander Zwaag, MD, will fulfill the role of Secretary/Treasurer for the society for this year.
In May, James Smith, MD, and Kevin Nelson, MD, Councilors, attended the ACR meeting in Washington, DC. As Councilors for the Society, they represented all NRS Members during the meeting. Additionally, the NRS sponsored a member in training, Amit Chakraborty, MD from UNMC (the Creighton nominee was unable to attend) to attend the meeting. All of the individuals participated in the Capitol Hill Visits and expressed concerns about a permanent SGR fix, imaging specific reimbursement, mammography coverage, and radiation safety. The 2012 ACR meeting will take place April 21-25, 2012 and we plan to have a good representation from the Council members at the meeting. If you are not already actively having discussions with federal lawmakers, I would encourage you to get involved to any extent possible (letters, e-mails, personal visits, etc.). Being proactive is helpful prior to ever having a situation arise that may require personal interaction with them.
It is important that discussions take place regularly with our Congressman and Senators. To access their contact information, please visit the following links:
Senate:
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
House:
https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml
Some key issues currently for discussion are a permanent SGR fix, Imaging Specific Reimbursement, Mammography Coverage, and Radiation Safety.
The NRS was consumed with the Nebraska Legislature this past session as LB481 was introduced. As written, LB481 would authorize cardiovascular technologists and auxiliary personnel to be allowed to assist a licensed practitioner who specializes in cardiology and interventional cardiology in the performance of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures performed in cardiac catheterization and cardiac electrophysiology laboratories.
A hearing took place March 4, 2011 before the Nebraska Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee. The bill was amended at the start of the hearing to remove “ancillary personnel” from the original bill. Representatives were present from various locations to provide testimony in opposition of the bill and a letter of opposition was submitted to the committee on behalf of the NRS. The 2011 Legislative session adjourned sine die on May 26 at which LB481did not make it out of committee. The bill will be revisited during the 2012 session with further discussion and debate.
Please consider visiting with your state senator and the Health and Human Services Committee members regularly regarding this issue. It is vital that we strive to conserve the safety of our patients. To access information about your state senator, visit the Nebraska Legislature website: http://nebraskalegislature.gov/senators/senator_list.php. Each senator offers a page where the public can find his or her contact information, committee assignments and news releases. Senators’ pages also contain his or her biography, district map, photos and information about bills the senator introduced. Feel free to contact Jina at the NRS office with any questions or assistance you might need.
Have you given to RADPAC? RADPAC is a bipartisan political action committee of the American College of Radiology Association (ACRa). It’s goal is to support and elect pro-radiology candidates at the federal level. If you have not given, please consider doing so and support the political voice of radiology. Contributions may be given online or through the enclosed RADPAC donation form. As of November 2011, Nebraska succeeded in having over 15% of membership contribution participation. For additional information about RADPAC, please visit the RADPAC website at: www.radpac.org or contact the local RADPAC Liaison, Kevin Nelson (kevin.nelson@nmhs.org).
Attached please find an updated NRS Committee listing. If your name is not listed as part of one of the committees and you are interested in joining one of the groups, please feel free to contact Jina Ragland, Executive Director, at the NRS office to have your name added. (jinar@nebmed.org or 402-474-4472).
Four Membership Meetings have been scheduled for 2012. A Save the Date flyer is included in this packet for your reference. I would also encourage you to visit the NRS website: www.nebrad.org for additional meeting and society information. The NRS membership meetings provide a time for networking and education. I would encourage you to consider attending a meeting if you have not done so in the past.
2012 Meetings
January 11, 2012 - Theodore Miller, MD
Hospital for Special Surgery, New York ~ “Joint Prostheses”
February 15, 2012 - Timothy Myers, MD - VRAD ~ “Tele-Radiology”
**Meeting sponsored by VRAD**
March 21, 2012 - ACR Speaker - “Lobbying/Legislative Advocacy/ACR Updates”
April 2012 (specific date TBD after January 2012) - Senator Ben Nelson
Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that the Fellowship Committee is currently taking nominations for the ACR Fellowship. This honor is one of the highest ways of formally recognizing members for exceptional achievement in the radiology profession. Since 1981, only 52 Nebraska Radiologists have been awarded this prestigious award. Donald Orton, MD accepted the award in 2010, James Smith, MD and Martin Goldman, MD accepted the award in 2011 and Richard Kutilek, MD and Nick Nelson, MD have been approved for the award in 2012. We are fortunate to have had this honor bestowed on many great Nebraska Radiologists. I would encourage you to consider nominating one of your colleagues for this award. Additional information and a letter from the Chair, Kevin Cawley, MD, are included in this packet for your reference. Should you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact Dr. Cawley.
I look forward to working with all of you. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have regarding the society or if you have topics you would like to discuss concerning the society.
Thank you for your membership and ongoing support in the Nebraska Radiological Society.
Sincerely,
Thomas Dworak, MD
President, Nebraska Radiological Society
