Report from the 143rd Annual Meeting: Mardi Gras in the Mountains

Monday, September 23, 2013 10:22 AM

More than 400 physicians from around the state attended the 143rd Annual Meeting in Vail in September, “Mardi Gras in the Mountains.” The busy weekend featured fun and fellowship, interactive programming and education, and policy-making and elections.

Your CMS Board of Directors met Friday afternoon and held discussions led by special guests Jack Westfall, CMO of Colorado HealthOP; Dick Thompson, CEO of Quality Health Network; Larry Wolk, MD, past CEO of CORHIO; Kelly Joines, CORHIO Interim CEO; and Jeff Messner, CORHIO director of products and strategy. The board also had an in-depth conversation about the drivers of health care costs and how the debate has changed from a question of “who pays?” to a question of “why does it cost so much?” The board will continue the discussion at their meeting in November.

Friday night, members gathered for a Mardi-Gras-themed reception hosted by the 2013 Exhibitors. Attendees enjoyed Cajun-inspired food and drinks, live music, a photo booth and giveaways.

Saturday morning, component caucuses met to discuss the 19 resolutions before the House of Delegates. The HOD convened for a robust discussion on five of the extracted resolutions. Click here to view the final disposition of resolutions and reports. Delegates also heard from Katherine Blair, senior health policy advisor to Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, on the governor’s vision for making Colorado the healthiest state in the nation.

Next on the agenda was the sold-out COMPAC-AMPAC lunch moderated by Christopher Unrein, MD, and featuring Todd Askew, AMA director of congressional affairs, and Colorado U.S. Representative Cory Gardner. They updated attendees on the SGR repeal effort, the Affordable Care Act, the debt ceiling and other issues important to physicians. U.S. Rep. Gardner answered questions from the audience.

Attendees reconvened in the afternoon for interactive programming, starting with a panel discussion on prescription drug abuse. Gov. John Hickenlooper introduced the session with a special video welcome and announcement of his newly released strategy document on prescription drug abuse, which came out of his work with the National Governors Association and a multi-state collaborative of stakeholders. Click here to view the report.

From left to right: John Hughes, MD; Chris Gassen, RPh, PharmD; Zach Pierce; Cynthia Coffman, JD; and Joel Dickerman, DO

On the panel were distinguished guests Cynthia Coffman, chief deputy attorney general in the Colorado Department of Law; Chris Gassen, RPh, PharmD, program director for the Colorado State Board of Pharmacy; Zach Pierce, drug policy coordinator for Gov. John Hickenlooper; and Joel Dickerman, DO, CMS board member. It was moderated by John Hughes, MD, chair of the CMS Workers Comp and Personal Injury Committee.

Attendees cut loose Saturday night at the Presidential Gala, a masquerade ball honoring outgoing CMS President Jan Kief, MD, and welcoming incoming CMS President John Bender, MD, FAAFP. Dr. Kief received a certificate of appreciation and a standing ovation for her service. She then swore Dr. Bender into office.

In his presidential address, Dr. Bender spoke about his three families: His CMS family, his Miramont family and his nuclear family, with special presentations for each. For CMS, he promises to work to unite the house of medicine and advance our common interests.

One highlight of the evening was the culmination of Dr. Bender’s COMPAC challenge. He challenged his colleagues to raise $10,000 for COMPAC over the course of the weekend and, in return, promised to cut his hair at the gala to a corresponding length; the more funds raised, the more hair cut! With the generous pledges of physicians, staff and friends, Dr. Bender surpassed his fundraising goal and kept true to his promise, cutting off his “hippie hair” (as one CMS leader called it) for a Marine-style buzz cut.

The keynote speaker of the evening, “Dr. Anderson Payne,” a fictional special advisor and consultant to the president’s council on economic development, brought the house to uproarious laughter by sharing his “findings” in current economic trends — a series of one-liners and stories about corporate culture and bureaucrats. The comedian, whose real name is Durwood Fincher, is also known as “Mr. Doubletalk” for his ability to interject gibberish into normal conversation for a comedic effect. In his finale, the audience saw Fincher’s pre-taped interviews with Annual Meeting attendees candidly reacting to this “unique” interviewing style. Click here to view these video interviews.

The evening concluded with a dessert bar sponsored by COPIC, and music and dancing.

Sunday morning, attendees heard an educational lecture by David Wahl, MD, associate clinical professor of psychiatry at UCHSC on embracing personality traits, recognizing signs of distress and maintaining whole-body health and wellness.

The House of Delegates also convened to finish the business of the weekend. Gretchen Hammer, executive director for the Colorado Coalition for the Medically Underserved and chair of the Connect for Health Colorado board, received CMS’ inaugural Breakthrough Award for her work to advance the state’s health insurance marketplace. Delegates heard a presentation by Ted Clarke, MD, of COPIC, and voted to elect the 2013-2014 CMS leadership. Delegates selected Tamaan Osbourne-Roberts, MD, to be CMS president-elect. When he is sworn in as CMS President at the 2014 Annual Meeting, he will be the youngest president and the first black president in the organization’s history.

The final session was on the liability climate, featuring Oregon Medical Society general counsel Gwen Dayton JD and a panelist of elected officials: Sen. Ellen Roberts, (R); Sen. Cheri Jahn, (D); Rep. Clarice Navarro, (R); Rep. Joann Ginal, (D); and Rep. Mike Foote. Dayton outlined the medical liability reform law passed this year by the Oregon legislature and the panelists spoke about the importance of preserving Colorado’s stable tort environment and how Colorado’s General Assembly can propose legislation to assure patient safety.

Thanks to all of the attendees of the 2013 Annual Meeting. Be sure to mark your calendars for next year’s meeting, Sept. 19-21, 2014, at the Vail Cascade.

From left to right, top row: Panelists discuss the liability climate. Second row: Gwen Dayton, JD; Sen. Cheri Jahn; Sen. Ellen Roberts. Third row: Rep. Mike Foote, Rep. Joann Ginal, Rep. Clarice Navarro