Monday Rx: Ukraine Crisis, Inflation, COVID-19 Restrictions, Medical Practice Makeover and Events February 28, 2022 California Health and Human Services, California Medical Association, COVID-19, Inflation, International Medical Corps, Legislative Advocacy Day, Long COVID, Medical Practice Makeover, Mental health, Practices, SARS CoV2, Ukraine, Virtual Grand Rounds 1000 Ukraine Crisis As you may recall, LACMA partnered with the International Medical Corps. in 2020 to explore how to help the Indian COVID-19 relief efforts with much-needed supplies including testing and vaccines that were not reaching the country. That said, IMC has reached out to us to raise funds for Ukrainian relief, in support of the humanitarian efforts. Click here if you can help in any way. How Inflation is Impacting Specialties According to a recent survey of 160,000 full-time physicians across the U.S., inflation outpaced physician salary growth for nearly half of all medical specialties over the past five years. Across the 10 medical specialties with the greatest average annual increase over the five-year period, nearly all were surgical. The top five included the following: Urology, 4.87% Plastic Surgery, 4.63% PM&R, 4.34% Orthopaedic surgery, 4.32% Neurosurgery, 4.3% How can LACMA help? With our annual legislative day coming up on April 19th in Sacramento and our ongoing conversations with our congressional delegation, we can share your insights relative to how to lessen economic burdens on medical providers. Click here for the full article COVID-19 Lingers as Governor Lifts Restrictions Governor Gavin Newsom announced last Friday that he would end a number of executive orders related to the state's pandemic response, but keep the long-running state of emergency declaration in place and the powers that come with it. In a press briefing, California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said the emergency powers are still necessary to allow the state to respond to the uncertain future of the pandemic, even as cases continue to drop from the height of the omicron surge. Friday's announcement comes a week after California's statewide indoor mask mandate expired, with many counties immediately following the state's lead and ending their own mask requirements. Los Angeles announced this week it would also drop its mandate, though Santa Clara County still requires masks indoors for all residents. To learn more, click here. LACMA Medical Practice Makeover Helps Local Practices As part of the $150,000 investment to help small medical practices, LACMA president Dr. Jeffery Lee visited with two practices last week to deliver grants, supplies and practice transformation resources. In 2022, thirty medical practices will benefit directly. You can now apply for round two of the practice makeover here. Virtual Grand Rounds: Long COVID - What is it and What are the Symptoms? Join CMA's "Virtual Grand Rounds: Long COVID-19 - What is it and what are the symptoms?" on Tuesday, March 8, 2022, from12:00 p.m. PT to 1:00 p.m. PT As we continue to wrestle with the ongoing day-to-day of the pandemic, a large outstanding question is: what are the long-term effects of contracting COVID-19? In this next edition of Virtual Grand Rounds, we welcome clinical experts who will discuss post-acute sequelae of SARS CoV2, otherwise known as Long COVID. We also welcome back Erica Pan, M.D., California State Epidemiologist, who will give us updates on the state of the COVID-19 pandemic in California including emerging variants and vaccines. Date: March 8, 2022 Time: 12:00 pm - 1:00pm Register here. Webinar: Legislative Advocacy Day Training Learn how to be an effective advocate. In preparation for the California Medical Association (CMA) Legislative Advocacy Day, CMA's Center for Government Relations will host a special webinar on Tuesday, March 29, 2022, from 7:00 - 8:00 p.m. This webinar will review CMA's list of legislative issues and bills to be lobbied, effective advocacy tips, and other relevant program information. Date: March 29, 2022 Time: 7:00 pm - 8:00pm Register here. #MondayMotivation "Mental health is not a destination, but a process. It’s about how you drive, not where you’re going." Gustavo Friederichsen Chief Executive Officer Los Angeles County Medical Association “If it matters to our LACMA members, it matters to me.”