Monday Rx: Virtual Care, Practice Reopening Guidelines, New Beginnings and Celebrating Dr. Aizuss June 8, 2020 COVID-19, MondayRx, Reopening Guidelines, Telehealth 1431 Grants for Practices Implementing Virtual Care Good news for safety net providers as the California Healthcare Foundation and Center for Care Innovations have announced a partnership that will provide more than $100,000 in grants for those practices implementing virtual care. The “Connected Care Accelerator”. Community health centers and independent physician practices that predominantly serve low-income communities are eligible to apply. The deadline to apply for funding is Friday, June 19, 2020, at 5 p.m. Learn More California Medical Association Practical Reopening Guidelines COVID-19 continues to impact practices and communities. In the past 24 hours, more than 1,500 cases and 25 deaths were attributed to the virus. As many practices have opened or are in the process of reopening, CMA provides practical guidelines on the reopening process. View Guidelines Change Is a Catalyst for New Beginnings The killing of George Floyd has sparked debate across the US and throughout the medical profession. The following are comments from LACMA President-elect Dr. Diana Shiba and LACMA delegation member, Dr. Resa Caivano: "Change is a catalyst for new beginnings. In the last few months, we have been faced with the challenge of adapting to a new reality, and a new way of life. The Covid-19 pandemic has shown us though, that the challenges faced, whether they be physical, social, or economic, are unequally borne across ethnic and racial lines. We have seen increased discrimination against Asian-Americans. We have also seen a disparate health and economic burden on the Latino and African American communities, reflecting a larger systemic issue of social inequity and unequal opportunity. The tragic events of late, in Minneapolis and in other cities across the United States, highlight the critical need for the Los Angeles County Medical Association, and the entire House of Medicine, to continue its strong advocacy for the health and well-being of all patients and communities. As the largest physician-led advocacy organization in Los Angeles, it is our duty to patients, and our civic responsibility to the county, to continue promoting awareness, education, and insight around equity, diversity, and inclusivity. As physicians, healers, and community leaders, we can embrace and be a catalyst for change, with the goal and intention of effecting new beginnings." Diana R. Shiba, MD President-Elect, Los Angeles County Medical Association Board Trustee, California Medical Association "In long discussions with the communities in which I serve I felt it important to give the perspectives I have heard. The events of recent days are oppressively heavy and disheartening, as unbridled and criminal violence against people of color in this nation has been on display in the most horrific ways. The sense that black Americans are not full citizens has been woven into the very fabric of our culture. Since our nation’s inception, people of color have been considered less than human, a commodity to be bought and sold. Less has changed than we dreamed. The repetitive, intergenerational trauma has remained a constant reality for people who’ve lacked the means to heal or recover before yet another reminder that their lives have no value except to serve a system that values material goods and property over their lives. This is the lived experience of black America: a continuing cycle of oppression, marginalization and commodification that leads to fear, mental and physical trauma. Systemic racism is responsible for the inequities in the health and well-being of people of color. As physicians it is our responsibility to treat illness when we encounter it and addressing the policies and practices that perpetuate structural racism is essential to the health of our citizens. Racism is a sickness that threatens the health of this nation, and we must take meaningful action to stop this illness. Without action, we will not survive." Resa Caivano, MD Delegation member, Los Angeles County Medical Association Board member, Los Angeles Community Coalition Justice Equity Taskforce member, South Central Family Health Center National Board member, Girls Leadership Congrats Dr. Aizuss! Former LACMA president Dr. David Aizuss has been elected to the American Medical Association (AMA) Board of Trustees. Dr. Sion Roy and Dr. Jerry Abraham served on Dr. Aizuss's campaign as well. Dr. Aizuss is the immediate past president of CMA and a current member of the AMA Council on legislation. When he was a medical student at Northwestern University, he served as a leader in the Illinois State Medical Society’s Medical Student Section and on the AMA-Medical Students Section (AMA-MSS) governing council. He was also on the AMA-Resident and Fellow Section (AMA-RFS) governing council for 3 years. “We are facing unprecedented times as a profession and as a country,” Dr. Aizuss said in his speech to the House of Delegates. “While we battle the frontlines of COVID-19, we must look ahead to the future and ensure that we are working as a united voice, advocating for our profession, for our patients and for our communities.” During his tenure as CMA president, he was responsible for leading and implementing a new organizational emphasis on diversity and inclusion. Dr. Aizuss has also been at the forefront on issues such as physician scope of practice, vaccines, mental health and gun violence. Dr. Aizuss is a managing partner in a multispecialty ophthalmology group, where he focuses exclusively on patient care. In addition, he is an assistant clinical professor of ophthalmology at the UCLA Geffen School of Medicine. In Sickness and in Health: Return to Work Packet For more information, please contact WorkWise Law at: (818) 591-6724 Email WorkWise Law #MondayMotivation “Self-awareness gives you the capacity to learn from your mistakes as well as your successes. It enables you to keep growing.” – Lawrence Bossidy Gustavo Friederichsen Chief Executive Officer Los Angeles County Medical Association “If it matters to our LACMA members, it matters to me.”