Spring LMS Dinner Meeting Among the Most Attended Ever

Spring LMS Dinner Meeting Among the Most Attended Ever
By Christopher Hickey, LMS EVP/CEO

The LMS Dinner Meeting on May 8^th at the U.K. Hilary J. Boone Center was among the most attended meetings ever with over 100 registered guests. The packed agenda included a celebration of the Kentucky Blood Center 50^th anniversary, presenting a LMS Foundation grant, awarding LMS Essay Contest winners, and our featured speaker, Senator Ralph Alvarado, M.D., KY Senate District 28.

Senator Alvarado, a LMS member and always a popular draw, gave a detailed, almost inside-baseball like, review of the 2018 Kentucky legislative session that recently concluded. He opened with describing the passage of the major legislation of the session, pension reform and the state budget. He reviewed all the major medical bill successes: House Bill 4, which will protect the peer review process to allow physicians and hospitals to assess their work without the possibility of their opinions being used in a medical malpractice claim; House Bill 69, which will require the Department of Medicaid Services to designate a single credentialing verification organization to verify credentials for DMS and all Medicaid Managed Care Organizations; and Senate Bill 112 which includes provisions that will require, aside from some exceptions, health plans and Medicaid Managed Care Organizations to reimburse providers at the same rate for services delivered in-person or via telehealth. Each of these bills will take effect on or about July 16^th.

Bill Read, the Kentucky Blood Center President and CEO, and Martha Osborne, KBC Vice President of Marketing, joined us to celebrate their organization’s 50^th anniversary. LMS, then known as the Fayette County Medical Society, was instrumental in its founding. The recently passed Dr. David Stevens, our 1968 society president, led the efforts to create the blood center.

Dr. John Collins, LMS Foundation President, presented a $2,000 grant to Lauren Clontz, the Assistant & Education Director of the McDowell House Museum. Ms. Clontz gratefully accepted the grant on behalf of the McDowell House Museum and went on to describe the incredible medical history that was made there in 1809 by Dr. Ephraim McDowell heroically and skillfully removing a huge ovarian tumor from a patient, Jane Crawford, that was almost certain to die. This was the first successful removal of an ovarian tumor in the world. Mrs. Crawford would go on to live another 32 years. Ms. Clontz stated that the grant will be used to fund summer children education programs at the museum.

Dr. Robert Granacher, the Editor-in-Chief of the Kentucky Doc, presented the awards to the winners of the Fourth Annual LMS Essay Contest. Prizes were awarded in two categories, resident and medical student. The winning essays are published in the Spring issue of the Kentucky Doc Magazine which is available on the LMS website, lexingtondoctors.org.

Resident Essay Winners

Medical Student Essay Winners