While the 2020 Annual Meeting of the Kentucky Medical Association (KMA) looked different than it has previously, KMA was excited to welcome almost 800 physicians from across the state who took part in the virtual event, held throughout the month of August.
The meeting included a series of live town-hall sessions focused on the COVID-19 pandemic. “Clinical Considerations of COVID-19,” “Telehealth-Today and Tomorrow,” “Leadership in Times of Crisis,” and “The Future of Medicine for the Emerging Physician,” brought together physician experts and providers from across the state to discuss various aspects of the pandemic and how it may change the practice of medicine.
The virtual Annual Meeting also included the popular “Meet the Mandates” educational sessions, which allow physicians to receive all of their mandated CME prior to the end of the three-year cycle.
More than 350 physicians from across the state gathered virtually from Friday, Aug. 28 through Sunday, Aug. 30 to hear from speakers on Domestic Violence Education, Pediatric Abusive Head Trauma and Clinical Considerations of Substance Abuse and Critical Components of Proper Prescribing. Meet the Mandates was presented in partnership with the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure, and the House Bill 1 sessions were made possible in part by a grant from the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) Foundation.
Feedback from all sessions was overwhelmingly positive, and allowed KMA members to connect with one another and learn while remaining in their home communities to stay safe and serve their patients.
Attendee Khalil Rahman, M.D. said, “Thanks for the wonderful advice from the leadership group to make changes, starting Monday.”
“Good teams have good players. Great teams have great teammates. At KMA we have great teammates. Thank you for making this presentation another exceptional learning experience,” said attendee William Thornbury, M.D. More than 800 physicians in total registered for at least one portion of the Annual Meeting.
During the meeting, KMA also elected its 170th President, Dale Toney, M.D., of Lexington.
A lifelong Kentuckian, Dr. Toney is a board-certified internist in Lexington. He is employed by the University of Kentucky Albert B. Chandler Hospital, is an Associate Professor at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, and is the Interim Division Chief of General Internal Medicine and Women’s Health. He previously served as Vice President of the KMA, served as an Alternate Trustee from 2008-2013 and as Trustee from 2013-2018 on the KMA Board of Trustees. He served as Vice Chair in 2015 and as Chair from 2016 – 2018. Dr. Toney was President of the Lexington Medical Society (LMS) in 2004 and Vice President in 2001. He was also a member of the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure from 2016 – 2019 and served as Chair of Panel A and Vice President in 2019. Dr. Toney has practiced medicine for 30 years.
In his virtual inaugural address, available here, Dr. Toney discussed his goals for the year, including the promotion of the KMA and KFMC’s “Be Well. Stay Well.” campaign, which encourages Kentuckians to take simple steps to protect and improve their health. The campaign began earlier this month with the launch of the “Raise Your Guard, KY” initiative, which is a partnership with the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Kentucky.
“Throughout the year we will identify important issues and subsequent ways to improve the physical and mental health of Kentuckians and Kentucky physicians and then we will also spend time convincing the public and physicians to heed the advice,” said Dr. Toney.
KMA members also elected three other officers during the 2020 meeting. Neal Moser, M.D., of Crestview Hills was elected President-Elect, Michael Kuduk, M.D., of Winchester was elected Vice President, and Jiapeng Huang, M.D. of Louisville was elected Secretary-Treasurer.
A full list of the results of the 2020 KMA House of Delegates is available here.
