KMA Annual Meeting Report
By Emily Schott, KMA Director of Communications
Michael Kuduk, M.D., Inaugurated as 2023-2024 KMA President
Michael Kuduk, M.D., a Winchester pediatrician, was installed as the 173rd President of the Kentucky Medical Association on Aug. 27 during the organization’s Annual Meeting.
KMA members also elected four other officers during the 2023 meeting. Evelyn Montgomery Jones, M.D., of Paducah was elected President-Elect, and Jiapeng Huang, M.D., of Louisville was elected Vice President. Christine Ko, M.D., of Lexington, was elected Treasurer and Christopher Jones, M.D., of Louisville was elected Secretary after a constitutional amendment dividing the position of Secretary-Treasurer into two positions was passed during the House of Delegates.
A native of New Jersey, Dr. Kuduk is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the Kentucky Children’s Hospital. He graduated from the Johns Hopkins University and graduated from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (now Rutgers Medical School) in Newark. He completed his residency at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas. Dr. Kuduk previously served as KMA Board Chair and Vice President, as well as Chair of the Kentucky Physicians Political Action Committee (KPPAC). He is a 2018 graduate of the Kentucky Physicians Leadership Institute.
In his inaugural address, Dr. Kuduk discussed his goals for the year, including a focus on prior authorization reform, which was indicated as one of the leading causes of physician burnout in a KMA membership survey in 2022.
“I will continue to advocate for prior authorization reform, an issue that we can all agree not only impacts our daily lives, but the lives of our patients. Many of our physicians came to Frankfort to advocate on the issue, and we plan to put an even greater focus on it this year. We know that telling a story can be the most effective form of advocacy, and we all have many patient stories to tell showing how prior authorizations negatively impact the health of our patients.” Doctor Kuduk’s desire to address the issue was also overwhelmingly supported by the KMA House of Delegates, which passed a resolution calling for prior authorization reform, as well as a separate resolution citing prior authorization as one of the principal reasons for physician burnout.
KMA Honors Award Recipients During 2023 Annual Meeting
KMA recognized the following individuals or groups with its Awards of Excellence during the President’s Celebration Reception on Saturday, Aug. 26:
- Distinguished Service Award: Neal Moser, M.D.
Dr. Moser was presented with the Association’s highest individual honor for his years of service and leadership in organized medicine.
- Educational Achievement Award: Fred Williams, M.D.
Dr. Williams was recognized for his work in the creation and implementation of the Kentucky Physicians Leadership Institute (KPLI).
- Community Service Award: Future Healers Program
Co-founder Dr. Karen Udoh, Christopher 2X of the 2X Game Changers, UofL trauma surgeon Dr. Keith Miller and KPLI graduate and UofL transplant surgeon Dr. Christopher Jones were presented with the Community Service Award on behalf of the Future Healers program. The program introduces youth who have been impacted by gun violence to the field of medicine.
- Debra K. Best Outstanding Layperson Award: Matt and Kim Mangine, The Matthew Mangine Jr. Foundation
Matt and Kim Mangine were honored for their advocacy surrounding sudden cardiac episodes and the importance of emergency action plans and the use of AEDs.
For more information and videos of each award winner, visit https://kyma.org/kma-to-honor-award-recipients-during-2023-annual-meeting/.
Ten Physicians Complete 2023 Kentucky Physicians Leadership Institute
Ten physicians were recognized for completing KMA’s award-winning Kentucky Physicians Leadership Institute (KPLI) during the 2023 KMA Annual Meeting. As part of their training, KPLI graduates studied the personal, business, advocacy, and communications aspects of leadership, as well as heard from expert guests during the popular “Fireside Chat” sessions.
Members of the 2023 class are Kandis Adkins, M.D., Louisville, Muhammad Ifran Atiq, M.D., Lexington, Wesley Barnett, M.D., Cynthiana, Marisa Belcastro, M.D., Lexington, Hannah Brown, M.D., Lexington, Kellen Bo Yung Choi, D.O., Louisville, Destiny Etheridge, M.D., Louisville, Eric Fisher, M.D., Glasgow, Neelima Jayavant Kale, M.D., Nicholasville, and Siddharth V. Pahwa, M.D., Prospect.
KPLI is the premiere leadership training program for physicians in Kentucky. Each year, this exclusive program selects up to 15 physicians to participate in a year-long series of learning events that cultivates the next generation of physician leaders across the state. The four weekend events help address many of the challenges facing the physician community.
During the 2023 House of Delegates, President-Elect Evelyn Montgomery Jones, M.D., pointed out that each member of the newly elected KMA Executive Committee was a graduate of the KMA and KFMC’s Kentucky Physicians Leadership Institute (KPLI).
“This is one of the most diverse groups of individuals leading any organization in this state right now, whether by gender, color, ethnicity, geography, or specialty. And it is not lost on me that every one of us in this group is a graduate of the KPLI program. So please, if you have not already done so, go through the KPLI program next year. It not only teaches you so much, it provides you with the opportunity to do what I think everyone here today wants to do – LEAD. Make changes. Improve the health of the commonwealth.”
Physicians interested in joining the 2024 class should contact KMA Education Director Miranda Mosley, mosley@kyma.org.