July 2013

• Nominations needed for SCMA awards

• Dr. Stephen Steady is new president of SCMA

• Dr. Scott Chilcott retires after 50 years of practice in Santa Rosa

• Did you lose a green iPhone at the SCMA Wine & Cheese Reception?

• CDC soliciting nominations for infectious-diseases board

• Top stories from CMA Alert

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SCMA is seeking nominations for its Outstanding Contribution and Recognition of Achievement awards, to be presented at the medical association’s annual dinner this fall. Nominations are needed by Sept. 6 for all four awards listed below:

• Outstanding Contribution to the Community. Presented to an SCMA member whose work has benefited the community.

• Outstanding Contribution to Local Medicine. Presented to an SCMA member who has improved local medical care.

• Outstanding Contribution to SCMA. Presented to an SCMA member who has served the medical association beyond the call of duty.

• Recognition of Achievement. Presented to a nonphysician who has helped advance local medicine.

For a list of past award recipients and a nomination form, click on the links below. Nominations can be submitted to SCMA by fax, email or regular mail.

SCMA Awards nomination form

SCMA Awards history

Dr. Stephen Steady, a Petaluma gastroenterologist in private practice, is the new president of SCMA. He will serve through June 2014. In an extensive interview in the current issue of Sonoma Medicine, Dr. Steady discusses the challenges of private practice, his work with the Meritage network and his plans for SCMA.

The other new members of the SCMA executive team are Dr. Rob Nied (president-elect), Dr. Francesca Manfredi (treasurer) and Dr. Regina Sullivan (secretary). They are joined on the SCMA board of directors by Drs. Peter Brett, Maryann Dakkak, Brad Drexler, Catherine Gutfreund, Rebecca Katz, Leonard Klay, Marshall Kubota, Clinton Lane, Mary Maddux-González, Rachel Mayorga, Richard Powers, Phyllis Senter, Lynn Silver Chalfin, Jan Sonander, Jeff Sugarman, Peter Sybert and Francisco Trilla, as well as a medical student, Eugenia Shevchenko, MS-3.

Dr. Scott Chilcott, a mainstay of Sonoma County family medicine for five decades, has retired. Born in Butte, Montana, in 1931, Dr. Chilcott received his MD from UC San Francisco in 1960. He completed his internship in family medicine at San Francisco General Hospital in 1961 and his residency at Sonoma County’s Community Hospital (now Sutter Medical Center) in 1963. He entered private practice in Santa Rosa in July 1963 and continued for exactly 50 years before retiring earlier this month.

“I tackled one day at a time,” Dr. Chilcott said in a phone interview, “so 50 years didn’t seem like 50 years.” Asked why he worked so long after normal retirement age, he reflected, “You feel that your role is important, so to leave has an element of desertion. There’s lots of satisfaction in being able to play that role.” Nonetheless, he decided the time had come to retire. “You may well be important,” he reflected, “but you’re not indispensable.”

Someone left a green iPhone with a University of Oregon logo at the SCMA Wine & Cheese Reception on May 9. If that someone is you, please contact Rachel Pandolfi at 707-525-4375 or rachel@scma.org to reclaim your phone. Thanks!

The CDC is soliciting nominations for Board of Scientific Counselors at the Office of Infectious Diseases (OID). The board consists of 17 experts in fields related to infectious diseases who advise the government concerning strategies, goals, and priorities for infectious-disease programs and research.

Interested physicians with expertise in infectious diseases should submit a CV (5 pages maximum) and a statement of interest by July 19 to Cynthia Melody at cmelody@scma.org. For the complete nomination announcement, visit federalregister.gov/a/2013-16182.

Here are the top stories from the latest CMA Alert, the California Medical Association’s biweekly email newsletter. For a free subscription, visit www.cmanet.org/cma-alert.

• Attestation for Medi-Cal primary care rate increase to begin in July

• Bill to define patient-centered medical homes in California is on the move

• CMA Foundation seeking donations for annual gala auction

• What you can do to prepare your practice for the transition from Medicare claims administrator Palmetto to Noridian

• Exchange “grace period” continues to confound

Dr. Toni Brayer, a prominent San Francisco internist, has been named CEO of the Sutter Pacific Medical Foundation, which includes more than 250 physicians in Sonoma, Marin, Lake, Del Norte and San Francisco counties. Dr. Brayer, who lives in Mill Valley, has practiced internal medicine in San Francisco for more than two decades and is a past president of the San Francisco Medical Society. She previously served as chief of staff at California Pacific Medical Center and as vice president and chief medical officer of the Sutter West Bay Region. She succeeds Mike Cohill as CEO of the Sutter Foundation, but he will remain as CEO of the West Bay Region.

Dr. Christopher Clark and Dr. Julie Phenco have joined the psychiatry department at Kaiser Santa Rosa. Dr. Clark completed medical school and residency at Yale University, and a fellowship in child psychiatry at the University of Washington. Dr. Phenco received her medical degree from the Magsaysay Medical Center in the Philippines and completed her residency at Hartford Hospital in Connecticut.

Dawn has yet to arrive for the new Aurora Behavioral Healthcare psychiatric hospital in Santa Rosa, but the hour may be drawing close. At press time, the hospital was still expecting state licensing by the end of July, but no firm date has been established. The hospital, housed in a renovated version of the old St. Joseph mental health facility on Fulton Road, has already hired about 60 staff and has contracted with about a dozen independent psychiatrists and primary care physicians. When the hospital finally opens, it will become the county’s only inpatient psychiatric facility.

Partnership HealthPlan is transferring $13.8 million in federal grants directly to county health departments and hospitals throughout the North Bay. Recipients in Sonoma County include Palm Drive Hospital and the Department of Health Services. The funds will be used to provide services in mental health, case management, specialty care access and oral health.

The Redwood Regional Medical Group has begun enrolling patients in a national trial for a potential breast cancer vaccine. The drug, NeuVax, is intended to prevent breast cancer recurrence in early stage patients who have already had surgery and chemo/radiation therapy. About 25% of those patients currently relapse within three years. Dr. Jarrod Holmes, a medical oncologist at RRMG, has been named a national principal investigator for the study, which is expected to enroll 300 adjuvant breast cancer patients nationwide.

Ware Malcomb, a commercial real estate design firm, has begun sketching plans for a medical office building to be located on the new Sutter Medical Center Campus in Santa Rosa. The three-story, 80,000 square-foot building is expected to house dozens of offices for physicians affiliated with the new hospital.

Redwood Mednet is presenting its seventh annual Connecting California to Improve Patient Care conference on Thursday, July 25, at the Hyatt Hotel in Santa Rosa. The conference features experts on electronic health records, personal health records and health information interoperability. Presentations will focus practical solutions for securely sharing electronic clinical information. For complete details, including registration, visit www.redwoodmednet.org.

SCMA supports the Northern California Center for Well-Being in Santa Rosa for patient chronic disease self-management. Physicians are encouraged to refer patients to the Center’s summer classes in diabetes management, smoking cessation, healthy weight and many more. For more details, download the Center’s summer class schedule or visit www.norcalwellbeing.org.

Local hematologists and oncologists are invited to attend a morning workshop on Treating Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma, to be held at the Westin St. Francis in San Francisco from 7:30 to 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 27. The workshop, which qualifies for 2.5 hours of CME, is chaired by faculty from the Mayo Clinic and the Winship Cancer Institute. To register, visit www.med-iq.com/a706 or call 866-858-7434.

To help physicians prepare for the health insurance exchanges mandated by the Affordable Care Act, CMA has created a Health Insurance Exchange Resources page at www.cmanet.org/resources. The page includes links to exchange-related guidebooks, fact sheets, webinars, seminars and news feeds. All of the material is free to CMA members.

A conference on Integrating Mind-Body Medicine into Clinical Practice will be held in San Francisco Oct. 5-9. Sponsored by the Center for Mind-Body Medicine, the conference offers a maximum of 31 Category 1 credits. The focus is on medical techniques to address stress, anxiety, trauma, insomnia and chronic illness. To register, visit www.cmbm.org.

The 21st annual Latino Health Forum runs from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 10, at the Flamingo Conference Resort in Santa Rosa. This year’s forum focuses on immigration and healthcare reform and features keynote speakers and morning and afternoon workshops. All local physicians, medical professionals and students interested in medical careers are invited to attend. Cost is just $80 if paid before Sept. 16. Physicians are encouraged to sponsor a student registration for $100. To register, or to sponsor a student registration, visit www.LatinoHealthForum.org.

SCMA members can get registration discounts for the Napa Primary Care Conference: Caring for the Active and Athletic Patient, to be held at the Napa Valley Marriott from Nov. 6 to 10. The conference is designed for physicians and medical professionals who care for active and athletic patients or who themselves lead such a lifestyle. Topics include common medical and musculoskeletal problems, healthy lifestyles and personal wellness. The conference offers up to 16 hours of CME. To register, visit the conference website.

CMA Practice Resources (CPR) is a free monthly email bulletin from MCA’S Center for Economic Services. The bulletin is full of tips and tools to help physicians and their office staff improve practice efficiency and viability. For a free subscription visit, www.cmanet.org/news-and-events/publications.

The following CMA webinars are scheduled for July and early August. Webinars begin at 12:15 p.m. and run until 1:15 or later. To register, visit www.cmanet.org. Seminars are free for CMA members and their staff; cost for nonmembers is $99 per person.

• Preparing for Phases 3 and 4 of the Healthy Families Program Transition to Medi-Cal (July 18)

• Protect and Preserve Your Patient Relationships (July 24)

• Medicare Transition-MAC Jurisdiction E Implementation Overview (August 7)

House for lease

Nicely furnished cozy two-bedroom home plus office available for one-year lease. Five minutes from downtown Santa Rosa. Walk to shopping and public transportation. All furnishings, flat screen TV, linens, dishes, etc. included. Photos available. $1,800 monthly. Deposit and references required. Contact: mcandgn@aol.com.

Office space needed

Need medical office space with 3 exam rooms and one shared office space. Contact Dr. Anne French at 707-326-0855.

Urodynamic monitor for sale

Urodynamic monitor--$2,900. Like new. Bard 4-channel urodynamic monitor with extra supplies. I left private practice and joined a large group and no longer need this monitor. It is in great condition and was hardly used. I am in the Santa Rosa area but can arrange delivery to other Bay Area locations. Contact Janet at 650-814-7155 or janetpulskamp@comcast.net.

SCMA members get free classifieds!

SCMA members can place free classified ads in News Briefs or Sonoma Medicine. Cost for nonmember physicians and the general public is $1 per word. To place a classified ad, contact Linda McLaughlin at Linda@scma.org or 707-525-4359.

Stephen Gamboa, MD, Family Medicine*, Emergency Medicine*, 401 Bicentennial Way, Santa Rosa 95403, Univ North Carolina 2004

Jamie Schick, MD, Emergency Medicine*, 401 Bicentennial Way, Santa Rosa 95403, Pennsylvania State Univ 1992

James Wong, MD, Surgery*, Vascular Surgery*, 401 Bicentennial Way #270, MOB East, Santa Rosa 95403, Robert Wood Johnson Med Sch 1991

* = board certified; italics = special medical interest

The Sonoma County Medical Association, a 501(c)(6) nonprofit association, supports local physicians and their efforts to enhance the health of the community. Founded in 1858, SCMA is affiliated with the California Medical Association and the American Medical Association.

© 2013 SCMA, 2901 Cleveland Ave. #202, Santa Rosa, CA 95403