THE POLK COUNTY ME d ICAL SOCIETY Official Publication of the Polk County Medical Society VOLUME 82 No. 1 Des Moines, Iowa January/February 2010 Inside This Issue Feature Articles 2010 2010 Legislative Breakfast 4 EXECUTIVE COUNCIL Monica Hanson M.D. poem 9 OFFICERS Robert Shires, D.O. poem 11 Janie C. Hendricks, D.O. President 2010 Executive Council 14 John N. Zittergruen, D.O. 2010 PCMS Annual Meeting 16 President-Elect Donny W. Suh, M.D. 2010 Legislative Report 21 Secretary-Treasurer Young Physicians 24 COUNCILORS Ravinder K. Agarwal, M.D. 2010 PCMS Calendar of Events 31 Mark A. Barnhill, D.O. Philip J. Colletier, M.D. Monthly Articles Dennis M. Fry, M.D. Randy N. Maigaard, M.D. President’s Message 5 Lynn M. Nelson, M.D. Kendall Reed, D.O. Executive Director’s Message 6 Louis E. Schneider, D.O. Doctors in the News 22 Margaret H. Verhey, M.D. VPN 23 Past President Alliance Message 25 Robin W. Barnett, D.O. March Birthdays 28 EdITORIAL BOARd EdITOR Steven R. Eckstat, D.O. April Birthdays 30 MANAgINg EdITOR Kathie J. Lyman ON COVER: 2010 President, Janie Hendricks, D.O., presents plaque to outgoing President, Robin W. Barnett, D.O. Disclaimer: The author’s views Articles and editorial inquiries should be directed to: do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Polk 515-288-0172 County Medical Society. Products Editor, PCMS Bulletin and services advertised in the 1520 High Street http://www.pcms.org Bulletin are neither endorsed nor Des Moines, IA 50309 e-mail: [email protected] guaranteed by the Polk County Medical Society. Publication design and layout by LCS for more information visit www.lymancs.com. LE g ISLATIVE BREAKFAST “ PCMS LEGISLATIVE “ BREAKFAST AT CAPITOL The Polk County Medical with physicians, and SSB Society met with over 50 Iowa 3085 support nullification Legislators on Wednesday, of the Board of Nursing rule January 27th at the Iowa expanding ARNPs scope of Capitol. On behalf of physicians practice to include supervising and their patients, members of fluoroscopy. The doctors also the Polk County Medical Society support continued funding advocated with the leadership for the Volunteer Physician and individual members of the Network ensuring continued legislature opposing SP 153 patient access to specialty care. and the ability for physician PCMS members advocated for assistants to form corporations our 2010 legislative priorities Representative Rod Roberts with Janie Hendricks, D.O. in background. L-R Senator Staci Appel discusses PCMS Legislative priorities with, Lenard Kerr, D.O., Clint Harris, M.D. continued on page 13 4 PCMS BULLETIN * JAN/FEB 2010 PRESI d ENT’S MESSA g E “ OBESITY “Janie C. Hendricks, D.O. I n the medical There is some good news in recent reports. community today Compared to the previous ten year period, there is a lot of the rate of increase in overweight and obese discussion about adults has slowed, but this is not good health care costs enough. We need to aggressively prevent and the cost of obesity. healthcare reform, I would like to There are many presumed reasons for this suggest an alternate obesity epidemic: increasing wealth and view. Perhaps as availability of food, food additives, and the physicians we should be addressing health proliferation of fast-food restaurants and rather than health care. If we could address jumbo sized portions of food just to name a preventive measures and therefore create few. We are also raising a society of inactive healthier Americans, I suspect healthcare adults and children who consume many more costs would plummet over time. Granted the calories than they burn. immediate return on our investment would not be large, but over time billions of dollars What can we do to begin raising healthier and could be saved. “lighter” Americans? Denmark has introduced legislation to tax trans-fats and sweets in Looking at just one area of healthcare: obesity, addition to the tax on sodas they have already may demonstrate this point. According to the passed. There is no proof that this approach Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will work, but it is an interesting idea. (CDC) obesity related conditions accounted for 10% of total annual medical expenses in We have made huge strides in our battle 2008 or $147 billion. Even a 20% reduction in against smoking with public health the number of obese Americans would save campaigns and education of our children. billions of health care dollars yearly. We need to increase our efforts to educate our children about nutrition, health, and How large is the obesity epidemic in exercise. The N HANES data suggest that America? The National Health and Nutrition already 17% of our school-age children Examination Survey (N HANES) shows that are obese. There has been a move toward 68% of US adults were overweight in 2007- healthier school lunches and requiring 2008. The obesity rate (BMI >30.0) rose physical education in school, but NOW IS from 13.4% to 33.8% over forty years. To THE TIME for a concentrated nationwide paraphrase: most Americans are overweight effort to prevent obesity and raise a healthier and over 1/3 are obese. Some experts predict generation of Americans.. continued on page 13 that at the present rate of weight gain, almost half of all adults in the United States would be considered obese by 2020. SHOCKING! PCMS BULLETIN * JAN/FEB 2010 5 E X E C U T I V E d IRECTOR’S MESSA g E “ KATHIE J. LYMAN “Scholarship Fund First Recipents Kathie J. Lyman presents 1st recipient from Des Moines University, Mackenzie (Mack) Worthington with Scholarship. No I am certainly not retiring. Some of you Most of you know that my career has been may have wondered because after 20 years as working with doctors in Medical Staff and your Executive Director, the Board established Medical Education. As the Administrator a Kathie J. Lyman scholarship fund for medical of Mercy Medical Education, I assisted in students recognizing my work with physicians establishing the first medical student rotations and medical education. I am humbled by this with the medical students at Des Moines honor. University, (formerly University of Osteopathic 6 PCMS BULLETIN * JAN/FEB 2010 E X E C U T I V E d IRECTOR’S MESSA g E Medicine and Health Sciences) County Medical Society for this in the early 70’s. Over the years, scholarship which will allow along with the doctors and him to continue his medical PCMS board, I have advocated education and achieve his goal for assistance with medical to sustain quality medical care education costs. As the cost of for the communities in Iowa”. medical education escalates this scholarship is timely and The second scholarship was will provide support to medical awarded to Gabriel Fierro-Fine, students annually. One of the University of Iowa medical recipients will be from the student. Gabriel is a second University of Iowa Medical year medical student who School and one from Des grew up with little access to Moines University Osteopathic Gabriel Fierro-Fine health care. That experience Medical School. The PCMS University of Iowa recipent led him to want to become scholarship will provide the a doctor. He works in less annual scholarship recipients desirable neighborhoods with $1,000 each. The awards will be presented to provide healthcare to the underserved. at the annual meeting which will recognize the Seeing people denied basic healthcare due to medical student’s scholarly achievements and income and language barriers has profoundly financial needs. impacted his life. Gabriel this year was elected mayor by his peers at the Carver College of It was very exciting for me to present the first Medicine. He helped run a physician-medical Kathie J. Lyman Scholarship award of $1,000 student mentoring program for first and at the PCMS Annual Meeting on January 13th second year students to improve them both to Mackenzie (Mack) Worthington, a first year academically and professionally. He joined the medical student from Des Moines University Iowa National Guard Medical Corps to serve the Osteopathic Medical School. Mack is the oldest Iowa community and also to provide healthcare of five children, four currently in college and the to the men and women who put their lives on first in the family to pursue a medical degree. the line for our state and country. Mr. Fierro-Fine was unable to attend the PCMS Annual Meeting. Mack grew up on a farm in Central Iowa where However, he sent a letter of sincere thanks to the he learned science in his hands with many Polk County Medical Society physicians for their types of livestock and caring for animals. His support and assistance with medical education grandfather’s lung cancer moved him to learn for him and other students. more about the challenges in health care in the US and also around the world. During his My sincere thanks to all of the doctors who under grad at Simpson Mack volunteered for contributed to the Kathie J. Lyman Scholarship medical missions while helping on the farm. Fund. Your support sent a clear message He witnessed the health conditions in three that PCMS doctors are grateful to the young countries. Mack wrote in his essay: “I quickly professionals who chose medical education, learned the consequences of not having clean and ensures support of future medical students. or boiling water, unsanitary medical practices in medical facilities, and can still picture a You can still contribute to this worthwhile woman in labor with the roof falling in the room scholarship as PCMS builds the fund. Your she had, seeing the sky in a delivery room.