KMA Community
Connector Program
By David Bensema,
M.D.
When physicians talk, people
listen. The high esteem in
which physicians are held
makes their leadership in
the community integral to addressing the
disconnect between community leaders
and sound health policy. The Kentucky
Medical Association’s Community Connector
Leadership Program (CCLP) aims to help
Kentucky physicians close that gap in their
communities.
Started in 2013, the KMA Community
Connector program is designed to make physician leaders even better leaders. The program
provides training to enhance community leadership to ensure the voice of medicine is heard
when decisions regarding health care are made.
As the 2014-2015 president of KMA, I am
proud to have been a member of the inaugural
class of the CCLP in 2014.
Health care is undergoing tremendous transformation and many of the decisions affecting
that transformation are being made by people
outside of medicine. Physicians can impact
these changes at the local level, but they must
be connected with local civic, business, and
political leaders on issues related to medical
care. The CCLP helps physicians make those
connections and become more involved in
their local communities. It provides a support
system and network to make Kentucky – and
local communities – a healthier and better
place to live.
Good individual health is vital to the health
of our communities. Physicians play a unique
and important role in achieving that goal. Poor
health behaviors and related problems are so
engrained within our communities that they
can only be changed through a united effort on
multiple fronts. The more the public is aware
of these initiatives, the greater the success will
be.
That’s why we at KMA are excited about
the work of the nine 2014 graduates of the
Community Connector Leadership Program.
Here are a few examples:
• Divya B. Cantor, MD, of Louisville, helped
to educate legislators on clinical testing on
newborns and testing for breast and ovarian cancer;
• John A. Patterson, MD, of Lexington,
writes a monthly column for Health &
Wellness Magazine, a health magazine in
Lexington;
• Vaughn W. Payne, MD, of Louisville, was
a speaker at the Heart Truth for Women
program in southeastern Kentucky; and
• Fred A. Williams, Jr., MD, of Louisville,
has given several health-related presentations to students.
In addition to participation in a public education activity, physician leaders are involved in
a leadership role within and outside medicine
in their communities. Here is how some
members of the 2014 class of Community
Connectors are involved:
• Jiapeng Huang, MD, of Louisville, is chair
of the Department of Anesthesiology at
KYOneHealth and serves on the Board of
Directors of the Kentucky Chinese School;
• Rice C. Leach, MD, of Lexington, is
CEO of the Lexington-Fayette County
Health Department and is president of the
Lexington Medical Society;
• Daneesh Mazloomdoost, MD, of
Lexington, serves on the Lexington
Medical Society Administrative Council
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Summer 2015 • Kentucky
and on the Board of Directors of the Hope
Center; and
• Gordon T. Tobin, II, MD, of Louisville,
serves on the board of the Center for
Interfaith Relations-Festival of Faiths.
The KMA Community Connector Program
is a great way for physicians to enhance their
innate leadership abilities and develop a better
understanding of policy, process, and governance. To learn more, check out the information at www.kyma.org under the Physician
Resources tab, or contact KMA staff member
Laura Hartz at 502-814-1386 or hartz@kyma.
org and start your journey to leadership.
Eighteen physicians from around Kentucky are
participating in ѡ