to ignore. The legislative landscape that governs our profession – Medicare reimbursement rates, scope of practice laws, insurance regulations, public health funding – are matters of concern. And while I understand that most of us went into medicine to care for patients and not to testify before a congressional subcommittee on physician payment reform, the current climate does not leave us with much choice. The truth is as simple as it is urgent: if we are not at the table, we are on the menu. So, let’ s sit at the table.
Dr. Scott is advocating for access to care, pushing back against administrative burdens and ensuring the physician’ s voice is heard at the federal level. Dr. Jiapeng Huang is doing it right now at the KMA. And GLMS, under this presidency, will do it here in Louisville and in Frankfort with the same urgency, the same discipline and the same fire! We will develop resolutions. We will send delegates. We will meet with legislators, show up in committee rooms and make our case. Our voice in organized medicine, at GLMS, at KMA and at the AMA is not separate from our work as physicians. It is an extension of it. Every time we advocate, we are doing what we were trained to do: Diagnosing a problem, developing a treatment plan and fighting for the best possible outcome for our patient. In this case, our patient is the profession itself. And the prognosis is good, if we act together. If we remain engaged, not fragmented.
Here is the truth: when physicians burn out, patients suffer. When doctors leave the profession, waiting rooms grow longer, rural communities go without care and the sacred covenant between physician and patient frays a little more each time. Physician wellness is a pillar of this presidency. We will take care of our patients. And we will take care of each other. Because“ United We Rise in Voice and Purpose” only works if we show up for one another. and we are going to walk across it together, and in force. The work happening at the state level directly affects what happens in our exam room, our operating room and our community.
Third, we must advocate loudly, persistently and without apology for our patients and our profession. HB 176 showed us what is possible. We will build on that victory and keep pushing. We will make the case, in every forum available to us, that physician-led care is not a luxury, it is a lifeline.
And fourth, we will invest in one another. In our wellness, our joy and our sense of shared mission. Because a physician who feels seen, supported and connected to a community of colleagues is a better physician.
That is the spirit of“ United We Rise: In Voice and Purpose.” Not a slogan on a banner. It is a promise we make to each other and carry forward.
So today, as I step into this role, I make a promise to each of you: I will show up. I will listen. I will fight for this society, for every patient whose well-being depends on the strength and unity of organized medicine. And I will ask you, each and every one of you, to rise with me.
In voice. In purpose. Together.
Dr. Bhatia is a Retired Professor of Cardiac Anesthesia at the University of Louisville and a retired member of the Scientific Committee of the Society of Cardiac Anesthesia.
I came to the U. S. from India. I trained across three continents. I have built a career in cardiac anesthesiology at the intersection of science, compassion and relentless learning. And I have had the extraordinary privilege of working alongside the finest physicians I have ever known, right here, in this city, in this society, in this room.
And what I have learned, above all else, is this: medicine at its best is never a solo act. The most complex cases I have managed, the ones where everything was on the line and every second mattered, were never resolved by a single physician acting alone. They were resolved by teams.
My priorities for this year are clear, and they flow directly from our slogan.
First, we must grow our membership, not just in numbers, but in belonging. Every physician in Greater Louisville, regardless of practice setting, specialty, background or years in medicine, must feel that GLMS is our home.
Second, we must deepen our partnership with the Kentucky Medical Association. Dr. Huang has built a bridge from Louisville to Frankfort,
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