News

The MSDC Board of Directors held its first meeting of 2022 on February 28, and the agenda was packed. Similar to the two previous meetings, Board members gathered in-person at MSDC's offices as well as online.

The agenda included a new proposal to create a gender equity task force, which the Board approved. This task force will issue a report, "detailing its positions on gender equity in medicine and provide tangible recommendations on how MSDC can further promote the advancement of this cause in medicine including, but not limited to, suggestions for programming, initiatives, and resources for members and the medical community at large." The task force will also create a reporting system to track the demographics and equitable representation among MSDC volunteers, speakers, and event attendees. The recommendations came from the Chairs of the Women in Medicine Section and Advocacy Committee as a follow-up to a presentation from the American Women's Medical Association last year.

The Board also approved a new policy on healthy foods in DC healthcare facilities, including hospitals. Recognizing that changes in public health can best be modeled when patients receive care, the new MSDC policy encourages all healthcare facilities to offer healthier food alternatives, stop serving processed meat, promote healthy beverages, and provide nutritional information for food served. The policy models the American Medical Association's policy, which MSDC's delegation also introduced.

In addition to these items, the Board took the following actions:

• Approving the deadline to renew membership dues of March 31
• Approving the 2022 Investment Policy Statement
• Approving contracting with GRF CPAs for the annual audit.
  

The Board heard a presentation from the Chair regarding COVID statistics in DC as well as expectations for Board members. The Board also discussed recent advocacy victories including:

• Introduction of legislation to reform prior authorization in DC
• Dr. Laurie Duncan testifying at the DC Health oversight hearing
• MSDC submitting testimony on legislation supporting FGM prohibition and stating concerns with CFSA policy on positive toxicology screenings during their oversight hearing

The meeting began with a presentation by Unity Insurance on its offerings for medical practices and physicians. Unity is MSDC's newest corporate partner and insurance option for DC physicians. For more information, see our press release.

The next MSDC Board meeting will be April 25, 2022. MSDC members in good standing may request an invitation to attend from Robert Hay Jr.