The CSA elected Karen Sibert, MD, as President on Sunday, June 4, at the annual
meeting of the House of Delegates held this year in Irvine. She succeeds outgoing President Mark Zakowski, MD, who received a standing ovation from the delegates – and a personalized LA Dodgers jersey – for his dedicated and indefatigable service to the society over the past year. Sam Wald, MD, MBA, leaves his current position as Chair of CSA’s Educational Programs Division (EPD) to become our next President-Elect.
In response to requests for more practice management resources from many CSA members, the House approved the establishment of two separate committees within the Legislative and Practice Affairs Division (LPAD): one for Legislative Affairs, which will continue its focus on political advocacy, and a separate one for Practice Management (PM). The new PM committee, chaired by Keith Chamberlin, MD, MBA, plans to offer more practice management content at next spring’s educational meeting, and will explore appropriate corporate partnerships as an economic benefit to CSA members.
The House awarded its highest honor, the Distinguished Service Award, to Patricia
Kapur, MD, who served formerly as Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology at UCLA, and as Executive Vice President of UCLA Health. Dr. Kapur gave exemplary service to CSA for years as Chair of EPD and as Secretary, and is a nationally recognized educator and leader in anesthesiology. She delivered the Leffingwell Honorary Lecture to CSA’s educational meeting in 2015.
In other actions, the House of Delegates approved:
- Establishment of a new CSA Foundation for Education, to be chaired by Gabriel Sarah, MD;
- Allocation of nearly $50,000 to GASPAC, CSA’s political action fund;
- Additional funds to support resident attendance at state and national meetings;
- A resolution supporting lifelong learning and acquisition of new skills, but stating the CSA’s position that Maintenance of Certification (MOC) should not be a mandatory criterion for medical licensure, hospital privileges, or participation on insurance panels;
- The nomination of Michael Champeau, MD, a former CSA President and current ASA Assistant Treasurer, as next year’s Distinguished Service Award winner.
Ronald Pearl, MD, PhD, succeeds Dr. Wald as the new Chair of EPD. Rita Agarwal, MD, FAAP, succeeds Dr. Sibert as the new Chair of the Committee on Professional and Public Communications. Annie Lee, MD, becomes the new Chair of the Committee on Legislative Affairs, replacing her previous title as Vice Chair of LPAD. Larry Sullivan, MD, a past CSA President, was named an alternate delegate to the California Medical Association.
Other CSA officers reelected to their current positions include:
Christine Doyle, MD, Speaker of the House
Ed Mariano, MD, MAS, Vice Speaker
Linda Hertzberg, MD, ASA Director
Johnathan Pregler, MD, ASA Alternate Director
Jeffrey Poage, MD, Chair of LPAD.
In a contested election, ten delegates to the ASA House of Delegates were elected or re-elected:
Lee-Lynn Chen, MD, Director of District 6
Adrian Gelb, MBChB, past Chair of EPD
Philip Levin, MD, Assistant Secretary
Ed Mariano, MD, MAS, Vice Speaker
Rima Matevosian, MD, Secretary
Jeffrey Poage, MD, Chair of LPAD
Karen Sibert, MD, President
Peter Sybert, MD, Past President
Mark Zakowski, MD, Immediate Past President
Shalini Shah, MD, Director of District 13
In her remarks to the House, Dr. Sibert highlighted three major initiatives for the coming year:
- Refocusing the House of Delegates so that it spends less time on parliamentary details and more time considering major issues and strategy;
- Developing “precision communication” for CSA to identify each member's needs and make sure members receive only the information they want to receive;
- Through the new CSA Foundation on Education, making the CSA’s name synonymous with generosity, STEM education for California public high schools, and safe, physician-led anesthesia care.
Dr. Zakowski thanked Executive Director David Butler, the CSA’s staff at AMG,
lobbyists Bryce Docherty and Vanessa Cajina, and KP Public Relations experts Alison Macleod and Lisa Yarbrough, for all their work this year contributing to CSA’s success. He urged all the members of the House to continue to be “ABA-certified” – “Always Be Advocating”!
The CSA congratulates all the new officers, committee chairs, and ASA delegates, and extends sincere thanks to the members of the House of Delegates for their time and hard work at this year’s annual meeting.
Stay tuned for next week’s column focusing on legislative updates and on actions taken by the House to support our political and regulatory advocacy for years to come.