Gayle Davies

Dear Georgia EC Members,

The Class of 2027 applications are now open for ACC’s Leadership Accelerator Program, a nine‑month, high‑impact leadership development program designed specifically for ACC early career members (defined as within seven years of completing CV specialty education, CV residency, or training) or CV Team members (NP, RN, Pharmacist, PA, Psychologist, etc.) who are seeking to define and strengthen their leadership skills.

The Leadership Accelerator combines in‑person and virtual learning, small‑group collaboration, and hands‑on skill‑building to support the development of core leadership competencies, including communication, agility, energy management, trust‑building, and more.

Applications are due online by Tuesday, May 19.

Please contact Leadership_Accelerator@ACC.org with any questions!

The Office of Cardiac Care and Emergency Cardiac Care Center designations were signed into law through Georgia Senate Bill 102 in 2017. As of today, we have 48 Emergency Cardiac Care Centers, and our office is looking to continue creating an entire state system of care for cardiac.

Currently, our office is in the dire need of additional physicians who are willing to join the team of other dedicated site visitors who designate hospitals as either Level I, II, or III across the state of Georgia. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to have physicians and other cardiac care personnel from non-competing hospitals perform the site visits with the Department of Public Health staff. Compensation is available.

Please see the details in the attached doc.

Colleagues,

HeartPAC’s 2026 March Mayhem Challenge is underway, and this is a great opportunity for our chapter to show up strong. Over the next several weeks, chapters across the country will compete based on member participation — and every contribution makes a difference.

I encourage you to get involved, support HeartPAC, and help us climb the bracket. In addition to advancing advocacy for our profession and patients, participation also unlocks access to special events and opportunities.

Let’s make a strong showing together.

Thank you for your support,
Pascha Schafer

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HeartPAC is excited to announce that the 2026 HeartPAC March Mayhem Challenge has officially begun! Over the next six weeks, Chapters will compete with one another to see who can get the most members to support HeartPAC! The winner will take home the title of 2026 March Mayhem Champion, along with other special prizes. Check out the official announcement here:

How will this work?

• All 48 ACC Chapters will be organized into four “size conferences” – Small, Medium, Medium-Large and Large.

• The challenge will begin at ACC.26 when we set the bracket. The top 8 chapters from each conference with the highest percent participation rates as of 5 PM on Sunday, March 29, will make the tournament. So, get your Chapter going now!

• Rounds will continue over the next three weeks – Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight, Final Four. Each round will last one week and Chapters will compete against one another in the bracket based on new members gained during that week. Of the Final Four, the Chapter with the most improvement in participation rate during the tournament will win.

What are the prizes?

Chapters who make it to the Final Four will receive scholarships for FIT members of their chapters to attend ACC’s Legislative Conference taking place in Washington, D.C. Oct. 4-6, 2026.

The Chapter that wins the Finals will receive a March Mayhem champion trophy and a unique opportunity for a young professional member from their Chapter to visit Washington, D.C. This visit, which is separate from the Legislative Conference, will offer a firsthand look at day-to-day advocacy efforts in D.C. The participant will attend meetings on Capitol Hill, events, and more, alongside the ACC Advocacy team.

Important note: Contributions received prior to the beginning of ACC.26 will be counted toward the first round.

Now’s the perfect time to contribute to gain access to exclusive HeartPAC events while onsite in New Orleans – check them out below!

Annual HeartPAC Reception
Sunday, March 29 | 5 – 8 PM CT
Jolie, 324 Julia St, New Orleans, LA
*Open to ACC members who have contributed to HeartPAC in 2026

Please RSVP to Anjana Parashar at aparashar@acc.org

HeartPAC Donor Lounge
Saturday, March 28 – Monday, March 30 | 7 AM – 5 PM CT
Lounge & Learn Pavilion, Ernest N. Morial Convention Center
Serving breakfast, lunch and snacks daily!
*Open to $250+ 2026 contributors ($25 for Students/Residents/FITs; $50 for CV Team/Chapter Executives)

Join the challenge and secure your spot in the lounge by making a contribution today! We look forward to seeing all of you soon.

Safe travels,

Pascha E. Schafer MD, FACC
Chair, HeartPAC

Andrew R. Waxler, MD, FACC
Vice-Chair, HeartPAC

Contributions to ACC HeartPAC are completely separate from ACC member dues. Contributions to HeartPAC will be used in connection with federal elections and are subject to the prohibitions and limitations of the Federal Election Campaign Act. HeartPAC is a Political Action Committee established and operating pursuant to the Federal Election Campaign Act. The decision to contribute is voluntary, and refusal to contribute can be made without reprisal. Contributions to ACC Political Action Committee are not tax deductible.

Nominations are now open for the 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award to be presented at our annual meeting at the Ritz Carlton Lodge at Lake Oconee, November 20-22, 2026.

This award honors an adult or pediatric cardiologist or cardiovascular surgeon that has made significant contributions to medicine through patient care, medical education, research or community service as a member of the Georgia Chapter of the American College of Cardiology, and whose lifetime of service deserves special recognition.

If you would like to nominate someone, please send your nomination directly to Arthur Reitman, MD, FACC, Chair, Awards Committee, arthur.reitman@wellstar.org.

Please explain the basis for your nomination and why you think the person is worthy of this coveted award. Our committee will then prioritize the nominees and present them to the Chapter’s Council for selection.

The deadline for receipt of nominations for the award is March 15.

Don’t forget to save the date for our annual meeting.

Past Award Recipients

2025 Henry Liberman, MD, FACC
2024 William A. Blincoe, MD, FACC
2023 Byron R. Williams, Jr., MD
2022 Robert M. Campbell, MD

2021 Robert A. Guyton, MD, FACC

2019 Robert Vincent MD; CM, FACC, MSCAI

2018 John Cantwell, MD

2017 Jere Lutz, MD

2016 Kenneth Dooley, MD

2015 Paul L. Douglass, MD

2014 Douglas Morris, MD
2013 Charles Wickliffe, MD
2012 Stan Sherman, MD

2011 Robert Franch, MD

2010 John S. Douglas, Jr., MD

2009 Nanette K. Wenger, MD

2008 Willis Williams, MD

2007 Stephen Clements, MD

2006 J. Willis Hurst, MD; Bruce Logue, MD

2005 Robert Ellison, MD

2004 C. Walker Beeson, MD

2003 William Plauth, Jr., MD

2002 Spencer King, III, MD

CMS has announced regions where qualifying specialists will be mandated to participate in the new Ambulatory Specialty Model (ASM) for heart failure. Cardiologists in these selected regions who annually treat 20 or more heart failure (HF) patients covered by traditional Medicare will be required to participate in ASM for HF.

The following geographic areas of Georgia were selected:  

12020	CBSA	GA	Athens-Clarke County, GA
12054	Metropolitan Division	GA	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
16860	CBSA	GA	Chattanooga, TN-GA
20060	CBSA	GA	Douglas, GA
23580	CBSA	GA	Gainesville, GA
42340	CBSA	GA	Savannah, GA
45700	CBSA	GA	Tifton, GA

ASM is a five-year specialty model designed to test whether episode-based accountability for chronic conditions can improve outcomes and reduce cost of care beginning on January 1, 2027.  Based on the MIPS program, ASM for HF is a two-sided risk model that will evaluate individual clinician performance based on specific quality and cost measures, improvement activities, and promoting interoperability. Evaluation of performance in ASM will positively or negatively impact the totality of participant’s Medicare Part B payments by as much as 9%.

CMS plans to release a preliminary list of participants in the coming weeks. ACC encourages our members to begin their education and preparation steps as soon as possible. For more details on AMS for HF, visit the ACC webpage for Ambulatory Specialty Model For Heart Failure – American College of Cardiology.