Gayle Davies

The Ritz Carlton Hotel is Sold out. If you need accommodations please reserve a room at the Tru Hotel. We have a shuttle service provided.
Hotel Amenities – Tru by Hilton Greensboro Lake Oconee

One Day. Three Transformative Cardiovascular Topics.
Unlimited Opportunities to Learn.

The GA ACC CVT Conference 2026 is where cardiovascular professionals come together to experience the latest innovations, learn from nationally recognized experts, and gain practical insights that can immediately impact patient care. Immerse yourself in high-impact sessions covering Structural Heart, Interventional Cardiology, and Heart Failure while networking with colleagues and industry leaders from across the region.

Set against the stunning backdrop of The Ritz-Carlton Reynolds, Lake Oconee, this premier educational event delivers world-class education in an exceptional setting. Whether you’re a cardiovascular technologist, nurse, advanced practice provider, physician, paramedic or allied professional, this is the conference everyone will be talking about.

Registration is now open. Secure your seat today and be part of Georgia’s premier cardiovascular technology conference—where innovation meets excellence and the future of cardiovascular care takes center stage.

Jason Grady, NRP, AACC
CVT Chair
GA Chapter – American College of Cardiology
jason.grady@northside.com

Video Toolkit coming soon.

GA Chapter American College of Cardiology proudly congratulates our newly appointed FACCs and AACCs on this well-deserved achievement!

Your appointment reflects your dedication, leadership potential, and commitment to excellence in cardiovascular care.

AACC’s

• Shalonda Pettis, BS, DMSc, MSc, PA-C, AACC
• Mrs. Meg Sporn, CCK, FNP-C, AGACNP-BC, AACC
• LaQuinta Grizzard, MSN, RN, BSN, NE-BC, AACC
• Rachel Bennett, RN, AACC
• Kristen E Cornelius, AGACNP-BC, CV-BC, AACC

FACC’s

• Ahmed AlBadri, MD, FACC
• Emmanuel Olayiwola Amoran, MD, MPH, RPVI
• Muath Bishawi, MD, FACC
• Jamie Elizabeth Diamond, MD, MPH, BS, FACC
• Anh Do, DO, D-Card, FACC
• Sheriff Nii Ofei Dodoo, MB ChB, FACC
• Lisa Dyke, MD, FACC
• Leyla Fowe Makue, MD, BS, FACC
• Mariana Garcia, MD, MSCR, FACC
• Venkata Sai Gogineni, MD, FACC
• Samer S Kabbani, MD, FACC
• Kanika Kalra, MD, FACC
• Maelynn La, MD, FACC
• Willibroad Maimo, MD, CLS, FACC
• Catherine Marti, MD, MSc, FACC
• Corrin McCloskey, MPH, FACC
• Vivek Amit Modi, MD, FACC
• Billy Joe Mullinax, MD
• Murti Patel, MD
• Charlene L Rohm, MD, FACC
• Subhadra Shashidharan, MD, FACC
• Pinang Shastri, DO, MPH, MS, BS, FACC
• Kanya Singhapakdi, DO, FACC
• Shannon Etheridge Whitten, DNP, MPH, FNP-BC, CCRN, NP-BC, AACC
• Alan Daniel Winston, MD, FACC
• An Young, MD, MPH, D-Card, FACC

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.

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.