ACC Georgia Chapter

Gayle Davies

Lifetime Achievement Award – John D. Cantwell, MD, MACP, FACC

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Dr. John  Cantwell is a third- generation   physician from Wisconsin, who is the father of a physician and a nurse. He is a cardiologist with the Piedmont Heart Institute in Atlanta, GA.

He attended Duke University where he majored in English, participated in varsity basketball, and was a member of Duke’ s first ACC championship team. After graduating from Northwestern Medical School, he interned at the University of Florida and obtained a medicine residency at the Mayo Clinic. Post­ doctoral fellowships in cardiology were served at the University of California, San Diego, and Emory University.

Dr. Cantwell is a Fellow in the American College of Cardiology and the American College of Sports Medicine, also a Master in the American College of Physicians. He has been a consultant to the President’s Council of Physical Fitness and Sports, and served as a team physician for the Atlanta Braves for 41 seasons (1976-2016). He continues to work with Georgia Tech athletic screening and the Georgia Special Olympics. He was president of the Association of Major League Baseball Team Physicians in 2000. He co-founded the first outpatient Cardiac Rehab Program in Georgia in 1970 and opened the Preventive Cardiology Clinic in 1972, which was one of the first in the country.

Dr. Cantwell enjoys creative writing, reading, mountain trekking, and participation sports with his wife, two children and six grandchildren. He is an active member of the Explorers Club and has enjoyed adventure travels to all seven continents. Most recently, he and his wife participated in medical mission trips to Bhutan and Cambodia. He is a charter member of his high school’ s Sports Hall of Fame for his football, basketball, and baseball exploits, and still holds the school’s career basketball scoring record.

Awards and honors include the Atlantic Coast Conference Honor Roll for Scholarship and Athletics, the Aven Cup (highest award of the Medical Association of Atlanta), and the Morehouse Medical School Award of Excellence (other recipients include Archbishop Tutu, Jane Fonda, Lennie Wilkens, and Edwin Moses), and a 3- time winner of the Montague Boyd award for medical writing and editing. Dr. Cantwell served as editor of the Journal of the Medical Association of Georgia from 1999-2003. In 2007 he received the Mayo Clinic Alumni Association’s Professional Achievement Award for exceptional work as a clinician, researcher, and educator. In 2008 Georgia Trend magazine cited him as one of their five “Healthcare Heroes” in the state. In 2011 he was honored with a mastership in the American College of Physicians.

 

Georgia Takes Large Delegation to Capitol Hill to Protect the Specialty

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Almost 450 cardiovascular professionals, including 16 from the Georgia Chapter participate in ACC’s annual Legislative Conference. This essential event informs lawmakers about the difference cardiovascular professionals make in the lives of our patients and allows participants to share our vision for continuing the advancement of cardiovascular care.

Key issues presented by the participants to the
Senatorial and Congressional offices were:

 

      • Foster medical innovation and research through robust funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
      • Exercise careful oversight of issues that contribute to administrative burden and detract from patient care, including undue limitation on access to medication and other necessary therapies, prior authorization and lack of EHR interoperability.
      • Continue bipartisan collaboration on cardiovascular priorities. As an example, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 included provisions of great importance to cardiovascular clinicians and the broader healthcare community.

Thanks to the following for their participation on behalf of our chapter:

Drs Adam Berman, Charlie Brown, Tom Deering, Jackie Green,
Kunal Gurav, Gina Lundberg, Jerre Lutz, Tim Maddux (FIT),
Jeff Marshall, Arthur Reitman, Pascha Schafer, Prad Tummula,
Bo Walpole and Executive Director Hank Holderfield.

 


Dr. Jerre Lutz, ACCPAC Board member, was recognized for attending 26 of the 27 legislative conferences that have been held.

 

GA ACCPAC Challenge Results

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Thank you to the 29 members who contributed to the GA ACCPAC Challenge!


Georgia ranked 2nd in number and dollars raised,
and 3rd in % of members participating.

ACCPAC’s State Giving Challenge

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TO: Members, Georgia Chapter of the ACC

As you may be aware, there is a national initiative underway to raise awareness and solicit donations for the ACCPAC. Nationally, the ACC is attempting to raise as much as we can between the Kentucky Derby and the Indy 500 road race.

We thought a Georgia “$50 to the 500” campaign could get Georgia way ahead of the national giving average. We already lead the country in dollars, but not in percentage participation. This is a nominal amount of money so we expect to get 100% involvement. To donate, simply click on this link: www.accpacweb.org and follow the instructions. The minimum is $50 but any amount can be donated.

Your PAC is the only voice we have on Capitol Hill and has been tirelessly protecting the rights of your patients, and your practice of medicine.

We look forward to seeing you either at our annual meeting at the Ritz at Lake Oconee November 16-18!

Thank you in advance for your contribution.

Charles Brown, MD, FACC, President

The ACCPAC Race to Indy 500 State Giving Challenge is off to a great start having raised more than $10,000 in the first week. With two weeks remaining in the challenge, there are plenty of opportunities for states to step up to the advocacy plate and win the challenge in any of the categories. Please join your fellow ACC members in supporting GA by participating in the ACCPAC fundraising challenge NOW through Sunday, May 27.

As a reminder, winning states in the following categories will be recognized in future ACCPAC publications and at ACC’s 2018 Legislative Conference: Most Dollars Raised; Most New Contributors; Highest Average Contribution; Highest Participation Rate.

We are providing a daily count until Memorial Day as part of our National competition for ACC PAC contributions.

To date we have 9 out of 1039 Members contributing to the PAC for a total of $1,928.00.

New Shared Decision Making requirements for ICD reimbursement

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Watch ACC/HRS Leaders Discuss New CMS ICD Policy and Shared Decision-Making Requirement. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released a final policy decision updating the national coverage determination (NCD) governing implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) implantation for Medicare fee-for-service patients.

The policy includes a requirement for a shared decision making encounter for four of the six covered indications for ICD implantation. Learn more about the policy and new requirement, including a case study of a shared decision-making tool used at the VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System, in a joint ACC and Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) webinar.

View the webinar here: ow.ly/eyH030iOotS

Call for Nominations for the Lifetime Achievement Award

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Nominations are now open for the 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award to be presented at our annual meeting at the Ritz Carlton Lodge at Lake Oconee, November 16-18, 2018.

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 Donald Page, MD, FACC, Chair, Awards Committee, donald.page@wellstar.org, or by fax to 770.271.0634.

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 April 4.

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