President's Message

june 2021

Dear PaACC Chapter Colleagues,

Before updating you on PaACC chapter activities, a note about the recent Supreme Court decision on Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturning Roe vs. Wade. The PaACC shares the ACC’s deep concerns, expressed in this statement, about the implications of this decision on the ability for patients and clinicians to engage in free, unfettered, critical shared discussions and pursue previously available health care options to protect maternal health, especially giving the growing maternal health – and maternal cardiovascular health - crisis in this state and country. Moving forward, the PaACC will continue to work with the ACC and the larger House of Medicine to address policies and laws threatening or criminalizing patient and clinician discussions on evidence-based, equitable maternal cardiovascular care. Additionally, the ACC’s Cardio-Obstetrics Workgroup has and is developing a series of tools, including this 5-part Focus Seminar published in JACC, to help support you in caring for women of reproductive age with cardiovascular disease – we will share more of these materials as they become available. Finally, we welcome your engagement in developing PaACC educational and advocacy activities in promoting maternal cardiovascular health – email president@pcacc.org if you would like to get involved.

A few notes about PaACC activities this summer:

• In collaboration with New York Chapter of the ACC and the Women in Cardiology and Early Career member sections of the ACC, the 4-part workshop series on “Microaggressions, Bias and Toxicity: Navigating Difficult Interactions in Cardiology" continues this summer. If you missed the first excellent session on “Tackling Hostility and Conflict Management: Negotiation and Confrontation Skills”, click here to view a recording. Make sure to sign up here for the upcoming session, happening on August 2at 4pm, on “Growing as a Leader and Overcoming Institutional Barriers”.

• The PaACC hosted a fantastic question/answer follow up session to its webinar “Developing a Racially Diverse Medical Team” focused on addressing important and challenging topics regarding diversity in the cardiovascular workforce. Click here to view the recording and here to view the original session.

• Over the summer, our chapter and member groups within it will be engaging in a series of strategic planning sessions to help develop a roadmap for chapter activities over the course of the next several years.  We welcome your input – email president@pcacc.org – and are looking forward to sharing plans in the Fall.

• Our PaACC advocacy team continues to work hard to ensure corrective legislation – PA House Bill 1280 - is passed to the address the flawed Act 112, the law that requires imaging interpreters to send confusing/alarming letters directly to patients for any "significant abnormality" detected on imaging studies. Please check your emails for an ACC Advocacy Alert which allows you to easily email your state Senators about how important this legislation is and, as an extra measure, take two minutes to call your Senator and encourage them to help pass this bill (look up their contact info here).

Finally, congratulations to all our fellows-in-training graduating from their training programs across the state this week! Please do keep in touch with us and make sure to update your contact info, especially your email address, at ACC.org. If you haven’t already, apply to be an FACC – it is easy. free to apply using promo code MyFACC, and only takes few minutes to complete the application! More info here.

As always, check out our website atwww.pcacc.org, follow us on Twitter @PAChapterACC, and please reach out any time via president@pcacc.org with questions, ideas, needs or if you would like to get involved in PaACC activities.

President, PaACC

Governor, Eastern PA

Humans of Cardiology is an opportunity for PaACC members to share motivating stories about their personal and professional lives and was inspired by the wildly popular Humans of New York series. Submit your story and view past posts here.