The meeting included the KMA General Assembly legislative update and preview
LEXINGTON The 2024 officers of the Lexington Medical Society (LMS) assumed their duties on January 30, 2024, at the annual Presidential Transition and KMA Update meeting at the Signature Club in Lexington.
Angela Dearinger, MD, MPH, FACP, FAAP, is the new LMS president. Hope Cottrill, MD, is president-elect, Tina Fawns, MD, is secretary/treasurer and Christine Ko, MD, is vice-president-elect. It is the first time that all of the LMS officers are females.
Dearinger is board-certified in internal medicine and pediatrics with a master’s degree in public health. She has been a faculty member at the UK College of Medicine since 2005. In her acceptance speech, she recalled that she was from Paintsville, Kentucky, a graduate of Transylvania University in Lexington, and received her medical degree from the UK College of Medicine.
It was during her residency that Dearinger says she realized that “academic medicine was the career path for me,” so she returned to Kentucky and the UK College of Medicine to teach medical students and residents.
She noted several influential mentors, Dr. Chipper Griffin, dean of the UK College of Medicine, Dr. F. Doughlas Scutchfield, who “taught public health before it was in the UK curriculum,” and Dr. Tuyen Tran, who encouraged her to get involved in the LMS to “be part of the broader physician community.”
Cody Hunt, KMA health policy manager, gave an overview of the KY 2024 long session and noted healthcare bills such as the Omnibus Maternal Health Bill (HB10); AED & Sports Medicine (HB169); Criminal Liability for Health Care Providers (HB159); and Workplace Violence Against Healthcare Workers (HB194).
The next LMS dinner social meeting is scheduled for Thursday, March 21. The topic is “The White Coat Investor” and features speaker James Dahle, MD, a noted financial expert.