CVMS Board Minutes

for August 2, 2023

COASTAL VIRGINIA MEDICAL SOCIETY

BOARD MEETING

AUGUST 2, 2023

WESTIN PENTHOUSE

Call to Order:  6:30 p.m.

Introductions:  Dr. David Archer, Director-at-Large; Dr. Juan Montero, II, Advisory Board; and James Beckner as Business Manager.

Other Members present: Keith Berger, MD, Greg Warth, MD, Lisa Barr, MD, Dr. Alexandria Berger, Jerome S. Blackman, MD

OLD BUSINESS:

1.     Our tax-exempt status has been approved and verified by SCC and the IRS.  Member dues can be deducted as a business expense but not as a charity.

2.     CVMS account at Towne Bank has been created and is ready to accept funds.

3.     A “Membership Join” page has been set up on the website.  Payment links have been added.  Letters will be sent out soon to invite physicians, residents and medical students to join.  We discussed whether to include PAs and NPs.  It was decided that they have their own organizations, and their interests may not always coincide with ours.  Therefore, they will not be included at this time. 

4.     We discussed advocacy proposals to submit to MSV which are due by 8/29/23.  We will prepare several proposals including: a.  Removal of CON laws.  b.  Price transparency.  c.  Mental health improvement.  d. Removal of prior authorizations.  e.  Establish opiate control and pain management clinics, state owned and operated, and potentially others.

5.     Delegates that will attend the 8/29/23 caucus at the MSV annual meeting in October include Greg Warth, Keith Berger, Duane Lawrence, Joel Bundy, and Lisa Barr. 

6.     Dr. Blackman has agreed to serve as Secretary as well as Director of Mental Health. 

NEW BUSINESS: 

1.     We will work toward reestablishment of the Virginia Beach Free Clinic which is currently closed. 

2.     We will send a letter of support for the Safe Haven project at MSV and notify our members via newsletter and website that this is available and can be accessed from our site as well as MSV. 

3.     James Beckner, the Executive Director for the Richmond Academy of Medicine, provided a presentation regarding what he would be able to do for us as our “Business Manager.”  He can provide multiple resources and extensive knowledge of how medical societies in other parts of the state and nation work including best practices, newsletters, communications and other significant information about how to proceed effectively regarding our goals for advocacy and networking.  Our Executive Director, Brenda Musto, has been in communication with Mr. Beckner and will be available to assist us in any way she can.  She works on an hourly rate and will be paid accordingly. 

4.     Marketing:  We will begin advertising.  Business cards have been made up.  A flyer has been written that can be distributed in doctors’ lounges, clinics and doctors’ offices.  We will maintain a Facebook page and try to post something at least once a week to promote our organization.  We will join the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce.  We will continue to add vendors to our Corporate Sponsorship Program.  Currently, they get free advertising for one year and then if they do get business from our website, then they will agree to provide some benefits for our members such as discounts, sponsoring a dinner, etc.  The following organizations have already joined our Corporate Sponsor Program:  Professional Risk, Altura Wealth, Pearl Health and Eastern Data IT Services. 

I have discussed the Virginia Medical Group Management Association with one of their affiliates, Alexia Decker.  She will contact their president and hopefully we will be able to get a presentation from them at our next Board meeting. They could become one of our corporate sponsors, but also they can provide a number of resources for us as well based on my brief conversation with her.

5.     We plan to set up our first membership meeting at the end of September and a second one in December and quarterly thereafter.  We will also set up “happy hours” once a month.  We decided to use doctors’ homes for quarterly membership meetings whenever possible. 

6.     We need to obtain a list of speakers for our meetings. Will see if the “Speakers’ Bureau” is still active.

7.     The name “Director of Collegiality” has been changed to “Director of Membership.” 

8.     We decided to increase the frequency of our Board meetings to once a month since there is a considerable amount of business to be discussed until we get better established. 

9.     The newsletter is up and running.  The 8th addition will be coming out shortly.  We are requesting one short article each month from each Board member.  The newsletter will also contain brief news items about what is happening in medicine, CDC updates, pharmaceutical updates, etc. 

10.  Plans for a Coastal Virginia Medical Foundation are being made.  A new non-profit LLC will be formed as a separate charitable organization for collection of grants and donations to be used primarily for charities, like the Beach Clinic and the Montero Medical Missions for example, at the discretion of the Board. 

11.  We decided we should have a health care attorney to be on our Advisory Board.  Keith Berger knows a healthcare attorney that he likes to work with in this regard and will discuss the position with him. 

12.  We also discussed an issue that Lisa Barr brought up regarding the use of a modifier code allowing procedures to be done on the same visit as an office visit. The use of this modifier is being questioned by Anthem.  James Beckner provided 2 resources that may be helpful in this regard, but we may consider a proposal to MSV to allow reimbursement for an office visit on the same day as a procedure.

13.  We would like to get a photo and a short bio from each Board member including the Advisory Board, if possible so that we can publish that on the website.  We also will be placing an advertisement for the establishment of the Coastal Virginia Medical Society in the “Doctor-to-Doctor” magazine as suggested by Dr. Montero.  This will include writing a column once a month that will also appear in that magazine in addition to an introductory article that will show up in the September issue. 

We did not complete the entire agenda, but we did get through most of it. We will still have much to talk about at our next meeting.

ADJOURNMENT:  The meeting was adjourned at around 9PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Gregory J. Warth, MD, FACP

GJW/dw

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