What a great way to kick off the annual conference, Preventive Medicine 2024, gathering more than 600 members and preventive medicine professionals from around the country and globe.
Even before the conference began, ACPM members worked to make a difference — both in the halls of Congress and in the community of our host city Washington, D.C. More than 100 members registered to meet with their legislators to discuss the need for investment in preventive medicine residency programs and the public health workforce — the largest turnout in the history of the organization! ACPM members also volunteered with the H3 Project, Unity Healthcare and the Medical Society of DC to host an event providing education, preventive health screenings and more to people experiencing homelessness. Again, over 60 registrants offered to service and provide care to this community.Preventive Medicine Residency (PMR) Program Directors participated in a workshop to share information about residency program initiatives and participate in discussions crucial to the specialty. We also hosted three individual workshops aligned with our grant portfolio on hypertension, diabetes and military environmental exposures; approximately 100 registrants attended each of these three informative sessions. We continued engaging members in media outreach through the Vaccine Confident and This is Preventive Medicine campaigns. Members who enroll in these campaigns will be equipped with tools to advocate for the importance of vaccination and preventive medicine.
During the opening plenary, we were honored to bestow the ACPM Congressional Champion Award to U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), who thanked members for their presence in the halls of Congress and expressed the importance of these sessions to highlight necessary changes directly with their elected officials. Senator Van Hollen has been a champion of preventive medicine, in addition to other healthcare system reforms, and is sponsoring a letter seeking support from his colleagues in the U.S. Senate. Unfortunately, the ACPM Congressional Champion from the House of Representatives, Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (D-MI-06) was unable to join us. Representative Dingell has been an incredible public health champion and is circulating the supportive letter among her colleagues again this year. It truly is an honor to have legislators who continue to amplify the power of prevention, to help ensure preventive medicine physicians have the proper resources to address today's and tomorrow’s health challenges.Dr. Mirza Rahman, ACPM President also bestowed the President’s Award on two remarkable individuals — Dr. Robert Sharrar, a stalwart leader of public health from Philadelphia who made remarkable contributions to address Legionnaire’s disease outbreaks, and to Dr. Clarence Lam, a State Senator from Maryland who also leads the Preventive Medicine Residency Program at Johns Hopkins University for his courage to run for political office. He also bestowed the Scientific Excellence Award on his mentor and friend, Dr. Dorry Lane of Stony Brook University.
The highlight for me was hearing the KBS lecture from Dr. Michael McGinnis, a brilliant leader in preventive medicine with a remarkable career advancing cutting-edge innovations in medicine and public health. You could hear a pin drop in the room from the attention he garnered from each participant with his engaging and informative talk. Our plan is to share a recording of this lecture post-conference as there was so much information worthy of hearing at least a second or third time.
Finally, it is such a joy to watch the numerous reunions among preventive medicine physicians occur at the opening reception. The number of hugs, smiles and stories of how each person met, became friends and life-long comrades in prevention is heartwarming. As the meeting continues, I hope attendees find new friends, make new connections and deepen their passion for the field while they also acquire new skills, learn best practices and sharpen their expertise to improve and drive meaningful progress in health outcomes across communities and the nation. If today was an example of what is to come, then our goals will be achieved.
To learn more visit here, and follow the conversation on social media using #PM2024.
Looking forward to what lies ahead,
Donna Grande, MGA
CEO of the American College of Preventive Medicine
Sponsored By:
