Read a perspective of the first day of our 2021 annual conference from CEO Donna Grande.
What a way to start our annual meeting! After eight months of planning and practice, Preventive Medicine 2021 is finally here. I’d like to thank Dr. Katrina Rhodes and Dr. Richard Bruno, our conference chair and vice-chair for all of the hard work they put into planning and leading the process that brought us such an amazing annual meeting. I also want to thank our tireless cadre of volunteers who took time out of their busy schedules to help develop sessions, organize presenters and bring the meeting together. And, I would be remiss without thanking the incredible team of staff who have also helped bring this experience together.
We started our annual meeting with an update on the state of the college. Over the last 14 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have undergone immense transformation. We’ve changed the way we work, meet, organize and advance the practice of prevention. I’m proud to report that the college is on strong footing, and we have an incredible set of exciting opportunities ahead to advance prevention, grow the practice and improve health, wellbeing and resilience across the country.
Each year, ACPM extends a KBS lecture award, the highest honor of the college, to an individual who has made significant contributions to the practice to present their perspective at the annual meeting. This year, the honor went to Dr. Aletha Maybank, Chief Health Equity Officer of the American Medical Association to give the KBS Lecture. Dr. Maybank provided an eye-opening look at the impact of systemic racism on health, and challenged us as members of the medical community to name racism as a public health crisis, learn about its impacts and the actions we can take to undo the harm caused by racism, and address racism with the same scientific rigor, focus and dedication to which we address all other urgent public health crises. This is an important challenge we face as a nation, and ACPM is looking forward to collaborating with Dr. Maybank and AMA on future initiatives to help prepare physicians to identify racism and work with their patients and upstream in their communities to dismantle it.
Following Dr. Maybank’s KBS Lecture, we kicked off the concurrent education sessions of Preventive Medicine 2021 with discussions on managing stress and weight during the COVID-19 pandemic, partnerships in public health with a focus on complex social initiatives during the COVID-19 pandemic and patient safety and quality during the pandemic. These informative and inspiring sessions are just a preview of what’s to come in the days ahead as we dive further into the Preventive Medicine 2021 agenda! Enjoy the adventure of PM2021!