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Public Relations Committee
MEMBERS
Tauseef Ali, MD, FACG, Chair Manal F . Abdelmalek, MD, MPH, FACG Jessica R . Allegretti, MD, MPH, FACG Sophie M . Balzora, MD, FACG John D . Betteridge, MD Amanda C . Cheung, MD Austin L . Chiang, MD, MPH Maithili V . Chitnavis, MD Reezwana Chowdhury, MD Robin L . Dalal, MD Mohamad El Zein, MD Katie A . Falloon, MD Adam J . Goodman, MD, FACG Danny Issa, MD Ankur Jain, MD, FACG Allon Kahn, MD Leo C . Katz, MD, FACG Jonathan S . Kung, MD Adam C . Lessne, MD Benjamin H . Levy, III, MD Scot M . Lewey, DO, FACG Phillip C . Lindholm, MD Dana J . Lukin, MD, PhD, FACG Lisa B . Malter, MD, FACG Maen Masadeh, MD Sajan Jiv Nagpal, MD Samantha Nazareth, MD, FACG Jose M . Nieto, DO, FACG Francisco C . Ramirez, MD, MACG Mark W . Russo, MD, MPH, FACG Shabnam Sarker, MD Shawn Shah, MD Pooja Singhal, MD, FACG Joshua A . Sloan, DO Christopher D . South, MD, FACG Ellen M . Stein, MD, FACG David W . Victor, MD, FACG
RESPONSIBILITIES AS STATED IN THE ACG BYLAWS
This Committee shall be responsible for coordinating all public relations activities between the College and the professional and lay public .
COMMITTEE REPORT
The ACG Public Relations Committee includes an active and dedicated group of clinicians who support the College’s educational priorities and interface with consumer media and the medical press . Key objectives are to identify and promote clinical research findings and to raise awareness of GI and liver diseases . The PR Committee helps to shape the College’s social media presence and participate in the vibrant conversation relating to clinical GI happening on ACG’s social media channels including Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram . Among its key priorities are a signature event, the SCOPY Awards, and annual awareness campaign in conjunction with Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month . The PR Committee is charged with a review of research abstracts presented at the ACG Annual Scientific Meeting with a goal of identifying innovative and newsworthy GI clinical science as the basis for the College’s media outreach .
2020-2021 Highlights: New Ways to Create Engagement and Awareness During Challenging Times #DiversityinGI Virtual 5K
This virtual event in the fall of 2020 raised over $30,000 for the ACG Summer Scholars Program thanks to over 500 registrations and generous sponsorship support from Braintree Pharmaceuticals and Ironwood . ACG members embraced a virtual race and celebrated of Tauseef Ali, MD, FACG
the diversity of the GI profession . When the College launched the ACG 2020 #DiversityinGI Virtual 5K, no one could have imagined the high levels of enthusiasm, intensity of the rivalries, the incredible sense of fun, or the serious depth of commitment among so many ACG members, their friends, families and colleagues—all of whom showed their support and commitment to diversity in GI, and shed a light on a critical issue in gastroenterology and medicine .
The social media posts, special runs organized by some of the GI training programs, and the tremendous sense of camaraderie were all so gratifying to race Co-Chairs Dr . Sophie Balzora and Dr . Darrell Gray . Champions from the 5K Race committee—all of them serious runners—added their voices and encouragement, while turning in some impressive race times .
1Fact/1 Myth Social Media Campaign with ACG’s Committee on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
To support the College’s commitment to use facts to help dispel myths and misconceptions about COVID-19 vaccines, the PR Committee collaborated with the ACG Committee on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and supported a campaign developed under the leadership of Francis A . Farraye, MD, MSc, MACG, Freddy Caldera, DO, MS, and Tauseef Ali, MD, FACG . Their leadership was essential to this effort to address COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and promote vaccine confidence . The campaign included a suite of materials and resources
PUBLIC RELATIONS COMMITTEE (cont .) for ACG members to serve as trusted messengers about the COVID-19 vaccine . The objective was to empower gastroenterologists and members of the GI care team as champions and educators in fighting misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines . All the messages and resources feature facts drawn verbatim from materials published and updated by the U .S . Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) .
Key goals of #1Fact/1Myth initiative included positioning ACG members and the College as champions in promoting vaccine confidence and serving as “myth busters,” encouraging social media as a way to positively influence vaccination decisions of peers, patients, friends, and family, and addressing the significant challenge to increase acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines among GI and liver patients and the general public .
ACG Ride or Stride for 45: A Healthy Challenge to Promote Colorectal Cancer Screening Starting at Age 45
The signature event for ACG’s socially distanced celebration of March Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month evolved from a suggestion by Dr . David Greenwald and Dr . Seth Gross . Tapping the energy and commitment of so many ACG members discovered during last fall’s #DiversityinGI virtual 5K, “Ride or Stride for 45” truly showcased the incredible variety of ways that the GI community will go the distance to raise awareness of colorectal cancer . In this virtual challenge, Dr . Greenwald, Dr . Gross, Dr . Ali and the PR Committee invited the entire GI community to bike, hike, run, walk or row 45 miles in March (or 45 minutes per day during the month) to show support and enthusiasm for preventing colorectal cancer beginning at age 45 for all average risk adults .
The outpouring of support and participation by so many ACG members across the country and around the world was gratifying, while the photos of incredible locations for exercise were inspiring . Through social media posts, our members shared strong messages about the importance colorectal cancer screening . On March 13, a dedicated group of Peloton fans enjoyed a group ride, while a challenge to all the GI training programs for a virtual 5K on March 27 created opportunities for group runs and a sense of excitement and purpose at the end of March Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month .
March Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month “Dress in Blue Day” – All #MaskUp and Ready to Screen for CRC
Friday, March 5, 2021 was unlike any other Dress in Blue Day ever, but even during COVID-19 ACG members showed their masked faces for CRC awareness and ACG celebrated their undaunted support for CRC prevention . While social distancing was the reality, Dress in Blue Day still offered an important opportunity to bring attention to a serious public health challenge of colorectal cancer . While many could not deliver the typical in-person education and events this year, nevertheless the GI community was able to #MaskUp and go #BlueForCRC!
New Patient Education Materials on CRC Screening during COVID-19
In March 2021, the PR Committee launched a multi-faceted education campaign with new patient education resources with information about colorectal cancer prevention, screening options, and the safety and importance of colorectal cancer screening during the coronavirus pandemic . The materials were written to reflect new recommendations from the 2021 ACG CRC Screening guidelines . ACG members can download an infographic, brochure, flyers, and rack cards to download and/or print, as well as and social media banners, messages, and pointers for community education from the ACG Website at bit.ly/ ACG-CRC-Toolkit .
ACG was proud to host a free webstream event, Tune It Up: A Concert to Raise Awareness of Colorectal Cancer, on Wednesday, March 31st featuring dynamic performances by a talented collective of musicians .
Concert Director Benjamin H . Levy, III, MD a member of ACG’s PR Committee, organized an impressive evening of music . ACG’s goal was to tap the connection and energy that music creates to shine a light on the importance of colorectal cancer screening and prevention .
The virtual concert included messages from celebrity cancer advocate Katie Couric and performances by notable stars such as GRAMMY® Award winning singer/songwriter Lisa Loeb, Rufus Wainwright, Tim Reynolds, violinist Hilary Hahn, Jazz Trumpeter Kermit Ruffins, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra along with a group of musicians from a wide range of genres who all donated their time and performances to support colorectal cancer awareness efforts .
Listen: Explore vibrant performances and discover new artists when you listen to the recording at gi.org/concert.
Colorectal Cancer Radio Media Tour with ACG Board of Governors
Working with radio producers from News Generation, the PR Committee and ACG Board of Governors conducted a large number of radio interviews reaching over 11 .7 million listeners in target markets across the country in March 2021 . The following ACG Governors were part of this effort: Dr . Tauseef Ali, Dr . Aline Charabaty, Dr . Sita Chokhavatia, Dr . Dayna Early, Dr . Joyann Kroser, Dr . Baha Moshiree, Dr . Shireen Pais, Dr . Alison Schneider, and Dr . Sapna Thomas . They were joined by members of the ACG Public Relations Committee Dr . Sophie Balzora and Dr . Reezwana Chowdhury, along with ACG President Dr . David Greenwald and Dr . James Hobley chair of the College’s Legislative & Public Policy Council .
SCOPY Awards 2021
For the 2021 SCOPY Awards (Service Award for Colorectal Cancer Outreach, Prevention & Year-Round Excellence) in a year when so much of March CRC Awareness Month happened through virtual events, the PR Committee was so grateful to have received a tremendous number of submissions . A strong group projects from across the country demonstrated tremendous commitment to CRC education against the odds . The 7th Annual SCOPY Awards will be announced at an event on Sunday, October 24, 2021 at 3:30 pm PDT in Mandalay Bay Ballroom L .
