MAFP Report on 2020 Congress of Delegates

Keith Ratcliff, MD, FAAFP Washington

Pictured; MAFP Representatives: John Paulson, DO, President; Bill Plank, Assistant Executive Director; Todd Shaffer, MD, Delegate; Peter Koopman, MD, Alternate Delegate; Keith Ratcliff, MD, Delegate; Kathy Pabst, Executive Director. Not Pictured: Kate Lichtenberg, DO, Alternate Delegate

This has been a challenging year for many aspects of medicine, and the 2020 AAFP Congress of Delegates (COD) proved to be no exception to this. Your MAFP delegation, appointed by the Board of Directors, included Keith Ratcliff, MD and Todd Shaffer, MD as Delegates and Kate Lichtenberg, DO and Peter Koopman, MD as Alternate Delegates. MAFP President John Paulson, DO, PhD, was available to attend COD this year and assist with deliberations of the Delegation.

Faced with the COVID-19 pandemic, the AAFP wisely decided on a virtual format for the COD this year. Planning started very early with the appointment of Congress Committees that began doing their work virtually. Dr. Ratcliff was chosen to serve on the Rules Committee which was required to modify our usual processes to accommodate a virtual meeting. Chapters were asked to submit a maximum of two resolutions this year so that all would be able to have their most pressing concerns represented. With the guidance of the Speaker and Vice-Speaker, new rules were promulgated and approved so that the Congress could convene in a virtual format. Plans were laid for the Reference Committees to meet virtually and hear testimony from the Members and Delegations the two weekends prior to the COD. AAFP staff had chosen Lumi as the vendor through which to conduct our business and voting.

After resolutions were provided, your delegation reviewed them, and they were presented to the MAFP Board for comments and guidance. The Board participated in a detailed survey to help your delegation understand which issues were most important for our members, and for guidance on how to best represent the perspective of Missouri’s Family Physicians.

To effectively discuss and vote on resolutions and election of officers for the AAFP in real time, the MAFP Delegation decided on a “hybrid” model. Kathy Pabst, MAFP Executive Director and Bill Plank, Assistant Executive Director, were able to arrange a meeting room where your Delegation could meet in person, but still be appropriately distanced with masking and sanitation stressed. Our staff did a great job keeping us amped up on caffeine and chocolate so that we could enthusiastically contribute to the work of the Congress over the two-day marathon meeting. The connectivity and technical challenges were mastered by Bill so that the Delegation could focus on the rapidly changing discussions.

Despite the challenges and limitations inherent in this temporarily virtual world, your AAFP was able to conduct meaningful business.

Adopted resolutions included issues such as abolishing the X waiver for buprenorphine, COVID-19 vaccine distribution not being dependent on the ability to pay, mandatory notification to physicians on vaccinations administered at pharmacies, reduction of regulatory burden on physicians, comprehensive reproductive healthcare for incarcerated individuals, alternatives to detention of asylum seekers, developing a position paper on policing as it relates to public health, and developing a position paper on climate change and health. A summary of the actions on resolutions can be found at: https://www.aafp.org/dam/AAFP/documents/about_us/congress/restricted/2020/2020%20Summary%20of%20Actions.pdf.

The Congress elected three new Directors for 2020 including Dr. Jennifer Brull of Kansas, Dr. Mary Campagnolo of New Jersey, and our very own Dr. Todd Shaffer. Dr. Sterling Ransone of Virginia was chosen as the AAFP president-elect. Other leaders chosen at the COD were: Dr. Danielle Carter of Florida as the New Physician Board member; Dr. Anna Askari of California as our Resident Board member; and Cynthia Ciccotelli of Pennsylvania as the Student Board member. Dr. Ada Stewart of South Carolina was sworn in as our new AAFP President and provided a moving address to the Congress, she will represent us well in the coming year.

With a great deal of work from the members involved, and despite the challenges and limitations inherent in this temporarily virtual world, your AAFP was able to conduct meaningful business at the COD and continue to promote the remarkable contribution that our dedicated Members make to the health of this nation. Your MAFP COD Delegation thanks you for the trust you have shown in us.