President's Message

Spiro Spanakis, DO

Happy New Year to all! Overshadowed by the pandemic, and unsettling current events in 2021, I hope 2022 brings health and harmony to you and your families. Despite the pandemic, the Society continues to be active on many fronts.

At our recent business meeting, more than 20 scholarships were awarded to deserving medical students as they face the rising costs of medical education. I encourage you to contribute to the Worcester District Medical Society scholarship fund on our website. Recently, the district’s medical student committee, chaired by student doctor Bennet Vogt, sponsored a successful virtual anti-racism and health equity forum. The event enlightened us all and provided a wonderful platform for discussion. Special thanks to Dr. Anne Larkin for her support of this committee and the event.

I also want to, again, congratulate Dr. Kavita Babu, M.D., the recipient of our Dr. A. Jane Fitzpatrick Community Service award and Dr. Thomas Halpin, the recipient of our WDMS Career Achievement award.

As I prepare this message, the district’s delegation to the Massachusetts Medical Society is preparing for its virtual interim meeting. Becoming a member of our delegation is an excellent way to meet new colleagues, learn about issues facing medicine and better understand the legislative process and important ways we, as individual physicians, can make a difference. We always have unfilled seats on our delegation so we please contact the WDMS office via email at mwright@wdms.org, if you are interested in learning more about this opportunity.

I am pleased to announce Dr. Kimiyoshi Kobayashi, UMASS Memorial Health’s chief quality officer, will be the society’s 226th orator. Please watch for announcements about this and other upcoming events.