MISSISSIPPI ACADEMY OF FAMILY PHYSICIANS |
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PPE and Testing Reimbursement Program Set to Accept Applications Next Week
On Monday of this week, your MAFP Board met with Harrison Matheny, Economic Development Policy Analyst at the Mississippi Development Authority, to clarify the process of the Health Care Providers PPE and Testing Reimbursement application. He shared they have a goal of opening applications on the week of August 24 but could possibly open as late as August 31.
WE URGE YOU TO BE READY TO GO ONLINE TO APPLY AS SOON AS APPLICATIONS OPEN. We will notify membership, but we encourage you to check MDA's website for updates. The money will be distributed as applications are received. When funds are gone, they are gone.
The initial step will be to complete the Grant Agreement Application with your name, license number, and the name of your clinic. You may submit your Reimbursement Receipt Request at the same time you complete the grant agreement, so get receipts ready this week. You may be reimbursed for items going back to March 1, 2020.
Do not submit expenses if they have been paid through another grant, program or fund.
You will be notified you were approved and a check will be mailed to you.
Below, we have included an overview that was sent last week. Here is the House Bill 1782 language and a program description from MDA. We will post a link to the appropriate website when it is ready.
Repeat of Last Week's Story:
Here is need-to-know information from the MDA about the PPE and Testing Reimbursement Program:
- Intent to provide funds to reimburse eligible recipients for the purchase of personal protective equipment and providing for COVID-19 testing for employees and staff.
- Independent Physicians are eligible to receive reimbursement. An independent physician is defined as individuals licensed by the Mississippi State Board of Medical Licensure who are actively providing care to patients, own a share of their medical practice, have key decision-making rights for his or her practice, and are not employed by a hospital or an organization associated with a hospital. Practice Groups are defined as two or more independent physicians who all provide medical care within the same facility, utilize the same personnel, divide the income in a manner previously agreed upon by the group. It may consist of providers from a single specialty or multiple specialties.
- Each physician will need to complete a grant agreement and reimbursement request along with providing supporting documentation for eligible expenses. These forms will be online and submitted to MDA.
- Eligible Expense means a cost incurred beginning on March 1, 2020 and ending on December 31, 2020, for the following:
- Personal Protective Equipment as identified by the CDC, which includes: Respirators (N95 or higher), Facemasks, Goggles, Face Shields, Protective Eyewear without gaps between glasses and face, Gloves, and Gowns
- COVID-19 testing means medical tests administered for staff and employees which are recommended by the CDC in its guidance entitled "Testing for COVID-19" which includes viral tests and antibody tests
- COVID-19 screening means those tests of individuals who are attempting to enter the facilities, clinics, or vehicles, or Eligible Recipients which are designed to detect possible COVID-19 infection
- In preparing information for your application, please compile the following: Medical License Number, types and amounts of funds received from any other federal, state, or other programs covering the cost of PPE and/or COVID-19 testing, Whether or not you have ongoing eligible expenses that are not covered by the funds you have received to date.
- Practice Groups will be required to enter into one Grant Agreement for all members of the group.
- You may not enter into a Grant Agreement for eligible expenses that you have already received reimbursement for through any federal or state program.
- Eligible expenses must be itemized on a form provided by MDA and have supporting documentation including but not limited to invoices, purchase orders, receipts, bills, charges, or other financial statements.
- 2,850 individuals of independent physicians, nurse practitioners, and optometrists will receive the funds.
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Services to be Held Wednesday for
Dr. Ed Carruth of Meridian
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Dr. Ed Carruth of Meridian, right, presented Dr. Scott Carlton with the MAFP Military Award at the Annual Meeting in 2019. Dr. Carruth died August 15, 2020. |
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Services for Dr. Edward L. Carruth of Meridian will be held at graveside on Wednesday, August 19, 2020, in Enterprise Cemetery at 4:30 p.m. James F. Webb Funeral Home in Meridian is in charge of arrangements and has published an online obituary.
Dr. Carruth, or "Doc" as he was known to his friends, was born October 11, 1940 in Brookhaven. He attended Summit High School and graduated from McComb High School in 1958. He graduated from the University of Mississippi Medical School in 1965. After post-graduate training at MS Baptist Hospital, he served in the United States Air Force during the Vietnam war. He was named Flight Surgeon of the year for USAF, ATC in 1967.
Following his military service, Dr. Carruth returned to family practice, first in Jackson, then in Madden, Mississippi, and finally to his destiny in Meridian. He held many offices and positions of leadership, including Chief of Medical Staff at Thaggard Hospital and Meridian Regional Hospital. Dr. Carruth was a lifetime member of East MS Medical Society, MS State Medical Society, and American Medical Association. He was board-certified in Family Medicine, with the additional honor of Fellow, American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). He was an AAFP lifetime member and a past MAFP Foundation Trustee. In 2008, he was honored with the MAFP Military Service Award.
Dr. Carruth is survived by his wife, Olinda Metz "Lin" Carruth, seven children and 12 grandchildren. MAFP will make a donation to the MAFP Foundation in Dr. Carruth's memory. If you are interested in contacting Lin and the family, they can be reached at 1030 Erwin Road, Stonewall MS 39363.
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Melissa R. Stephens, MD, MS, FAAFP, DABFM, was elected president of the Mississippi Academy of Family Physicians Foundation Board of Trustees, charged with raising funds to support family medicine in Mississippi. She is a board-certified family physician who has been part of the faculty at William Carey University College of Osteopathic Medicine (WCUCOM) since 2013.
Dr. Stephens currently serves WCUCOM as Associate Dean of Graduate Medical Education and Population Health. She serves as an instructor in multiple clinical courses on campus and has served as a course director in the past. Dr. Stephens is the faculty advisor for the primary care student interest groups in addition to the Gold Humanism Honor Society and the student section of the American Medical Association.
Prior to her career in Mississippi, Dr. Stephens served as an assistant professor at the University of Kansas Medical Center and on the faculty of the the Baptist Lutheran Medical Center in Kansas City. She also practiced medicine in Aurora, Missouri; Monett, Missouri; Warsaw, Missouri; Lewiston, Idaho, and Ocean Springs, Mississippi.
Dr. Stephens graduated from the University of Missouri-Kansas City with both a bachelor’s and a doctorate of medicine degree. She then went on to complete a 3-year residency in family medicine with the University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC), serving as chief resident her final year. After that, she was a fellow in a public health and preventive medicine grant program at KUMC before beginning her career in academia. Most recently, she earned a master of science degree in population health management at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.
Dr. Stephens is a fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians and a diplomate of the American Board of Family Medicine.
As an advisory board and executive board member for the Office of Mississippi Physician Workforce, Dr. Stephens works to create new medical residency programs throughout the state. She is very involved in the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, belonging to several groups and task forces.
Dr. Stephens and her husband, John Stephens, have three children, Paige, Regan and Nathan. They are members of Temple Baptist Church, where she actively participates in short-term missions trips to Honduras with Baptist Medical and Dental Mission International.
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Family Physicians/ MAFP Members Elected to MSMA Boards and Councils
At the Mississippi State Medical Association (MSMA) Annual Meeting Aug. 15, which was held virtually, several family physicians were elected to leadership positions:
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Zachary Ellis was elected to the Council on Medical Service as a Student (2020-21)
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Dr. Lee Giffin was elected Trustee for District 7 (2020-23)
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Candise Johnson was elected as a Student Trustee (2020-21)
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Dr. Emily Landrum was elected to the Council on Medical Service for District 3
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Dr. Luke Lampton was elected Editor of the Journal (2020-23)
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Dr. Carlos Latorre was elected Vice Speaker (2020-23)
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Dr. Katie Patterson was elected to Council on Medical Service for District 1 (2020-23)
Additionally, Dr. Chris Boston received the MSMA's Community Service Award.
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New Erickson Print Evokes
'Family Doctors on the Frontlines'
In this unprecedented year and as MAFP members have faced the threat of COVID-19, the new watercolor print by artist Katie Erickson has a special visual element - a surgical mask - to remind us of 2020 and that we can come through this tough time.
Only 150 prints were made and each is signed and numbered. Proceeds from the sale of the 12 inch by 18 inch print - $100 each - benefit the MAFP Foundation. A $10.00 mailing fee will be added to each shipped order.
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MAFP Resources for Physicians
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