The Pueblo County Medical Society cannot exist without you, our members. When annual 2021 membership dues notices go out this month, I encourage you to return them promptly and encourage a non-member colleague -- especially your practice colleagues -- to join PCMS as well. PCMS/CMS members will receive an invoice via CMS. PCMS local-only members will receive an invoice by way of our local medical society.

Your support of Pueblo County Medical Society is supporting and enhancing the quality of life for local physicians and the patients they serve. As a generous supporter of your county medical society, your commitment, dedication, participation and passion give us a presence extending throughout the southern Colorado region, including Pueblo County, the ninth largest city in Colorado, totaling approximately 208,000 people. Thank you for your partnership and support throughout the year.

We have accomplished a significant amount this year and the plans for the coming year are just as daring. Reaching our goals requires an inclusive, committed, community of support. We hope you will consider renewing your membership to Pueblo County Medical Society, and helping us make the practice of medicine and life of medical providers a priority this coming year.

For my final column at the end of my three-year term as the Colorado Medical Society Board of Directors representative from Pueblo it’s great to look back at what I have learned and the relationships I have been able to make across the state. I have been really impressed by the number of people who make such a volunteer sacrifice to have great medical care in the state of Colorado. There are truly wonderful people here in our state who work tirelessly (and often thanklessly) to make sure we as a health care community can provide top quality health care to our patients. It has been great to be involved and to be a part of the many great discussions that took place and I have learned a lot from the experience. It has also opened my eyes to how important it is to be involved in the legislative discussions that occur around health care and to make sure we are informed and engaged with our local and state legislators. I encourage physicians to be involved in whatever way they can. I am excited for Dr. Brittany Carver to take over as our CMS BOD representative and know she will do a great job and represent us well. Thank you all for your support and great feedback – keep doing the wonderful things you do to provide such great care to patients and their families here in Pueblo. Thank you!

The printing deadline and publishing date for our 2020 Directory is coming soon: Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020. Please email directory@pueblocms.org with any updates to your information such as practice name, office phone numbers (including fax), and an updated professional photo by Monday, Sept. 21, at 12 p.m.

Once again PCMS is partnering with Sangre de Cristo Hospice and Palliative Care who holds a nearly 80 percent market share in SE Colorado (22,249 sq miles), allowing us to distribute directories to more physicians and practices. We will cover and can distribute in Pueblo, Canon City, Florence, Walsenburg, La Veta, Trinidad, Rocky Ford and La Junta (and all the smaller communities between). Accuracy is our goal for our target audience: providers!

PCMS member Christopher Vialpando, MD, converted his paper charts to electronic files and now has hundreds of custom chart dividers with binder tabs available for free to anyone who wants them.

If interested, call the office of Dr. Vialpando, 916 Indiana Ave # 110, Pueblo, CO 81004, (719) 566-9118. Mention to his staff the medical society sent you at Dr. V's request.

Mark your calendar for the PCMS 2020 Annual Meeting. As the end of the year approaches, we would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for such a meaningful 2020. It has been a year of many highs and lows. At the meeting, we will discuss some of our achievements throughout the year and vote on the selection of Board nominees. Guest speaker Dr. Scott Walmer, DO, a board-certified Adult and Forensic Psychiatrist at Parkview Medical Center, will lead a 60-minute discussion on mental illness in the wake of COVID-19. Find more information, including nominees and Zoom connection information, here.

Plan to join us for the PCMS 4th Annual Symposium. Join us for the latest information on COVID-19 -- statewide and locally -- that are important to you as a local provider. We have a great lineup of speakers in the works! There is no cost to attend. CME and registration coming soon.

Plan to attend our next Roundtable discussion intended for providers and their staff to learn more about COVID-19 and the resources available, locally. 1 CME credit available to providers who attend this event. If you have any questions or other topics you’d like discussed at the event or future meetings, please email cheryl.law@pueblocms.org or text/call 719-281-6073. Join via Zoom here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85147587303?pwd=aHRvVVh5U3JyaFoxQWlDRWxQT0NaZz09 using Meeting ID: 851 4758 7303 and Passcode: 323513.

The Substance Use Response Ecosystem (SURE) will present the 3rd Annual SURE Community Forum on Sept. 24, 2020. There will be two sessions, an afternoon session 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. and an evening session 6-8 p.m. Held live on the Pueblo Department of Public Health & Environment's Facebook page, @PuebloHealth.

The Department of Health Care Policy and Financing is hosting monthly provider webinars on the third Thursday of the month from 12 - 1 p.m. The remaining dates for the provider webinars will be Sept. 17, Oct. 15, Nov. 19 and Dec. 17, 2020. These webinars will cover key updates from the Department on COVID-19 and other implementation updates and will be a forum to discuss what the "new normal" in health care may look like following the pandemic. HCPF encourages you to save the dates and attend if you can. If you are not able to make the webinar(s), the meetings will be recorded and archived online. The virtual meeting will be held at this link. Find more information on the Provider Leader Resource Center webpage: colorado.gov/hcpf/provider-leader-resource-center.

The Colorado Consortium for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention’s Provider Education Work Group continues their series of free lunch and learn sessions, held each Wednesday, 12:30-1:15 p.m. Each presentation is eligible for 0.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits. To receive CME credit, you must pre-register here.

If you would simply like to drop in, no pre-registration is required. For a complete list of topics and dates, please visit the Consortium website. All sessions will be held via Zoom at this link / Password: 620980. All events will be recorded and posted online for future viewing.

This ECHO Colorado series provided in partnership with Children's Hospital Colorado offers clinically relevant topics for primary care providers (MD, DO, APP) who provide or are looking to build, expand, and improve care to preteens through young adults. Once completed, participants will be able to evaluate and manage common conditions in adolescent reproductive health. Over the course of six virtual sessions -- held Thursdays 7-8 a.m. Oct. 15-Nov. 19 -- the series will include an overview of adolescent reproductive health issues, best practices in adolescent contraception and common adolescent gynecology concerns. CME: This series will be reviewed and acceptable for up to six credits by the Colorado Academy of Family Physicians. Sign up here.

Register today for the virtual Colorado Medical Society Annual Meeting, Friday, Sept. 25, 6-8 p.m.! This year’s top gathering for Colorado doctors features a keynote from AMA President Sue Bailey, special guest cameos, and interactive team trivia. Be inspired. Be connected. Join us!

Plus, all CMS members are invited to participate in the CMS Board of Directors meeting Friday, Sept. 25, 12-5:30 p.m. Advance registration is required. Register for the CMS board meeting here.

MISSION: Facilitating meaningful collaboration of medical professionals in Pueblo County through social networking, education, and advocacy! 

VISION: To create a medical society that serves as a venue for collaboration for the betterment of healthcare in Pueblo County, and improve the practice of medicine and life of medical professionals, locally.

Board Officers: President: Marcel Junqueira, MD; President-Elect: open position; Secretary: Kathleen Brown, MD; Treasurer: Robert Tonsing, MD; Past-President: Tom Greidanus, MD | Directors: CMS Representative Brad Roberts, MD; Teresa Braden, DO; Brittany Carver, DO; Ross Patrick, MD; Jacob Mathew Jr., DO; Cheryl Walker, DO; and Kevin Weber, MD | Chief Executive Officer: Cheryl Law, MA, MNM

Visit our website at www.pueblocms.org