Last call for nominations for the 2024 Physician Wellness Leadership Awards. Please help SMLMA and SFMMS recognize and honor physicians, group initiatives and wellness programs that have made significant, impactful contributions to improving physician health and well-being. See the Nomination Form for list of awards and program details.

Individual physician candidates must be SMLMA or SFMMS members. Individual and group nominees may be nominated for more than one award. Medical society staff will confirm membership status on receipt of nomination. Membership is not required to nominate a colleague or organization for an award. Self-nominations are also encouraged and accepted.

Please nominate your deserving colleagues and wellness programs! To make a nomination, complete the form and email to exec@smlma.org. You can also just send us a message or call with the information. We need your nominations!

Nominations are due by Friday, Nov. 3, 2023

Awards will be presented at the Wellness Awards Dinner

6:00 – 9:00 p.m. • Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024

Sheraton Sonoma County, Petaluma

For more information, call 707-620-0808 or email exec@smlma.org

Due to an ongoing labor dispute at the JW Marriott hotel at L.A. LIVE and hotels throughout the region, the CMA Board of Trustees made the difficult decision to postpone the association's annual House of Delegates and other corresponding activities that had been scheduled for Oct. 21-22 in Los Angeles. CMA is exploring options to address the critical organizational business typically conducted during the HOD—including annual officer elections and representation through its various governing bodies.

At this time, CMA is planning hold a hybrid (virtual with option for in-person) session of the House on Sunday, Nov. 5, in Sacramento. Please address any questions to SMLMA Executive Director Wendy Davies at exec@smlma.org or 707-620-0808.

CALPAC, CMA’s Political Action Committee is funded by voluntary donations from physicians and is accessed to elect and support physician legislators who share our vision and health policy. In recent years, CALPAC was instrumental in electing Drs. Akilah Weber and Jasmeet Bains to the Assembly. We need your support to keep these powerful physician advocates in office and to add to their numbers in the years to come. 

Joining CALPAC is affordable and takes 90 seconds. If you become a 300 Club member (just $25 a month!) or higher, you are automatically entered into our House of Delegates raffle.

On the heels of a historic election last November, in which over one-fourth of those elected were new to the California Legislature, CALPAC’s candidate education work, political donations, and overall political strength set the stage for historic policy successes. One such success was in June, when the State Legislature passed an historic Medi-Cal funding increase in the budget that will increase reimbursement rates in the coming years, expanding access to care for millions of Californians.

Now is the time to join us in supporting this work by donating to CALPAC. Please donate or renew your annual commitment to CALPAC using this link.Your donation and continued support to CALPAC make all the difference!

Warren Chin, MD wbchinmd@yahoo.com

SMLMA District X House of Delegates Representative

The 2024 Physician Leadership Program kicks off in January with an in-person session in Oakland, followed by four 2-hour virtual sessions led by nationally recognized faculty. The group will reconvene in Oakland for a final in-person session. Attendees earn a Certificate of Completion and up to 24 hours of category 1 CME credit.

This exceptional program helps physicians build upon their clinical leadership experience by honing skills such as communicating a vision; motivating colleagues; negotiating with payers; and collaborating across silos in order to build organizations, compete for resources, lead change, influence policy and overcome challenges. Click here for details, including session topics and presenters.

SMLMA SCHOLARSHIP: SMLMA will reimburse one MD or DO attendee for fully participating and completing the program (must be an SMLMA member). To apply, send a letter to exec@smlma.org indicating your interest in the program and how you see your leadership path benefiting SMLMA and your colleagues. Letters must be received by FRIDAY, DEC. 1, 2023 so that we can notify recipient in advance of the registration deadline.

SMLMA and the publishers of The Press Democrat and Sonoma Magazine are collaborating to develop the 2024 issue of Sonoma Health magazine. This locally relevant publication will be packed with timely topics for a health-conscious readership.

Sonoma Health seeks a strong measure of participation and advertising revenue from healthcare providers and business leaders. Please consider supporting this important publication with your advertising budget. Ads will be seen by almost 47,000 readers, including practicing physicians in Sonoma, Mendocino, and Lake counties. Ad reservations are due Nov. 17, 2023. For details, contact Sonoma Health Publisher Steve Childs at 707-521-5284 or steve.childs@sonomamag.com.

Sonoma Health will be distributed in December 2023 — and, with your help, will continue informing readers for years to come. Copies of Sonoma Health will be delivered to all physicians in Sonoma, Mendocino and Lake counties, compliments of SMLMA.

Every night, 294 youth under the age of 25 sleep unsheltered in Sonoma County. Last year, that number was 521. We are making a difference every day, but even ONE young person on the streets is too many.

Click here to donate in support of SAY and Wendy!

A MESSAGE FROM SAY

Thank you to SMLMA Executive Director Wendy Davies for joining Social Advocates for Youth as a Sleeper for One Cold Night. Please stand with her on behalf of our youth by donating to Wendy's One Cold Night campaign. Donations support initiatives, mental health, feeding, and housing of unhoused youth in Sonoma County.

Join Dr. Hong for a mindful and calming experience creating neurographic artwork. In this art form, you create freeform lines, round the edges, and fill in the spaces with color. The process is meant to connect the subconscious and conscious mind while creating a work of art.

Neurographic Art

Thursday, Nov. 16 • 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.

Fulton Crossing Artisan Studios • 1200 River Rd., Fulton, CA 95439

REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED

Visit the MAPS website for workshop details and to register.

General questions: sonomamedicalarts@gmail.com

SMLMA is pleased to sponsor this PHYSICIAN WELLNESS INITIATIVE, a collaboration between Sutter Santa Rosa Family Medicine Residency and Kaiser Permanente Santa Rosa Family Medicine Residency, with sessions open to all community physicians, Residents, and faculty of the residency programs.

RESIDENTS CORNER features articles* written by Residents in local Family Medicine Residency programs. Our goal is to provide a forum for Residents to share their work and ideas with the medical community.

Adventist Health Ukiah Valley Family Medicine Residency

Started in 2019, AHUV is a community-based family medicine residency in Ukiah. Adventist Health is passionate about bringing full scope, evidence-based, compassionate care to rural Northern California. For more information, visit the website or contact Kristin McMenomey at mcmenokb@ah.org.

Click on the title to read or download the article.

Knitting – Danielle Smith, DO, writes about the many health and wellness benefits of knitting.

*Articles have been reviewed by program faculty and are intended as informational only. Publication of an article does not represent endorsement or approval by the Sonoma-Mendocino-Lake Medical Association.

Adventist Health

Behavior Issues with Dementia

Friday, Nov. 3, 2023 • 8:00 - 9:00 a.m. | RSVP to pardinn@ah.org or 707-972-3023

Webinar link will be provided following registration.

California Medical Association

Virtual Grand Rounds: A Surge in Silicosis – Not Just Miner's Lung

Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023 • 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. | REGISTER HERE

Cooperative of American Physicians

Managing Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants

Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023 • 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. | REGISTER HERE

Sutter Health

The Sutter Health Virtual Grand Rounds is a Continuing Education (CE) webinar series hosted by Sutter Health Network providers for all medical professionals across Northern California. Interactive Q&A session takes place with each live event. Learn about the series here.

Smoking Cessation: Utilizing Pharmacology and Behavior Therapy for Optimal Outcomes

Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023 • 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. | REGISTER HERE

Heart Failure Clinical Care Pathway

Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023 • 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. | REGISTER HERE

To learn more about becoming a CAP member:

Contact Dorine Leong at 650-543-2183 or DLeong@CAPphysicians.com. 

Request an Instant Quote  and see how much you can save on medical malpractice coverage.