NEWS & INFORMATION

Basketball is the one athletic activity that defines me and I carry my game philosophy into my personal and professional life. As a leader, it is my job to bring out the best in each of my team members. I learned how to identify the unique skills and strengths of every one of the players to be able to harness them at the right time to win the game.

The basketball analogy is applicable to our work at the Medical Society of Milwaukee County. We have unique skills and diverse backgrounds and we work together to achieve the Society’s mission. Together, we advance our mission and vision because we have a well-established organization. This allows us to leverage the strength of our collective membership.

Early on, when I was serving some of our most disadvantaged and underserved populations in Milwaukee, I found the only way that could be accomplished is to have the structure and coordination in place to make the best use of limited resources. I, along with many of you, dedicate time to the free clinics for the uninsured in Milwaukee. It is an important part of who I am as a person to give back to the people in my community.

I have been fortunate to have had multicultural exposure by working and studying in countries that are underserved, deep seated have disparities that are through the roof, natural disasters are common and critical infrastructure and health care is scarce. With that said, disparities exist in modern health care models, too. I learned from these experiences that people thrive only if they have opportunities and support from their family and community.

I had been affiliated with this organization as a member for a number of years before I stepped into a leadership role. Through the Society, I was able to share my passion with other members.

It is a great honor and privilege to serve you, as fellow physicians and members of the Society. Leaders will come and go in our organization, but I want to put into place changes that will have a positive impact on our longitudinal charitable investments and organizational goals, regardless of who is in the leadership position. It is my wish to pursue these goals not by changing the entire organizational structure and constitution, but by putting in durable amendments that will have a lasting impact on this Society and serve the greater community for decades years to come. We are the largest medical society at the county level in Wisconsin. As such, we have an important, bidirectional relationship with the Wisconsin Medical Society. We must work together with other like-minded stakeholders and legislators on advocacy issues that enable us to serve our patients and ensure they have adequate coverage and can receive the health care they need, regardless of their situation.

Respectfully,

Muhammad Bilal Abid, MD, MS, FACP, MRCP, FRCP

President, Medical Society of Milwaukee County

Dr. Abid is President of the Medical Society of Milwaukee County. He is an Assistant Professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin with joint appointments with the Hematology/Oncology and Infectious Diseases Divisions. Dr. Abid and his wife, Dr. Paras Mughal (an orthodontist), have two children.

MSMC members were well represented at the recent WMS “Health and Harmony” Annual Meeting in Madison.  Dr Bilal Abid (MSMC President), Dr Don Lee (WMS President) and Dr Rob Riepenhoff (MSMC President-elect).  Congratulations to the WMS Foundation on a great event!

The Wisconsin Medical Society and Foundation held their 2023 Annual Meeting this past weekend.  Events featured a day-long CME and concluded with a celebration of outstanding health professionals at their annual fundraising event.  The Milwaukee area was well represented at this year’s event!

Doctor Don Lee was inaugurated as the new WMS President.  Dr Lee is a board-certified internist and practices as an internal medicine hospitalist and physician advisor for Ascension Columbia St. Mary’s in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He most recently joined the Ascension Wisconsin Foundation Board of Directors. He has served in several part-time leadership roles including Ascension Medical Group Wisconsin Medical Director for Quality and Safety, Hospital Based Care as well as President of the Columbia St. Mary’s Physician Network. He is also on faculty as a Clinical Assistant Professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Center in Milwaukee. In the community, Dr. Lee volunteers at a medical student run free clinic in Milwaukee and serves as the Treasurer of the Reede Scholars, Inc, a nonprofit organization started by members of the Commonwealth Fund Harvard University Fellowship in Minority Health Policy focusing on issues related to minority health.

Kyle Cass received the Presidential Scholar Award which recognizes a student entering his or her final year of medical school who has exemplified the attributes, skills and desire to become a leader in the medical profession in Wisconsin.  Kyle Cass grew up in Deforest and has a strong desire to do a surgical residency in Wisconsin, and eventually practice in Wisconsin. He became involved in the AMA and WisMed right after arriving at the Medical College of Wisconsin and was part of the MCW AMA leadership and Milwaukee County Medical Society and helped pass national AMA policy on COVID vaccination equity. He served as a student representative on both the Wisconsin Medical Society Board of Directors and on the Wisconsin Medical Society Foundation Board. He is also on the WisMed Social Media Committee. His involvement with the Saturday Clinic for the Uninsured further cemented his desire to help the most vulnerable Wisconsinites both as a physician and an advocate.

Karen Watson, MD, FACOG, is an OB-GYN at Ascension SE Wisconsin Hospital - St. Joseph’s Campus and leads efforts for continuous improvement regarding maternal and infant health and has implemented innovative models for hospital-based care for obstetric patients. Dr Watson received the Superhero of Medicine Award.  She is well respected by her peers for promoting and sustaining clinical excellence, performance improvement and patient safety. Dr. Watson is a hero for her championing of Blanket of Love (a social-support program that helps expectant mothers and families from pregnancy to beyond their baby’s first birthday), her efforts that led to a reduction of primary c-sections reducing complications, injuries and deaths and her generosity in sharing her time and expertise with health professionals across the state to improve the care and treatment of OB-GYN patients.   The Wisconsin Medical Society Foundation is pleased to present a donation in honor of Dr. Watson to Bread of Healing Clinic, a free medical clinic designed to serve low-income people who experience barriers to accessing ongoing health care. Barbara Horner-Ibler, MD, M.Div., MSW, Executive Director and Physician of the Bread of Healing Clinic was thrilled to hear that Dr. Watson would be recognized for her work. She notes, “We take our clinic name from the Hebrew Scriptures, ‘Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days.’ (Ecclesiastes 11:1) It is a recognition that we all give and receive from the waters of life. Dr. Watson’s designation of the Bread of Healing Clinic as the recipient of her award dollars is an example of one such gift! We will hope to use it well to make more gifts available to others downstream.”

The Social Development Commission recently released a YouTube video that highlights their work in the community.  Check out this video and other resources in the Resources section of the MSMC website. 

The Wisconsin Medical Society’s 2023 Medical Education Conference is Friday, April 14 at the Monona Terrace in Madison.  The conference curriculum was developed by the Society’s Taskforce for Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI).

A variety of speakers from across the state will present throughout the day.  A number of members of the Medical Society of Milwaukee County are featured:

Dr Jesse Ehrenfeld will keynote an afternoon session titled “Physician Leadership in Advancing Equity in Health Innovation”.  Dr Ehrenfeld is Senior Associate Dean at the Medical College, Director of the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment and President-Elect of the American Medical Association.

Dr Karen Watson will participate on a panel discussion on Maternal and Infant Health Inequity.  Dr Watson is an Obstetrician-Gynecologist from Ascension and the 2023 WMS Foundation Superhero of Medicine.

More information on this event and registration is available on the Wisconsin Medical Society website.

The Medical Society of Milwaukee County is a proud supporter of the Milwaukee Free and Community Clinic Collaborative (FC3).  The group represents a coalition of safety-net clinics that provide free and low-cost medical services to those who are uninsured and underinsured in our community.

FC3 is committed to work in collaboration with state, regional and national free clinic associations to participate in leadership and planning, to seek resources and information, and to share experience and ideas.  Clinics in the Coalition are committed to:

• Share resources, including medications, specialty care, health education, medical supplies and equipment, grant writing, information technology, dental and mental health services.
• Support each other through information sharing, networking and expanding access points for our patients.
• Advocate for our uninsured and underinsured patients, not only giving a voice to those those who would otherwise be unheard, but working to improve health care policy that affects these patients.
• Work to reform the health care system to provide access to care for all, and by practicing what we preach.
• Promote and educate the community about the scope of services provided by free and community clinics.
• Speak with a unified voice on behalf of the clinics and the patients served by those clinics.

Interested in learning more?  Visit the list of clinics on the website (link).  Learn how to volunteer at one of the clinics.  Or contact Dr Barbara Horner-Ibler, FC3 Medical Director (email).

An important research project studying structural racism in Milwaukee County’s African American community is underway. The project, named D.R.IV.E Together (Dismantling Racism In Vigorating Equity), is being led by the Social Development Commission (SDC) and will include a survey of Milwaukee County residents to gather information about individual life experiences, their health status, and their living environment.

“You can’t take the person out of the context of their lived experience when treating them,” said Dr. Terri deRoon-Cassini, a professor in the Division of Trauma & Acute Care Surgery in the Department of Surgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin, and a principal investigator on the new study. “Not everyone has the same lived experience. If we’re going to achieve equity in health outcomes, we need to understand the different environments and different experiences that everyone has in life and the impact those differences have on people and their health.”

The project is being supported by researchers at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW), Marquette University, and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The two-year project is being funded with a $200,000 grant from the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment. The research effort is unique in that it has been three years in the making and is the result of ongoing conversations between the SDC and its academic collaborators at Marquette, MCW, and UWM regarding solutions to the traumatic stress commonly found among urban residents in Milwaukee and other cities. Those discussions led to ideas on how to approach the issue more strategically, incorporating efforts to address the structural causes of traumatic stress.

Download a full report of this project for more information, or visit the Social Development Commission (SDC) and the Institute on Poverty and Structural Racism for more information on this and other related community initiatives.

Is your practice interested in improving the cancer diagnostic process for your patients who receive some or all of their care via telemedicine? AHRQ is recruiting practices for a free 18-month program to improve diagnostic verification, timeliness, and communication with patients. Practices will receive training and one-on-one expert coaching to implement sustainable improvements to effectively close the loop at critical points in the cancer diagnostic process. Learn more and sign up for an informational webinar on the program website: safetyprogram4telemedicine.org.

The Medical Society of Milwaukee County will  be hosting 2 tables at the 2023 WMS Foundation Event (April 14).  The event will be held at the Monona Terrace in Madison, and highlights 2-days of “Health & Harmony”.  The Annual Event also features the presidential inauguration of MSMC member, Dr Don Lee.  So join us for this special opportunity to connect with others and celebrate Dr Lee’s inauguration! Register now to attend.

As announced in December 2022, Joy Tapper will be leaving the role of Executive Director of the Milwaukee Health Care Partnership (MHCP) in the fall of 2023. A Search Committee comprised of representatives from MHCP member organizations has been formed to fill the impending vacancy, ideally by September 1, 2023. The Search Committee is looking for an experienced, mission-driven leader who can take the 16-yearold, nationally recognized, and impactful public/private health care consortium to the next level as we continue to work together to advance our shared purpose – to improve health care for low income and disadvantaged populations in Milwaukee County.

Ascension Wisconsin serves as the “backbone” organization for MHCP, and Suzanne Spellman suzanne.spellman@ascension.org, Talent Acquisition Partner, from Ascension Human Resources is supporting the search process. Please feel free to direct any questions to Suzanne. A more detailed job description and information on applying are available online.