American Medical Association President to Visit URMC April 1
Esteemed cardiologist and American Medical Association (AMA) President James Rohack, M.D., will visit the University of Rochester Medical Center next month to discuss health care reform. A native of East Rochester, N.Y., Rohack has taken his case for health care reform all the way to the White House, where he has advised President Barack Obama.
"The American Medical Association is one of the leading medical societies in the nation, and one of the largest groups in terms of political activeness,” said Michael Kamali, M.D., acting Chair of URMC’s Department of Emergency Medicine, who helped arrange Rohack’s visit. “We’re thrilled to have Dr. Rohack speak here, especially in the midst of such a lively national health care conversation.”
Rohack became the 164th AMA president in June 2009. Prior to that, he belonged to the AMA’s Board of Trustees (since 2001), and even served a term as the board’s chair (from 2004 to 2005). Additionally, he has served as treasurer of the board of commissioners of the Joint Commission, chaired the National Advisory Council to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and is one of the principals of the Hospital Quality Alliance. In 2009 he was voted No. 20 in the 50 Most Powerful Physician Executives in Healthcare by the readers of Modern Healthcare and Modern Physician magazines.
A board-certified cardiologist, Rohack is actively involved in patient care at Scott & White Clinic in Temple, Texas, where he serves as the director of the Center for Healthcare Policy and as the medical director for system improvement of the Scott & White Health Plan – a not-for-profit health plan that is nationally recognized for quality health care delivery. He is a full professor in both the departments of Medicine and Humanities at the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine.
Rohack’s presentation – the Department of Emergency Medicine’s annual Shapiro Lecture – will kick off the Department of Emergency Medicine’s Grand Rounds. The talk is set for 8 a.m. Thursday, April 1, in the Whipple Auditorium, and is open to all faculty and staff of the University of Rochester Medical Center, as well as the members of the local medical community, as space allows.
(Please note: At the talk, seating will be reserved specially for the Department of Emergency Medicine; the brunch reception that immediately follows is for Emergency Medicine residents and faculty only.)