News from ACOI

Each year, nominations detailing our members’ accomplishments and activities deserving consideration are accepted by the ACOI and selections are made by the ACOI Honors and Awards committee based on specific criteria for each award. This year three award winners will be honored at #ACOI2022 during the Annual Fellows Convocation.  

#ACOI2022 is a hybrid conference. We will be offering a live in-person convention with a virtual component for those who can’t get away but are still looking for outstanding CME.  Ask any past attendee and they will tell you that a hallmark of the Annual Conventions has always been a consistent emphasis on quality. Check out some of these session highlights.

While you're at #ACOI2022, there’s so much to see and do in Baltimore. Take a look at the list we've curated for you to explore Charm City—if you know you know.

There’s nothing quite like the feeling of walking into the hall at the Annual Convention and seeing the familiar faces, engaging in the lively sessions, and enjoying the excitement of connecting with new internists and subspecialists who are coming to experience the conference for the first time. Robert Hasty, DO, FACOI characterized it best when he said that the Annual Convention is a "magical experience.” Check out all the ways to reconnect. 

ACOI member, Nathan P. Samsa, DO, FACOI, felt overwhelmed by pressures and expectations brought on by the pandemic that neither his community, nor the U.S. as a whole, could have foreseen. He was the only physician at his hospital who was managing the patients on ventilators and oxygen in the COVID ward. He acutely felt the health emergency as did many rural communities where approximately 6.6 million COVID-19 cases and more than 175,00 COVID-19 related deaths (as of June, 2022) have been recorded according to the USA Facts and Centers for Disease Central and Prevention.

Originally published June 19, 2021. Updated June 14, 2022. 

Processed foods and fast foods are a public health threat and create a risk of obesity and contribute to the rise of chronic diseases. MarkAlain Dery, DO, FACOI, discusses public health and nutrition, and the role of physicians in identifying patients suffering from food insecurity.

Greetings to everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season! I’d like to begin my letter by thanking our members for the overwhelming response to our email asking for committee member volunteers. We’re truly excited to see all the interest by members to become involved in the future of our College. Rest assured that we’ll be in touch with you as soon as possible with your committee appointments if selected.

Why are there so many breakthrough infections with the Omicron variant? Dr. Dery advises us to remind our patients that vaccines are like seat belts and explains why the Omicron variant is creating such a dramatic rise in cases.

The past year has been a challenge unlike any other for osteopathic internists, subspecialists, residents, fellows, and students. The ACOI responded by supporting its members through the creation of increased virtual learning opportunities, hosting our first-ever hybrid annual meeting, advocating on behalf of its members, and much more.

Inequity in healthcare starts when states don’t expand Medicaid. MarkAlain Dery, DO, FACOI, discusses how states that have expanded Medicaid have the money and resources to provide much-needed care access to vulnerable communities compared to the twelve states that have not.

As the newest variant, Omicron has reared its head, causing new concerns about its potential effects, MarkAlain Dery, DO, FACOI, says the underlying problem is inequity of vaccine distribution.