From the President

 John J. Stangel, MD


The Westchester County Medical Society is a professional association of physicians whose practice is within Westchester County. Organized in 1797, we are proud to be one of the oldest physician organizations in the United States. Our society seeks to advocate, educate and communicate on behalf of Westchester physicians, both members and non-members. We take our responsibility very seriously.
 
In December, 2009 I, as President of the WCMS, with the support of the Board of Directors made a public statement against the then proposed health care legislation. We opposed "…any legislation, which negatively impacts patient care, unfairly and adversely affects our profession, or compromises the physician-patient relationship…The practice of medicine must always remain a sacred “contract” between patient and physician, and the only meaningful role for our government is to facilitate this relationship…” Our position is still passionate and unchanged.
 
Now that the initial flurry of activity about the recent health care legislation has ebbed a bit it is particularly important not to lapse into a state of distance or disinterest. Regardless of your position on the legislation, it still has onerous consequences. Now is the time that it is critical to maintain our voices, to make our legislators understand that THE VOICE AND THE POSITION OF THE AMA WAS NOT THE VOICE ITS MEMBERS. To do this we have to become and stay politically active. As we make our position known we must not break into rivals camps, fighting among ourselves. It is critical that we stay focused and relentless in our efforts. It is not good enough for us to send emails to each other to point out the dire consequences of the legislation. We have to use the laws themselves as a motivation to do something. We must never think back to this time and realize, but for our efforts the finest medical system in the world was lost, and it was lost on our watch. There are outside opportunistic forces circling the medical profession like buzzards slowly picking us apart. They are doing it now, even as you read these words. Having good intensions or planning to help in the future is not enough. The time is now! Take your energy, now, at this moment and get involved in the WCMS and MSSNY. By merely joining, you increase our numbers and thus our power. By coming to meetings and bringing colleagues you can do even more. Write letters to the Westchester Physician newsletter. We want and need to hear from you whether or not you agree with us. We represent all physicians, of all views, from within Westchester. By writing you do not even have to leave your home to make yourself heard by hundreds of others.
 
Our new health care system is far from perfect and there is a profound need for improvement. The direction of the force for improvement, that leadership, must come from physicians.