July 1, 2010 is a day for changing of the guard. After four years of dedicated and able service as president of MN-AAP, Anne Edwards is passing the gavel. I take on the duties of president, and Bob Jacobson, chair of pediatrics at Mayo, assumes the role of president-elect.

I have been in the private practice of pediatrics for over a quarter of a century, first in Brainerd, and for the last 19 years in St. Cloud. Having witnessed many changes in health care over the years, I have to say the pace of change has never been as fast and furious as it is today. Health Care Home in Minnesota, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act at the federal level, Minnesota Community Measurement, the electronic medical record, to name a few.

If you yearn to have a voice on how these changes play out for children and for the practice of pediatrics, I urge you to join your MN-AAP colleagues in helping to shape the future of pediatrics in our state. 

Here are a few of the opportunities available to you:

1. Join a committee: Immunizations, Advocacy, Pediatric Council to work with payors, Obesity, and others
   
   
2. Check out the website: www.mnaap.org
   
   
3. Attend Peds Day at the Capitol to advocate with your legislators in St Paul in the spring
   
   
4. Attend the Annual Meeting in June
   
   
5. Serve on the Board; we meet quarterly
   
   
6. Participate in a Learning Collaborative: the Medical Home Learning Collaborative participants not only changed their own practices, but helped shape Minnesota’s Health Care Home legislation; the Autism Collaborative is working to improve communications for our patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder across the spectrum, from education to health care to community partners.
   

E-mail Kathi Cairns, executive director, at cairns@mnaap.org about how to get involved.

Looking forward to working with you,

Marilyn Peitso, M.D.
PeitsoM@centracare.com

Word from the President Archive:
May 1, 2010
February 15, 2010
November 12, 2009
June 15, 2009
January 12, 2009
October 22, 2008