MA Surgical Quality Improvement Collaborative (MaSQIC): September 18, 2019
Forty- five representatives of the seventeen Massachusetts NSQIP hospitals met in Framingham, MA. Attendees included Surgical Champions, Department Chairs, Surgical Clinical Reviewers, seven Residents and other interested parties. Chairs, Marc Rubin of North Shore Medical Center and Matt Hutter of Massachusetts General Hospital led discussions. The agenda included highlights from the ACS Quality and Safety Conference held July 2019 in Washington, ED; improving VTE outcomes; and better management of opioid prescribing at discharge. The two hour gathering ended in each hospital’s Surgeon Champion spending two minutes sharing their hospitals' greatest challenges and successes.

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ACS State Affairs Webinar: Planning for the 2019 State Legislative Session
On December 11, 2018, the ACS State Affairs team presented a webinar, which is available for viewing. With a new state legislative year on the horizon, they share the tools made available by the College to engage in advocacy and public policy issues in the state legislature, as well as best practice experiences on planning and executing advocacy programs by ACS Chapters. Review the agenda. For questions, contact Christopher Johnson, MA State Affairs Associate, cjohnson@facs.org.

News Releases
June 7, 2018: State Representative Shawn Dooley Holds State House Stop The Bleed Training Course
May 29, 2018: State Representative Shawn Dooley Files Massachusetts Trauma Response Preparedness Act

MCACS Surgeon Advocates

Led by seasoned surgical Fellows with participation from residents and students, grassroots advocacy helps us build and sustain relationships with our federal legislators through local interactions. Periodic meetings in your MA district office enable us to advocate on issues critical to surgery, demonstrating to members of Congress that we are trusted resources on healthcare policy. With your help, we can continue to foster relationships that we have initiated with our legislators. Read below what your colleagues have been doing and consider becoming an MCACS Surgeon Advocate by sending your contact information to the MCACS office.

• Peter T. Masiakos, MD, FACS advocates for injury prevention laws
• David R. King, MD, FACS promotes the Stop the Bleed campaign and tourniquet training
• Erica Kane, MD, MPH summarizes her attendance at the ACS Leadership and Advocacy Summit
• Naveen F. Sangji, MD, MPH featured in the ACS SurgeonsVoice Monthly
• Samia Osman, Harvard Medical Student is making a difference through public policy changes

Contact your Legislators: Senate | House of Representatives

Taking the Stop the Bleed Campaign on the Road

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MCACS member, Dr. David King, of the Massachusetts General Hospital, has been teaching limb and junctional bleeding control to lay persons for years. His first efforts, training all the elementary school teachers at a parochial school in Boston, pre-dated the Stop The Bleed campaign. Since the Stop The Bleed campaign began, the public visibility and interest in limb and junctional bleeding control has increased. Dr. King shared his knowledge during the September 20, 2016 MCACS Lobby Day. Now he is taking the lead in exporting this training to other schools, civic groups, police departments, and other first responders.

Opioids Task Force Video:

MA State House Advocacy Day – September 20, 2016

The Massachusetts Chapter of the ACS hosted an Advocacy Day in the Great Hall of Flags at the Massachusetts State House on Tuesday, September 20th from 9 am to 2 pm.

The event featured a panel on the surgical response to firearm violence. Guest speakers included Peter Koutoujian, Sheriff of Middlesex County; Dr. Eric Goralnick of Brigham and Women’s Hospital; Dr. David King of MGH; Dr. Michael Hirsh of UMass Memorial Medical Center; William Evans, Boston Police Commission; and Robert A. DeLeo, Speaker of the House.

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If you would like to get involved in serving as a Surgeon Advocate in MA, please email your name and home address to the MC-ACS administrative offices. The Chapter thanks the North American Rescue, www.NARescue.com, which provided CATs for the event. View photo gallery   View the program

Advocacy Event in the Ether Dome at Massachusetts General Hospital
on September 30, 2014

Event to honor President Pro Tempore Richard T. Moore and Representative Viriato Manuel deMacedo

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In the photo from left to right: Robert DeLeo, MA Speaker of the House; Peter Masiakos, MD, FACS-MCACS Council Member and its Chair of the Legislative Advocacy Committee; Senator Richard T. Moore (D-Uxbridge) President Pro Tempore; Representative Viriato Manuel deMacedo (R-Plymouth); Terry Buchmiller, MD, FACS-MCACS President; Dr Peter Slavin, President of MGH

Massachusetts Chapter Develops New Grassroots Advocacy Program

For many years, the American College of Surgeons (ACS) has sponsored an annual spring Leadership & Advocacy Summit in Washington, DC. I have had the good fortune of participating in several of these events, which provide a wonderful chance for Fellows, ACS chapter officers, Governors and Regents, as well as young surgeons to learn about the legislative process and to gather with colleagues who face similar challenges. The program is growing: nearly 450 surgeons attended in 2014, up from 350 in 2013. However, we must do more to encourage greater participation of Fellows in advocacy and to foster collaboration between surgeons and policymakers, especially considering the relative number of representatives (435), senators (100), and Fellows of the College (approximately 79,600).

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Surgical Advocacy Summit at the State House

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2013 Advocacy Day Agenda