Alabama Governor's Newsletter December 2023

In this Issue:
Governor's Message
Dr. Soppet Awarded Mastership
Upcoming Dates
ACP Resources

Ross B. Vaughn, MD, FACP, ACP Governor

Governor's Message

Dear Alabama ACP Colleagues,

For many of us life gets busy in Alabama during the fall months with football, hunting, and preparing for the holidays, but I wanted to check in with you all to keep you posted on exciting upcoming events for our chapter.

Dr. Billy Boyd has returned to Alabama and so has our Literature in Medicine Retreat which will occur in person at the Trilogy Hotel in Montgomery, January 26-28, 2024. In addition to a viewing a film, the group will discuss a book, play, poem, and short stories moderated by Professor Randy Travis. Please contact Dr. Boyd at billyboyd@aol.com for details if interested.

I am very pleased to announce a new collaboration of Alabama ACP with the UAB Heersink School of Medicine. With the support of Dean Anupam Agarwal we will hold our first ever winter meeting on Saturday, February 10, 2024 on the UAB campus and registration will be free. The planned theme for the winter meetings will be innovation in medicine and this year's topic will be artificial intelligence. Save the date as program details and a registration portal will be announced soon.

This spring we will be back at the beach with our friends from Mississippi for the AL-MS Scientific Meeting, May 30-June 2, 2024 at the Hotel Effie at Sandestin, Miramar Beach, Florida. Our program chair Dr. Allison Rogers and the planning committee have updated the format of the meeting which will have special offerings of interest to all physicians. National ACP President Dr. Omar Atiq will be our College representative and you will not want to miss this opportunity.

Wishing you and your family a wonderful holiday season,

Ross B. Vaughn, MD, FACP
Governor

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Dr. Soppet Awarded Mastership

Charles Michael Soppet, MD of Indian Springs has been named a Master of the American College of Physicians. After service in the United States Air Force, he began a 34-year career as an internal medicine physician initially in the small historic town of Selma then later in Dothan. During this time, he followed his passion and refined what it meant to be a primary care physician striving to provide concierge care to common people.

As a champion of the Patient Centered Medical Home model, his practice was the first internal medicine group in Alabama to be NCQA certified. Subsequently, his involvement in a state-wide pilot of the PCMH with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama led to the model being integrated into an incentive payment program for primary care physicians. His expertise in the medical home model has been recognized nationally with invitations by ACP to present at multiple meetings, serve on the ACP Medical Practice Quality Committee, and serve as an ACP team member liaison for NCQA PCMH Standards as well as a reviewer for URAC PCMH Standards.

Dr. Soppet has continuously been a source of new ideas for the Alabama ACP Chapter. A chapter Laureate Award recipient himself, he envisioned a society of former laureates to mentor and cultivate leadership skill in resident physicians identified as potential future leaders in our chapter. Potential Laureate Fellows are nominated by their program directors and chosen by the laureates then exposed to national ACP leaders at the Internal Medicine Meeting, ACP Leadership Day in Washington, and our state advocacy day at the capitol. They attend Governor's Advisory Council meetings and participate on committees at the state chapter level. The program he initiated has received a Chapter Development Fund Award from national ACP and other chapters are considering replicating his idea.

Throughout his career as a small-town internal medicine physician, Dr. Soppet has had heartfelt desire to connect with and care for his patients. He has experienced the joy and satisfaction that comes from that close professional bond. He has worked tirelessly to perpetuate a model of care that is personal and physician led, and his hope is to share his passion with the next generation.

With acknowledgement of his devotion to the practice of medicine and his relentless support of the value of patient-centered primary care, the Alabama Chapter of the American College of Physicians congratulates Dr. Soppet on this momentous achievement.

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