Boards, Councils & Committees

Councils • Standing Committees • AMA Delegation • Special Interest Sections

The House of Delegates is the official policy-making body of the LSMS. This legislative entity meets annually and consists of delegates and alternate delegates representing the society districts and special sections. For more information about any of the boards, councils or committees, please contact the LSMS.

The Board of Governors serves as the trustee and the administrative board of the LSMS and transacts all business for and on behalf of the Society in the interval between House meetings.

	Title	Term Expires
Patrick C. Breaux, MD New Orleans	President	December 31, 2010
Forrest Dean Griffen, MD Shreveport	President-Elect	December 31, 2010
Anthony P. Blalock, MD Lafayette	Vice President	December 31, 2010
Richard J. Paddock, MD Marrero	Secretary-Treasurer	December 31, 2010
K. Barton Farris, MD Marrero	Speaker House of Delegates	December 31, 2010
Gregory N. Sossaman, MD Metairie	Vice Speaker House of Delegates	December 31, 2010
Roger D. Smith, MD New Orleans	Immediate Past-President	December 31, 2010
William J. Dimattia, MD Baton Rouge	Retired Physician	December 31, 2010
Terry Jones, MD Baton Rouge	Retired Physician Alternate	December 31, 2010
Paul Edward Perkowski, MD Baton Rouge	Young Physician	December 31, 2010
Chad Prather, MD Baton Rouge	Young Physician Alternate	December 31, 2010
Amanda England, MD New Orleans	Resident	December 31, 2010
Clarissa Hoff, MD New Orleans	Resident Alternate	December 31, 2010
Ryan Vega, Metairie	Medical Student	December 31, 2010
Charles Schumacher, Crowley	Medical Student Alternate	December 31, 2010

The Board of Councilors serves as an appeals board for member to member disputes that cannot be resolved on a component society level, reviews issues regarding medical ethics and acts as a liaison to the component societies and members in the district. Councilors serve two year terms; odd numbered districts elect new councilors in odd numbered years and even numbered districts elect new councilors in even numbered years.

District	Councilor	Alternate
District I	Roberto E. Quintal-Aviles, MD New Orleans	Juan Gershanik, MD New Orleans
District II	Tod E. Engelhardt, MD Metairie	Dolleen Licciardi, MD Destrehan
District III	Mark Hebert, MD Thibodaux	Irving Blatt, MD Morgan City
District IV	Donald Texada, MD Shreveport	Anil Chhabra, MD Shreveport
District V	Vincent R. Forte, MD Monroe	John M. Coats, V, MD Bastrop
District VI		Drake Bellanger, MD Gonzales
District VII		Yoko Broussard, MD Lake Charles
District VIII	Richard F. Norem, II, MD Alexandria	J. Michael McGinity, MD Alexandria
District IX	Roderick V. Clark, MD Lafayette	Uyen Chu, MD Lafayette
District X	Richard Joseph Guillot, MD Mandeville	Luis Alvarado, MD Franklinton

Standing Committees

LSMS Standing Committees are established in the Society bylaws and are expected to meet at least once a year to perform duties as specified by its charge, the House or the Board.

Budget & Finance - R. Mark Williams, MD, Chair
Charter, Constitution & Bylaws - R. Bruce Williams, MD, Chair
CME Accreditation - Pamela A. Parra, MD, Chair
Medical-Legal Interprofessional Committee - Herbert W. Marks, Jr., MD, Chair

Councils

The LSMS has four Councils, serving as the primary workgroups of the Society. Member-physicians consider pressing issues, then debate and provide recommendations to the Board of Governors and to the House on appropriate action.

Council on Legislation - Dr. Vincent A. Culotta, Chair

Directs all of the state and federal legislative activities of the LSMS in accordance with the actions and policies of the House of Delegates.
Advise the Society as to the appropriate course of action to achieve its legislative goals. The Council organizes and coordinates the efforts of the LSMS regarding lobbying activities and member contact on key issues and/or legislation before the Louisiana Legislature and the Congress of the United States.
Staff Contact - Dept. of Government Affairs

Council on SocioEconomics - Dr. Floyd A. Buras,Jr., Chair

Monitor and research managed care issues and problems in Louisiana and when appropriate recommend solutions to those problems.
Advise the LSMS on appropriate actions to protect the basic rights inherent in the physician/patient relationship by monitoring the functions of utilization and quality review organizations as well as third party administrators that function within the state.
Act as a liaison with the insurance industry as well as third-party administrators, and advocate for the membership of the LSMS relative to matters of insurance that adversely affects both the physician and/or patient.
Staff Contact - Dept. of Legal Affairs

Council on Member Services - Dr. Richard P. Dickey, Chair

Be a source of knowledge as to the expected future physician manpower needs in the State of Louisiana. The Council advises the LSMS on in-state medical school curriculums and CME programs regarding the changing educational needs of practicing physicians both in clinical training and the socio-economic environment.
The Council shall develop programs and activities to recruit and retain those physicians and medical students residing in Louisiana into the unified structure (parish and state society) of organized medicine in the state.
Serve as a research and planning body for the development of materials and programs designed to foster a positive image of the medical profession in the health care community and public at large.
Promote coordination and improved communications between the LSMS and the state-wide medical specialty societies on issues of mutual interest in an effort to unify and strengthen physician advocacy and organized medicine in Louisiana.
Staff Contact - Dept. of Administration & Member Services

Council on Public Health - Dr. Robert J. Chugden, Chair

Advise the LSMS on all aspects of medical care and treatment related to major chronic diseases and geriatric conditions affecting the people of Louisiana.
Provide planning, direction and coordination of LSMS activities relative to disaster and emergency medical planning, and develop as appropriate, recommendations to the LSMS relative to disaster or emergency medical services.
Advise the LSMS on all aspects of medical care and treatment of maternal and perinatal patients, children and adolescents in Louisiana.
Monitor the incidence and prevalence of mental illness and substance abuse problems within the state and make recommendations, when appropriate, to address major state-wide problems.
Advise the LSMS on the social issues and government policies that affect the public health of the people of the state, and develop knowledge and information regarding the importance of infectious disease control, accident prevention, environmental concerns, and occupational illnesses.
Staff Contact - Dept. of Public Affairs

The AMA Delegation members attend the Interim and Annual AMA Meetings, providing representation for Louisiana physicians and LSMS members on national issues and AMA policy decisions.

	*Delegate*	*Alternate*
	Floyd A. Buras, Jr., MD New Orleans	Vincent A. Culotta, Jr., MD Metairie
	William T. Hall, MD Shreveport	Dolleen Licciardi, MD Destrehan
	Keith F. DeSonier, MD Lake Charles	Harold L. Ishler, Jr., MD Denham Springs
	Michael S. Ellis, MD New Orleans	Frederick J. White, III, MD Shrevport
	K. Barton Farris, MD Marrero	Dolleen Licciardi, MD Destrehan
	Sameer Syed Member in Training New Orleans
Young Physician Section	Paul E. Perkowski, MD Baton Rouge
Regional Medical Student	Sameer Syed New Orleans	Jonathan Page New Orleans

The Young Physician Section, Retired Section, Resident Section and Medical Student Section provide our members greater participation and representation in the affairs of the Louisiana State Medical Society and a more direct role in policy deliberations.

Young Physician Section - Paul Edward Perkowski, MD
Retired Section - William J. Dimattia, MD
Resident Section - Amanda Regan Lou England, MD
Medical Student Section - Ryan Vega