Javette Orgain, MD (at mic), Carolyn Lopez, MD (left) and Arvind Goyal, MD (right)

IAFP joined with other advocates, the Chicago Dept. of Health and Mayor Rahm Emanuel in a bold campaign to limit e-cigarettes in Chicago. Specifically, the ordinance passed on January 15 will subject e-cigarettes to the same sales restrictions as cigarettes and also includes e-cigarettes in the City's Clean Indoor Air Act. The reasoning is simple: e-cigarettes are not regulated by the FDA and not proven safe. Disturbing new statistics revealed that high school students' use of e-cigarettes doubled from 2011-2012. Ten percent of them have used an e-cigarette.

Three IAFP members led off the press conference at city hall just before the historic vote in the Chicago City Council. Past president Carolyn Lopez, MD (President of the Chicago Board of Health) served as the moderator with opening remarks. She was followed by Past President Javette C. Orgain, MD representing IAFP and then former Family Physician of the Year Arvind Goyal, MD representing the Institute of Medicine of Chicago. The message was strong, the front united and the results will help break the grip of nicotine use among our city's youth and help us avoid re-normalizing the act of smoking.
Read Dr. Orgain's statement here
Read Dr. Goyal's remarks here.
Dr. Orgain testified in a committee hearing on Monday Jan. 13. Read her testimony here.

This completes three stunning victories in recent months:
*Chicago passed a sizable excise tax on cigarettes. A policy that will keep tobacco out of the hands of the single most price-sensitive consumers - kids. We now have the highest-priced cigarettes in the nation.

*Chicago restricted the sale of flavored cigarettes within 500 feet of schools - that is five times the existing radius. This was the first policy at any level of government (federal, state, or local) to ever include menthol-flavored cigarettes in a law that regulates flavored tobacco.

*The Chicago City Council voted overwhelmingly (45 to 4) to regulate the sale of e-cigarettes like tobacco products and include the use of e-cigarettes in the Chicago Clean Indoor Air Act.

The timing couldn't be better as the U.S. Surgeon General marked the 50th anniversary of the first report on smoking with an update released on January 17th
There are resources and a video on the Surgeon General's web site:
Help your patients quit tobacco using AAFP Ask and Act tobacco cessation resources. 

Residency Programs Would you like an IAFP leader to visit your residency program?  Email Ginnie Flynn at gflynn@iafp.com with possible dates/time and she'll work on scheduling a visit for you. 

Chicago Faculty Position 

UIC /Advocate Illinois Masonic Family Medicine Residency seeks a full time Faculty Physician interested in maternity care for our 24 resident program located in a lively, diverse north-side Chicago neighborhood.Our dually accredited, community based residency in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood offers an opportunity to work with strong residents and skilled colleagues dedicated to excellence in residency education. All faculty teach and practice at our FMC and supervise the inpatient team at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center. Additional responsibilities include maternity care and supervision of residency deliveries. Maternity call is shared with five FM faculty who practice obstetrics.

Contact Peggy Wiedmann, MD

email: margaret.wiedmann@advocatehealth.com

or leave a  message with Christine Curry 1-773-296-8248

Are you looking for a great opportunity at a high-functioning, small practice in a great location?  Established northwest suburban Niles family practice is seeking a full or part -time family physician to join growing practice.  Patient panel is well-established, and the practice has stability along with flexibility and strong leadership.  Practice is part of Advocate ACO with meaningful use E.H.R. and in the process of NCQA PCMH recognition. The successful candidate should be Board Certified or Board-Eligible, with graduating residents considered. Start date of April 1. Compensation is negotiable. Malpractice and benefits provided; and partnership potential available.

Please respond with CV/resume to Ellen Brull, MD at esbrull1@gmail.com.

Looking for Urgent Care Physicians for high volume clinics

Full Time 8 & 12 -hour shifts available in 3 convenient locations in Springfield, Illinois. Competitive rate, Excellent Benefits, and Income Sharing partner ops

Send resume to:

Mid-America Emergency Physicians

701 N. First St. Springfield, IL 62781

Mt. Vernon- Established Family Practice Clinic has full-time position available, with opportunity for partnership.  J1 & H1 sponsorship available. Clinic is located in Mt. Vernon, IL (family friendly community). For telephone or interview appointment, please send credentials with contact information to carefirst@sbcglobal.net

Please visit our website at www.carefirstmedicalcenter.com for information regarding the Clinic.

Requirements: MD or D.O from accredited institution, licensed physician in Illinois. Additional master's level degree in public health, management and administration or equivalent experience, preferred. Board Certified in primary care discipline. Federal DEA license, CPR certification. Two or more years of clinical primary care experience. Previous leadership experience preferred. Bilingual (English/Spanish) preferred, proficiency in medical Spanish required.

Private Family Practice full time position available in Evergreen Park. Offers busy practice with in house laboratory, DEXA scan, PFT, etc. Established EHR system. In professional building next to Hospital for convenient rounding. Attractive compensation and benefits. Start date January 2014. Contact Dr. Scott Hanlon: 708 423 2662, scotthanlon@sbcglobal.net

If you have a news item to share, email it to Ginnie Flynn at gflynn@iafp.com.

Kimberly Hanneken, MD of Decatur offers tips for preventing catching strep throat and scarlet fever on WAND-TV News on Jan. 10.

Harald Lausen, DO and Jerry Kruse, MD will represent SIU HealthCare in a new partnership with Memorial Medical Center called the Midwest Healthcare Quality Alliance which will expand quality improvement projects to physician outpatient clinics. The story was covered in the January 15 Springfield State Journal Register.

David Gregory, MD of Decatur is the medical director of a new free clinic that opened in a downtown Methodist Church this week that will also include direct contact with caseworkers who can connect the uninsured to other community resources. The story appeared in the January 17 Decatur Herald-News.

Past President Javette C. Orgain, MD was quoted on WGN News at Noon on January 15 from the joint press conference where health and community advocates urged the Chicago City Council to pass the proposed ordinance regulating e-cigarettes, which the Council did at their meeting a few hours later.

Board Member Renee M. Poole, MD of Chicago authored the IAFP's official letter to the Chicago Tribune supporting the Chicago ordinance to regulate the sale of e-cigarettes and include them in the city's Clean Indoor Air Act which ran alongside letters from many other advocates it the Jan. 18 edition.

In Memoriam:

Mark Kanaris, MD - the 1989 Illinois Family Physician of the Year, passed away at the age of 91.  He practiced in Chicago and Oak Lawn for over 30 years. Born in Greece, he was part of the Greek Resistance during WWII and spent two years in an POW camp, then went to the Aristotle Medical School.  He immigrated to the U.S. in 1958 and eventually served as Chair of Family Practice at Christ Hospital.