State Representative Edward J. Canfield, DO would describe his first eight months with the Michigan legislature, "A whirlwind!" Elected to serve the 84th District (Huron and Tuscola Counties), he is making history as the first osteopathic physician to join the House. Still currently practicing in Caro, MI, Dr. Canfield has strong roots in the area along with his wife who, together, owned their practice for the better part of 20 years. During that time, he became involved with his community and profession through the Sebewaing Rotary Club, Michigan Osteopathic Association, Eastern Michigan Osteopathic Association, serving on the board of the Michigan Association of Osteopathic Family Physicians and as the Osteopathic representative to the BCBSM Board for about five years.

"I have found that in order to affect change you have to be at the table and the table requires participation." Dr. Canfield speaking about his involvements and how it led to his current position, "At the State level I noticed that many issues related to my district and the State of Michigan, both in medicine as well as other interests, were being handled differently than I would like. I decided to get involved," he says.

One of the biggest challenges of this new position is the constant flow of issues and information that require quick review and resolution. When the solutions aren't as prevalent as the problems, even after a few months, the cycle can get frustrating. Dr. Canfield's dedication and work ethic was quickly recognized, and he now serves on the House Appropriations Committee, which handles over half of the total state budget, and chairs the Department of Transportation sub-committee.

In his new role, Dr. Canfield is interested in issues related to medicine, specifically Medicaid reform. He has been fortunate to see progress in this area with the adoption of a single medication formulary for Medicaid plans, being adopted this year. The MOA pitched a similar recommendation to today's version almost 5 years ago, and Dr. Canfield is convinced that while responses aren't as quick as we always hope, the organization's voice is heard. Other areas of focus for the new physician-Representative are education and the revitalization of small towns throughout Michigan.

With his background, it comes as no surprise that part of the small town renaissance would address the need to recruit and retain primary care physicians in rural or urban underserved locations. Over the last several years Dr. Canfield has developed a plan for these areas to improve access to primary care physicians.

Working with many stakeholders, their goal is simple, "to incentivize primary care physicians to work in these underserved areas and help pay down their student loans, at a time which they most need it." Planning to unveil the entire plan this fall, Dr. Canfield believes addressing student debt is critical to driving new primary care physicians into the areas they are most needed. The plan will look at some tactics to address the problem, however realizing that the issue reaches beyond state control in some aspects.

The MOA is looking forward to working with Dr. Canfield and stakeholders to improve care for Michigan residents. It is the Association's honor to support his Osteopathic voice as he represents our physicians and the communities they serve.