The Health Law Section, ably encouraged and supported by the D.C. Bar staff, has had another successful year of programs, community outreach initiatives, and other activities in the 2012 D.C. Bar year and looks forward to an equally successful year in 2013. As in past years, the steering committee has worked cooperatively with other sections and with D.C. Bar staff in a variety of different areas. We sponsored several programs and other activities in 2012 and have programs and activities being planned for 2013. The section steering committee holds monthly telephone conference call meetings chaired by section cochairs Cathy Scheineson and Tearyn Loving, with the able assistance of D.C. Bar Staff including David Itkin and Candace Smith–Tucker. E–mail communications are used between regular meeting times in order to maintain proper coordination of activities and events.
A summary of the section’s activities in 2012 and our activities for 2013 follows.
- Programs
- Community Outreach
- Publications
- Web site
- Nominating Committee
- New Practitioners Committee
- Financial
- CLE Programs
- Other
Programs
The section sponsored several programs in 2012, covering topics such as Antitrust Implications of Hospital Acquisitions and Speed Networking events. The Programs Committee is planning a reception early this year at the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery. Potential programs on global health and health care reform are also being considered. Steering committee member Alan Arville serves as the chair of the committee. Erica Spector and Hemi Tewarson respectively serve the programs committee as the vice chair and steering committee liaison.
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Community Outreach
The Community Outreach Committee is in the process of updating both the patient and practitioner versions of the section’s award–winning Patient Rights Manual. Volunteers have been reviewing, updating, and revising all of the chapters of each Manual.
Through the Health Care Decision-Making Project, the section community outreach committee offers free community workshops on advance directives at senior centers, churches, synagogues, and elsewhere. Each workshop lasts approximately one (1) hour and involves the presentation of a video on end–of–life health care decision–making issues, a presentation by an attorney on the meaning and content of an advance directive, and the distribution of an advance directive form. The intent of the workshops is to spread awareness of the issues and to provide the tools necessary for end-of-life health care decision–making. In order to ensure that the section continually recruits new volunteers to present at these workshops, the section provides training on advance directives and teaches volunteers how to answer questions at the workshops. The section is partnering with the AARP’s Legal Counsel for the Elderly and students from Georgetown University Law Center to broaden the reach of the Health Care Decision–Making Project.
With leadership from the New Practitioner Committee, the section also sponsored well–attended volunteer events at the D.C. Central Kitchen.
The section’s Community Outreach Committee is cochaired by Saundra Brown, Steve Chiu, and Jenifer Cromwell for 2012-2013.
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Publications
The section issues an e–mail newsletter approximately four times annually. Jenifer Cromwell
serves as editor of the e–newsletter for 2012-2013.
The section is responsible for updating the Mental Health Proceedings and the Health Maintenance Organization Act chapters of the D.C. Practice Manual. For 2012, the Mental Health Proceedings chapter was updated by Sherry Trafford, Staff Attorney for the D.C. Public Defender Service, with Jody Goodman of Crowell & Moring serving as reviewer; the HMO Act chapter was updated by Stephanie Willis and Teresa Carnegie of Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky, serving jointly as author and reviewer. Both chapters are in the process of being updated for 2013.
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Web Site
The steering committee continues to work with the Sections Office staff to ensure that information on the section web page is current and useful. Our e–newsletter is also cross–linked to the Web site and we have added information about other health law events. Steering committee member Jennifer Hitchon serves as the internet coordinator for 2012–2013.
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Nominating Committee
The Nominating Committee, chaired by steering committee member Alan Arville, is in the process of recruiting candidates to fill three vacancies for 2013. Hemi Tewarson, Kate McDonald, Erica Spector, and Cathy Scheineson also serve on the Nominating Committee.
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New Practitioners Committee
The New Practitioners Committee (NPC) has been in existence since June 2004 and has sponsored several successful programs with strong attendance. One main goal of NPC is to assist recent health attorneys with learning about the different career opportunities open to them as they progress in their careers. New members of the NPC are being recruited, and the NPC hosted speed mentoring evenings with mentors and mentees in June and November 2012 in which experienced health care attorneys (including several senior government attorneys) were partnered with young practitioners. The committee is also launching a one–on–one mentoring program.
In an effort to engage members and facilitate in–person networking, the committee held several happy hours this year, including joint happy hours with the young physician and young health policy professionals groups. The NPC also maintains a subgroup on LinkedIn to foster online networking opportunities for new practitioners. Steve Chiu, and Erica Spector serve as the cochairs of NPC.
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Financial
The section’s financial condition is sound. Membership remains stable, and our reserves are currently adequate. Steering committee cochair Tearyn Loving serves as financial officer for 2012-2013.
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CLE Programs
The Section will continue to offer its CLE “Introduction To Health Law” series during the first quarter of 2013. Hemi Tewarson has primary responsibility for planning new CLE programs, in coordination with the D.C. Bar CLE Office.
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Other
The Health Law Section expanded the steering committee from seven to nine members during 2012. The current members of the steering committee are: Alan Arville, Saundra Brown, Steve Chiu, Jenifer Cromwell, Jennifer Hitchon, Tearyn Loving, Cathy Scheineson, Erica Spector, and Hemi Tewarson. The section is fortunate to have so many members who are (including past members of the steering committee who remain) active and involved in section activities. With the valued assistance of the D.C. Bar staff and in further cooperation with other sections of the D.C. Bar, the steering committee looks forward with confidence to another successful section year of activities and events.
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