2020–21 SDCMS Board of Directors (BOD) Elections
2020–21 SDCMS BOARD OF DIRECTORS ELECTIONS
April 1 — May 5, 2020
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⚠Asterisk (*) After Name = Incumbent |
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⚠# in Parentheses After Name = Term Length in Years |
OFFICERS:
GEOGRAPHIC DIRECTORS:
AT–LARGE DIRECTORS:
AT–LARGE ALTERNATE DIRECTORS:
YOUNG PHYSICIAN DIRECTORS:
RESIDENT DIRECTORS:
OFFICERS [top]
President–Elect Sergio R. Flores, MD (1): I have served on the SDCMS Board of Directors as both a Kearny Mesa alternate as well as geographic director. I am currently serving on the Executive Committee as Secretary. I would like to continue serving on the SDCMS Board as your President-elect. I am currently on the CMA Board of Directors since 2012 as well as the current Chairman of the CMA Finance Committee. I was recently appointed to the Board of IMQ as Treasurer and Chairman of the Finance Committee.
I was born and raised in San Diego and graduated from SDSU in 1985. I graduated from the UCSF School of Medicine in 1989 and trained at UC Irvine in internal medicine and gastroenterology from 1989 to 1994, and was board certified in both. I am in private practice and have been a partner at San Diego Digestive Disease Consultants since 1998.
I serve on the Board of Sharp Community Medical Group for the past 20 years and currently serve on the executive committee as the Vice President as well as the Chairman of the Finance Committee. I served on the Sharp Healthcare Board of Directors from 2005–2012 and continue to serve on the Sharp Finance Committee. I would like to continue to offer my services to you and SDCMS. Thank you.
Secretary Toluwalase (Lase) A. Ajayi, MD (1): I have had the honor of serving on the SDCMS Board of Directors for the past six years and on the SDCMS Executive Committee for the past three years. I consider it an honor to serve our medical community and I have the privilege to again ask for your support as I run for Secretary of SDCMS. I have served as an SDCMS at–large director for the past four years, and joined the executive committee in 2017. I have been very active bringing the voice of the community physician and the patients we serve to the California Medical Association. Through my active involvement with SDCMS, I have represented San Diego Physicians at the CMA, on the Council of Legislation, the Ethnic Minority section, the young physician section and recently as the chair of the Council on Medical Services.
I take these responsibilities seriously and work passionately in these roles because I believe that our San Diego County Medical Society provides a vital opportunity for our physician community to be able to speak as a singular “voice” to the public and to the politicians in the city, county, state, and federal government. We have seen our California Medical Board, the CDC and CMS react to the Opioid Epidemic in ways that may not truly benefit the patients that we are trying to help and place restrictions on the practicing physicians. We have seen and continue to see the cost of medical education increase leading to an increase debt burden on young physicians. EHR interoperability and scope of practice continue to place a burden the patient–physician–payer relationships.
Given this reality, it will be critical that we as practicing physicians represent, with a unified voice, the medical care interests of our patients. I have worked to help our Medical Society speak with that united voice and continue to work on the ground to help ease these tensions and much more. I would truly appreciate your support as I seek election to the SDCMS Board of Directors as its Secretary.
Treasurer Nicholas (dr. Nick) J. Yphantides, MD, MPH (1): I am thankful for your support of my service as your Treasurer. For over ten years I have been blessed with the opportunity to be the first Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of the County of San Diego. My life and passion is to be an advocate and catalyst to improve the health and well–being of our entire region with a focus on those who need it the most.
Prior to my service with the County, I served as the CMO of Neighborhood Health Care, the publicly elected Board Chair of Palomar Health, and the CMO of the Council of Community Clinics. I currently serve on multiple local and national boards and we are in a very dynamic and strategic time of collaborative partnership between SDCMS and its physician leaders with the County of San Diego through the nationally recognized Live Well San Diego vision. As a Director, I eagerly look forward to strengthening our regional collective impact even further, as we strive to improve the wellness of our patients and their families throughout San Diego.
GEOGRAPHIC DIRECTORS [top]
East County Director #2 Rakesh R. Patel, MD, FAAFP, CPE* (3): I am a family physician and the CEO of Neighborhood Healthcare, a federally qualified community health center serving about 70,000 of the underserved and medically needy. I am also a CMA delegate representing the Medium Size Group Practice Forum. My background in family medicine allows me to speak of the various challenges of primary care: access, reimbursement, administrative burdens, staffing, etc. I also understand the many challenges of running a healthcare organization. My overarching goals are to improve the health of our community, while continuing to advocate for the under– and uninsured.
Kearny Mesa Director #2 Alexander K. Quick, MD* (3): In 2007, I was introduced to the San Diego County Medical Society and the California Medical Association as a medical student in Dr. Hertzka's UCSD health policy class. I learned then how important it is to have these well–run organizations here to advocate on behalf of patients and their doctors. Today, I serve on the SDCMS Board of Directors and on the CMA Council on Legislation and it would be an honor to continue to support these organizations in this capacity.
La Jolla Director #1 Preeti S. Mehta, MD (3): I am honored to be nominated for the new position of La Jolla Geographic Director at the San Diego County Medical Society. I am a hospitalist at XiMED Hospitalists, Inc. and have been practicing in La Jolla for the past 12 years. I have been involved in several leadership positions throughout my career as an academic and private practice hospitalist. I have been on the Physician Advisory Group at the Scripps Foundation and am the Immediate Past President of the San Diego Association of Physicians of Indian Origin. I am currently the Internal Medicine Section Chief and serve on the Physician Wellness Committee at Scripps Memorial Hospital, La Jolla.
As an At–Large Alternate Director at SDCMS for the past 3 years, I have served on the Membership Committee and more recently was added to the Physician Wellness Committee. I continue to be very keenly interested in physician well–being and putting tools into place to recognize and prevent physician burnout. Helping physicians find a work–life balance is at the heart of my interest and I hope to continue to work towards that during my time on the SDCMS Board. I truly believe that SDCMS is a great platform to bring awareness to physician wellness and will be a resource to seasoned and newer physicians going forward.
I plan to continue to encourage physicians to be unified and engage with SDCMS to make a difference in the life of us physicians. I hope to represent the physicians of La Jolla and bring us closer as a community of doctors. Thank you for this nomination and I hope to serve on the board to be best of my ability.
La Jolla Director #2 David E.J. Bazzo, MD, FAAFP (3): It has been my honor to serve you and the San Diego County Medical Society. Having held many officer positions, including President, I have witnessed firsthand the great work that our Society does. I want to continue my involvement and am asking you to support my candidacy as Director. The San Diego County Medical Society is second to none when it comes to representing the needs and interests of physicians in advocating to optimize our ability to help our patients. The politics of our State and Nation have enormous impact on our capacity to keep our patients healthy. And, as with any process, unless you have a seat at the table, your opinion is not heard.
Through the work of your County and State Medical Societies, your voices are heard and your interests are represented. The members of the board do have influence and work on your behalf to insure that physicians have a say on the future practice of medicine. I am proud of my membership and position on the board, and view it an honor to volunteer to help our organization. I ask that you continue to place your trust in me to serve our organization by supporting my election. Thank you.
North County Director #3 Kelly C. Motadel, MD, MPH (1): I have been a member of the SDCMS for over 10 years. Born and raised in San Diego County, I knew from a young age that I wanted to practice medicine in this community. I have been a pediatrician and the Chief Medical Officer of Vista Community Clinic and on staff at Tri City Medical Center for over 15 years. I enjoy caring for the vulnerable population that VCC serves and advocating for my patients and our clinicians.
Over the last few years, I have become increasingly engaged in fighting for access to quality care for all patients and for clinician wellness to care for those patients. Beyond my clinical and administrative duties at VCC, I was a founding member of Time’s Up Healthcare, a national organization founded to fight for a safe, fair and dignified work place for women of all kinds. I also serve on the District Advisory Council for Health & Human Services for my state assemblymember and as a preceptor for medical students at UC San Diego and at Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine.
I view myself as an activist in striving for health care for all and I would be honored to take my efforts further in serving as the North County Geographic Director for the SDCMS Board of Directors. Only in combining efforts with other like–minded physicians can we make the changes needed to preserve our workforce and care for our patients the way we know best.
AT–LARGE DIRECTORS [top]
At–Large Director #1 Thomas J. Savides, MD* (3): I have been privileged to be a member of the SDCMS Board of Directors since 2014. I graduated from UCSD School of Medicine in 1987 and have been a UCSD faculty member in the Division of Gastroenterology since 1993. I am a clinical gastroenterologist and specialize in interventional gastrointestinal endoscopy related to the diagnosis and endoscopic treatment of mucosal and pancreaticobiliary GI neoplasia.
My leadership roles at UC San Diego include serving as the UC San Diego Health Chief Experience Officer, the Associate Chief Medical Officer for Faculty Affairs, and the GI Clinical Services Chief. Physician well–being and burnout are areas of recent focus for me. I direct efforts at UC San Diego to address these issues for faculty physicians, am a member of the SDCMS Wellness Committee, and I co–chair a University of California system wide collaborative to address physician well–being and professionalism. It is my honor to serve the members of the San Diego County Medical Society and thank you for your continued support.
At–Large Director #4 Miranda R. Sonneborn, MD (3): I am a family medicine physician with Sharp Rees–Stealy Medical Group. My passion is championing provider well–being as a critical component of providing excellent patient care. I am honored to be considered as a new member for the SDCMS Board, where I hope to continue this work. I am proud to have served on the SDCMS Committee for Provider Well–Being since this committee’s inception. Within the Sharp Rees–Stealy Medical Group I serve on the Providers’ Well–Being Committee (as one of the founding members) as well as a member of our CME Committee. I have recently been honored with the San Diego Downtown News Readers’ Choice Award for best physician for 2019 (as well as earning the distinction of 2nd place in 2018).
At–Large Director #6 Marcella (Marci) M. Wilson, MD* (3): I have always been driven by purpose, passion and goals, as most of us are in our field. It has been my pleasure to serve on the SDCMS Board of Directors over the past 6 years, first as an alternate, and more recently as an At–Large Director. As many, my concern for my patients’ welfare and for the state of healthcare continues to push this drive. I find that by maintaining a level of activity where I have a voice for these concerns is both satisfying and necessary. It is thus an honor to serve the broader medical community in this manner.
As we all come from varying backgrounds and specialties, my voice is one of many that advocates for the mentally ill and all the issues that this encompasses. As I have been in both private practice and community practice, I am able to understand the difference in needs, and where those needs meet and coalesce. I have previously noted that the learning curve was steep when I initially joined this impressive society. Like all matters, the learning continues, and I am committed to continuing to be a voice for our patients and for physicians in the many matters that come before us, or the matters that we desire to work with and change. These are many and varied, such as the Opioid Crises which still has not really slowed down, or the continued poor access to health care.
I continue to see the value in organizational medicine as being your voice, my voice, and my patients voices to helping solve the multitude of issues we all face as a community. I am dedicated to continuing to work towards powerful solutions that aid us all. I want to thank you all for your trust in my previous representation, and ask that you continue to support me in my candidacy for At–Large Director #6.
At–Large Director #8 Alejandra Postlethwaite, MD* (3): Dear colleagues, I appreciate the opportunity to continue my service as Director At–Large for the San Diego County Medical Society Board of Directors. I am Alejandra Postlethwaite, MD, DFAACAP, a board certified community child and adolescent psychiatrist and clinical team leader, at Neighborhood Health Care, medical staff at Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego, and Assistant Clinical Professor at UCSD’s Department of Psychiatry, where I teach first year medical students their Practice of Medicine course.
I am the current president for San Diego’s Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and President–elect for California’s Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. I am also an Assembly delegate for the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and an active member of AACAP’s Diversity and Culture Committee. Prior to joining Neighborhood Healthcare, I was the Behavioral Health Services Director at La Maestra Community Health Centers, and Associate Training Director for UCSD’s Community Psychiatry Fellowship Program.
I was born and raised in Mexico, went to medical school at the Universidad Autonoma of Guadalajara, did my general psychiatry residency at Harvard Medical School South Shore Program and UCSD, and my child psychiatry fellowship at UCLA. I am married and have 3 active boys. I consider it an honor to serve our medical community and advocate for the best healthcare for our patients.
AT–LARGE ALTERNATE DIRECTORS [top]
At–Large Alternate Director #6 Vimal I. Nanavati, MD, FACC, FSCAI* (3):
NO CANDIDATE STATEMENT
At–Large Alternate Director #7 Peter O. Raudaskoski, MD* (3): I have had the pleasure of serving on the SDCMS Board for the last nine years. During this time I have come to appreciate that SDCMS and CMA are the best organized and strongest advocates in organized medicine that support both physician concerns and ultimately patient access to quality care. I went to medical school at the USC School of Medicine in Los Angeles and did my residency at the UCLA School of Medicine where I also served as the Chief Resident.
Soon after training my family and I moved to San Diego, where I joined Anesthesia Service Medical Group (ASMG). I have served as the President of ASMG (over 260 physician anesthesiologists in San Diego) and currently serve as the Chief Medical Officer. While serving in these roles, there have been many times when the SDCMS and CMA were able to assist our group on many levels both in the local arena as well as at the state level.
While our state and national societies do excellent work in our given specialties, SDCMS supports all physicians despite their specialty or group size. It is for these reasons I would like to continue to serve as an Alternate Director on the SDCMS Board. As more changes in our healthcare system are sure to be coming our way, I would appreciate the opportunity to continue providing input that supports our ability to do what we do best: provide excellent medical care to our patients. Thank you for your support.
At–Large Alternate Director #8 Kosala Samarasinghe, MD* (3): I am asking for your support as I run for re–election for an At–Large Alternate Director Position at SDCMS. It has been my privilege to serve as an At–Large Alternate Director for the past t years; previously I served as your East County Geographic Director for three years. I have had the honor of serving on the SDCMS Board of Directors to help improve healthcare access to patients while advocating for physician rights. I am an internist and have been in the San Diego Medical community for almost 17 years.
I started my career in Southern California working with Neighborhood HealthCare, a federally qualified clinic caring for the lives of the underserved population in northeastern San Diego. My career later led me to a private practice in East County with Alvarado Medical Group. As my professional career in East County began to grow, I too found great rewards by being part of organized medicine. I quickly became involved at Alvarado Hospital and rose up the leadership ladder to become the Chief of Medicine at Alvarado Hospital.
Because the work that was being done at SDCMS by local doctors was very inspiring to me, I involved myself and eventually became a board member. My involvement on the SDCMS Board has enabled me to represent patients and physicians in San Diego as well as the rest of California. There has been a drastic paradigm shift in healthcare reform during the past decade and next few years will continue to be challenging. We continue to struggle with our work–life balance as the expanding EMR capabilities challenge our patient care time. It is imperative that physician voices be heard not only to protect our profession, but also to protect the rights of our patients.
My interest in medicine has also allowed me to help shape the minds of young physicians. I have been privileged with the honor of proctoring first– and second–year medical students from UCSD for the last seven years. This has been a very rewarding experience. I wish to continue contributing not only to the young physicians in our community but also to the experienced physicians as well. Please allow me to continue to serve on the SDCMS Board of Directors to represent physician and patient interests. Thank you.
YOUNG PHYSICIAN DIRECTORS [top]
Young Physician Director Brian J. Rebolledo, MD (1): It has been an honor to serve as the YPS Director. In joining SDCMS, a highlight was attending last year’s House of Delegates in Anaheim. Participating with a group of engaged physicians who feel deeply about the direction of healthcare was empowering. Overall this experience has served to enrich my practice and scope of medicine. I continue to serve as an Orthopaedic Surgeon/Sports Medicine at Scripps Clinic in Torrey Pines. My participation as YPS Director and SDCMS Board member has been a rewarding experience, and one that has helped enlighten me on what it takes to positively impact healthcare delivery.
RESIDENT DIRECTORS [top]
Resident Director Nicole L. Herrick, MD (1): It is a privilege to ask for your support to continue as the Resident Director for the San Diego County Medical Society Board of Directors. I am currently a second year combined Internal Medicine and Pediatrics resident at UC San Diego, planning to pursue a career in adult congenital cardiology.
I became involved in health policy and organized medicine as a first year medical student at UCSD in Dr. Hertzka’s Politics in Medicine course and later worked closely with the CMA and Assemblymember Gonzalez to draft, and subsequently pass, the Responsible Beverage Service (RBS) Training Act of 2017 (AB 1221 — Gonzalez). It was a privilege to serve as the CMA District 1 Resident delegate in the 2018–2019 session and now as the Resident Director on the San Diego County Medical Society Board of Directors.
I came down to San Diego in 2008 as an undergraduate and hope to stay in our wonderful city through fellowship and beyond. During my time in Sacramento I experienced first–hand the strong influence organized medicine can have on health policy and am excited to continue to be a part of the positive change we are all working towards. I would be honored to continue serving our community as the resident representation on the SDCMS Board of Directors.
Resident Alternate Director Allen R. Rodriquez, MD (1):
NO CANDIDATE STATEMENT