Richmond County Report

The Richmond County Medical Society is continuing to change with the times.
We continue to strive for a safer community. Our current president, Dr. Melissa Grageda, is focused on her platform this year – Child Safety. The executive committee hit the ground running, as we organized a task force in Staten Island for Child Safety and Injury Prevention. Unfortunately, Firearm-related injury is now the leading cause of death in US children, and Richmond County Medical Society is taking action! Our first collaborative goal is to launch an awareness campaign to prevent firearm injuries, and to make existing mental health resources more accessible. The next step is an educational campaign for providers regarding best practices on firearm screening and injury prevention.

Our Goals remain the same.  We always look to increase participation of our current members, as well as educate physicians about our society with hopes of them joining.   The Society will continue to promote the importance  of organized medicine, and educate our members on current medical topics and determine alternatives to enable practices to further thrive in the community. The physicians of Richmond County embody the best of what our profession has to offer.  We strive to provide excellent healthcare.  We continue to pursue advances in medicine and to advance our knowledge, through ongoing educational programs.  We have a strong belief in the importance of participation in organized medicine,  as evidenced by the success of the Richmond County Medical Society.

UPDATES:

• Our Legislative Brunch will be held on May 21st at the Hilton Garden Inn, Fountain Room.

• The 2023 HOD Delgates are eagerly awaiting the upcoming function. Our president is currently drafting a resolution for submission before the March 1st deadline. It has been requested that all delegates make their hotel reservations ASAP.

• Our next Comita Meeting will be held on March 7, 2023 In-Person. Dr. Volpe is spearheadiing the meeting and will be organizing a presentation by VBP/RPM. April and May Comitia Meetings will be Virtual.

• June 6, 2023 will be a combination of our Last In-Person Comitita Minora meeting as well as the installation of our new board for the 2023-2024 term. The function will be held at the Staaten, 6:30-10pm.

• Our last event of the 2022 season was the annual Women in Medicine Dinner. It was held on December 9th at Nino’s restaurant. This is our opportunity to celebrate all the female physicians and their immeasurable contributions to medicine ever year. A wonderful time was had by all.

• The Past President Dinner/Meeting honoring Dr. Brian R. McMahon was held on November 11th at the Hilton Garden Inn, “The Above”. This annual event is always a very well attend and an extremely special evening. This years event did not disappoint!

• October 23rd marked our annual Legislative Brunch. Our chair, Dr. Radha Syed and the Executive Administrative team worked diligently to make this event a success. Many of Staten Island’s most influential legislators to attended including our Borough President Vito Fossella with his Senior Advisor, Dr. Ram Raju. Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis. as well as former Congressman Max Rose were in attendance. NYS Assembly Member Michael Tannousis, NYS Council member David M. Carr and Representative Justin Bolusi were also on the guest list.

• The Premier, In-Person Comitia Meeting was held on September 13th at Lorenzo’s Restaurant & Cabaret at the Hilton Garden Inn. We had a special presentation by Dr. Lisa Eng entitled “Practice Management: Strategies for Private Practices to Thrive.” We so appreciated her time and support of our society. Our October and November meetings we held via Zoom.

• We had two philanthropic interests. As a society we participated in the JDRF One Walk for Juvenile Diabetes on October 16th. We raised $2,715 for the cause. We will also be represented at the Autism Walk on October 23rd. Our very own Dr. John Maese is a chair at this annual event.

Respectfully submitted on 02/19/2023 by:
Dr. Melissa Grageda, President & Linda Sabatino, Executive Director