Orange County Medical Association Welcomes Dr. Kockinis as New President July 17, 2013 General 2013 Leadership Installation, Dr. Standiford Helm, Dr. Thomas Kockinis, Presidential Inauguration 0 Article written by Physicians News Network, www.physiciansnewsnetwork.com/orange_county Last Saturday, July 13, OCMA welcomed doctors to a special installation of OCMA’s new president, Dr. Thomas Kockinis. Members and guests had a chance to meet and talk to Orange County public officials and members of California legislature, network with each other, and hear about the history of Orange County Medical Association, organized in 1889, back when an increase from two to six beds was considered a major hospital expansion. Dr. Kockinis said a lot of positive changes during the last year at OCMA were in big part due to the leadership of Dr. Standiford Helm who worked hard during his term as the president of OCMA to take the organization to the next level. “Membership”, Kockinis said “is now growing at a rapid pace, infused by a new generation of doctors eager to make a positive impact”. Advocacy, according to him, has never been stronger, and OCMA has excellent working relationships with legislators. Dr. Dennis Jordanides, who is not a member of OCMA but attended the event for the first time as a guest, said that from his perspective “OCMA is becoming increasingly relevant in this era of unprecedented health care reform, and President's dinner was an excellent venue for physicians of all specialities to engage in discussions regarding future collaboration”. He added that “the community support of OCMA was clearly evident by the presence of a number of high-profile state and national political representatives." The main message from the legislators attending the event was that they need to hear from physicians in order to understand the issues that physicians are concerned about. Assembly woman Diane Harkey went as far as give the audience her cell number saying “Call me, text me! Contact me any time, any time at all. I will look into it, we will take care of you because we need you!” Eric Handler, Orange County Health Officer, told PNN that “partnership of his organization with OCMA has flourished under the current OCMA administration, and OC Health will continue to collaborate with physician community over public health issues, such as hunger, homelessness and prescription drug overdose. He encouraged physicians to reach out to him and use him as a resource when they have any requests or concerns. The event was attended by over 200 OCMA members and guests, and was held at the Center Club Costa Mesa. See pictures from the event on OCMA's Facebook page Comments are closed.