For Immediate Release May 6, 2004 Contact: Mary Tavernini Phone: (906) 226-6200 E-mail: mta@mtazone.com

Local physician re-elected to serve at the
American Medical Association
Marquette-Alger County Medical Society member represents Northern Michigan

Marquette, MI: Dr. Carl Hammerstrom, an active member of the Marquette-Alger County and Michigan State Medical Societies, has been elected by his peers to represent the state to the House of Delegates of the American Medical Association.

Dr. Hammerstrom overcame great odds to be elected from among nine candidates as one of eight delegates to the 12-member American Medical Association (AMA) delegation. The delegates, chosen April 30 during the 140th Annual Michigan State Medical Society (MSMS) House of Delegates in downstate Dearborn, were voted on by 375 state delegates.

“It’s a challenge to compete with down-state Michigan,” Dr. Hammerstrom said. “The four large counties there — Wayne, Genesee, Oakland and Washtenaw — have half the votes.”

Dr. Hammerstrom, a graduate of Harvard College and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, had been an alternate delegate to the AMA for 10 years, and then served as a delegate for two years. His term was cut short last year when the AMA eliminated one of the Michigan delegate positions due to a decline in membership.

As the only delegate from north of the Flint-Grand Rapids line, Dr. Hammerstrom pledged to maintain communication with his fellow physicians throughout the Upper Peninsula and the northern Lower Peninsula, bringing their issues and concerns before the AMA.

“Any individual doesn’t carry clout, but I’m there, together with Delegates from Flint and Grand Rapids, as reminders that there’s more to the state than the southeast counties,” he said.

The AMA meets twice each year: in Chicago each June for a five-day meeting and each December for a four-day conference at various locations throughout the country. He will also attend an annual Michigan AMA Delegation Caucus in Lansing.

In his role, Dr. Hammerstrom will review reports from standing committees, financial information, long-range planning data and pending resolutions. Because to his experience as a Critical Care physician, Dr. Hammerstrom has requested assignment to the Constitution and Bylaws Committee and the Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs.

Dr. Hammerstrom, in addition to his role as senior delegate from the Marquette-Alger County Medical Society (MACMS) to the MSMS House of Delegates, is chairman of the MSMS Judicial Commission.

“One of the things that I have specialized in for the delegation is keeping track of our ethical and judicial affairs reference meetings ,” Dr. Hammerstrom said.

Past President of the MACMS, Dr. Hammerstrom is also past director of the MSMS Board and past chairman of the MSMS Committee on Physician Continuing Education and Outstate Caucus. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the American Lung Association of Michigan.

Dr. Hammerstrom lives in Marquette with his wife, Lynne.

_______________________________________________________

American Medical Association
Physicians dedicated to the health of America

"We cannot expect change - we cannot effect change - if we do not work for change. ... And in this work - we can never give up. If we desert this battle, we will lose the most experienced of the practitioners among us and cripple the next generation of physicians."- Donald J. Palmisano, MD, JD

Fund for America's Liability Reform
Now is the Time for Action!

A medical liability crisis is threatening the health care system in America. Many physicians are simply no longer able to afford the skyrocketing increases in medical malpractice premiums. As the list of states in crisis continues to grow, doctors are limiting care. In some cases, physicians have closed their practices entirely. The resulting deterioration of patient access to care has attracted national attention, and placed liability reform at the forefront of the national legislative agenda.

The coming months represent a promising opportunity to pass critically needed medical liability reforms. The Senate's recent failure to act on S.1 1, the Patient's First Act of 2003, delayed a crucial response to this issue. However, legislation to reform the medical liability system continues to carry very strong support with the President, the Congressional leadership, and the American public. In fact, a 2003 Gallup poll showed that 72 percent of Americans favor caps on non-economic damages in medical liability cases.

To ensure that this opportunity for reform results in substantial, effective changes to the medical liability system, the AMA has intensified its Campaign for Liability Reform. The distribution of over 14,000 Physician Action Kits, which help physicians to communicate with their patients about liability reform, has greatly increased the visibility of this issue. The recruitment of large numbers of grassroots activists and national and regional media campaigns are also heightening awareness of the medical liability crisis. Increasingly, Congress is under pressure to find a national solution to this crisis.

We need your help to ensure the continuation of a successful campaign: one that results in a solution to the medical liability crisis. The involvement of the medical community is crucial to our success and one hundred percent of every contribution will go directly to the Campaign.

Please contribute today and help make liability reform a reality!

To contribute click here to download and print the form.
Fill out and mail to:

AMA's Fund for America's Liability Reform
110 Vermont Avenue NW 12th FL
Washington DC 20077-1695