Dr. Gerard (Rod) Creagh, Jr, died June 14, 2018 at the age of 81, following a long, courageous battle against Primary Progressive Aphasia.

Rod was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to the late Rear Admiral Gerard Bugg Creagh, MC USN, and Margaret Ehemann Creagh. He graduated from Columbia Military Academy and Vanderbilt University. After graduation from Vanderbilt, he completed flight training in Pensacola, Florida, and Kingsville, Texas, and received a commission in the U.S. Navy.

He served for five years as an all-weather fighter pilot aboard the USS Shangri-La. After completing his military service, he attended the University of Tennessee School of Dentistry, where he received a DDS degree and completed a residency in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.

Rod’s generosity and concern for others is legendary. He was a person who lived life fully-an advocate for wildlife and stray dogs, a bicyclist, country music composer,
and an ardent fan of boats and sports cars.

After he retired from his surgery practice, Rod was able to enjoy his lifelong love of country music and founded his own music publishing company, 3 Wire Music. One of Rod’s country music compositions, “I’m Nobody Today, But I Was Somebody Last Night,” was recorded by both Mickey Gilley and Mose Allison.

Rod is survived by his wife of 50 years, Ellen Lacher Creagh, his sister Mary Margaret (Peg) Wood and husband Norman of Athens, brothers-in-law Michael Lacher of Athens, Georgia, Christopher Lacher and wife Kathy of Tallahassee, Florida, and sister-in-law Lisa Lacher Bryan and husband Stephen of Walpole, New Hampshire. He leaves behind an extended family of much loved nieces and nephews.

To celebrate Rod’s life, a gathering of family and friends will be held on Sunday, July 22, from 3 to 6 p.m. at his sister’s home on Milledge Circle in Athens, Georgia.

In memory of Rod, donations may be made to Best Friends Animal Society, 5001 Angel Canyon Road, Kanab, UT, 84741

 

2019 Annual Meeting

Information coming soon.

 

May 23, 2018

Dear Colleagues:

Over three days this month, 74 attendees – including 30 residents – gathered in Rosemont, Ill., to attend the AAOMS Clinical Trials Methods Course to learn from speakers about such topics as data management and patient selection and then break out into small groups to develop actual studies.

Since 2008, the biennial course has brought together a mix of residents, fellows, faculty and private practitioners to learn an overview of clinical trial design with a focus on Phase III studies.

On the final day, the four groups – which centered on craniofacial trauma / orthognathic / facial deformities, dentoalveolar / anesthesia, pathology / reconstruction, and TMD / facial pain – presented their study designs, potential impact, budgets and possible funding sources for randomized controlled trials. The groups fielded questions from faculty and course participants about those proposals, defended them and were scored in a tight competition.

The winner was the TMD/facial pain group led by Dr. Gary Bouloux with the proposal, “Does Liposomal Bupivacaine Reduce Postoperative Opiate Requirements Compared to Placebo Following Unilateral Custom TMJ TJR?” The project impact could include intraoperative liposomal bupivacaine reducing post-operative opioid use after custom total joint replacement as well as opioid-related adverse events and behaviors in addition to improving patient experience. Group members were Drs. Mohamed Abdelhakim, David Ahn, Zachary Brown, Bridget Ferguson, Louis Mercuri, Yuko Nakamura, Daniel Reece, Anthony Urbanek and Payal Verma.

With its move to Rosemont (the course was previously held at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich.), attendance was up 25 percent over 2016. AAOMS and the OMS Foundation sponsored the course, with travel scholarships provided by the Foundation (14) and the Osteo Science Foundation (five).

The four groups will present their study designs, potential impact, budgets and possible funding sources for randomized controlled trials during the 2018 AAOMS Annual Meeting research open forum. Congratulations to the winning group, and thank you to the participants and leaders for their hard work and a stimulating and rewarding program.

The Georgia Rural Physicians’ Workforce Board is still taking applications for 2 open slots for the Rural Dental Student Loan Repayment Program.  It is imperative that we get dentists to fill all 12 slots, otherwise the legislature will cut our funding next year.

Here is an overview of the program and details for submitting applications:

The Dentists for Rural Areas Assistance Program (DRAA) provides service-cancelable loans of up to $25,000 per year in return for dental practice in an underserved, rural county in Georgia. Contracts are awarded for one year and are renewable three times for a maximum of four years.  Funding for this program is provided by the State of Georgia.

Download DRAA information flyer.

Please click on the link below for the DRAA program requirements and application materials.

Download Dentist RAA Loan Repayment Program Application

If you have questions please let contact Scott Lofranco, GDA General Counsel and Director of Government Affairs, Georgia Dental Association at scott@gadental.org or 404-636-7553

Dear GSOMS colleagues,

The 2017 AAOMS House of Delegates (HOD) convened in San Francisco October 9-11. Despite the tragedy which was occurring in the Napa and Sonoma areas, the caucus sessions, reference committee meetings and the HOD were focused and productive, characterized by poignant discussion and debate, humor, and, solemnity as the HOD recognized fellows and members who had passed away since the 2016 meeting in the third session.

During the first session, the HOD elected Dr. Pushkar Mehra as an ABOMS Director in two ballots.

In keeping with the continued focus, both nationally and at the state level, on the opioid epidemic, the HOD authorized the AAOMS Board of Trustees (BOT) to appoint a Special Committee on Responsible Prescribing to serve as a content expert to existing committees and the BOT. This committee will report to the 2018 HOD. Our specialty continues to be in the crosshairs of political debate with regard to the opioid crisis. Georgia legislators are seemingly more brazen to publicly blame us for the introduction of opioids to “minor” populations via wisdom teeth procedures. For this reason, I recommended to Hank and Dr. Al Pesto that the GSOMS appoint an Ad Hoc committee on opioid legislation which will work separately and in conjunction with the GDA in preparation for the next General Assembly. We will also work with the Georgia Attorney General Task Force on Opioid Abuse as well as the MAG “Think About It” campaign advisory council. Grant Hogan and Amy Kuhmichel agreed to also serve on this important committee.

A resolution was introduced to sunset the AAOMS Committee on Hospital and Interprofessional Affairs. This committee’s function and accomplishments were vigorously defended by previous chairs in our caucus and on the floor of the HOD. The resolution was thusly referred back to the BOT for further evaluation with a report to follow to the 2018 HOD.

The AAOMS Committee on Anesthesia remains a very busy committee with ongoing projects which include an update of the Office Anesthesia Evaluation and development of the AAOMS National Simulation courses. Phase I (Basic Emergency Airway Management – BEAM) is ready for roll out to the membership. Phase II (Office based crisis management) and Phase III (IV Sedation) are in development. A resolution was proposed that would allow extension of the current chair’s term of service from 9-10 years (total time on committee) to allow continuity for completion of the previously mentioned projects. This resolution was defeated.

The HOD voted to approve Resolution B3 (RC) which would increase the consecutive Trustee tenure to three full 2 year terms (previously was two terms). The motivation behind this resolution was to avoid what happened last year when 3 candidates ran for the office of AAOMS Vice President. It was felt that too much BOT experience was lost at one time under that scenario.

There were many resolutions presented to the HOD pertaining to the AAOMS Foundation’s realignment under the AAOMS BOT’s. Many AAOMS committees will now be populated with AAOMS Foundation Directors. The AAOMS Treasurer will now oversee the finances of both the Foundation and the ASI Board. These resolutions all passed under the consent agenda.

The AAOMS 2018 operational budget was approved with Rev/Exp of 20,979,823 and 20, 760, 093 respectively.

Our caucus introduced a resolution to the HOD directing the AAOMS BOT to investigate independent specialty recognition and accreditation. This resolution passed also via the consent agenda and a report will be presented next year. This resolution addressed the ADA’s formation of a new commission for specialty recognition (composed of 9 GD’s, 1 rep from each of the nine ADA recognized specialties and a public member) and CODA’s initiation of a process removing the term “dental specialty” and substituting in its place “advanced dental education”. AAOMS officers and Trustees were present at the recent ADA reference committees and HOD sessions. You will hear much more about this from our District 3 Trustee, Dr. Robert Clark in the near future.

A resolution was proposed to rescind the Life Fellow/Member dues and assessment requirement that was passed last year. This item was defeated. On a humanitarian note, 2018 dues and assessments for OMFS’s practicing in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands were waived.

It remains a privilege to serve our component society as a delegate in the AAOMS House of Delegates. I know I speak for our other Delegates and Alternate Delegates, Vinny Perciaccante, Solon Kao and Bob Wunderle, in thanking you for your continued support of us and our specialty.

Jeffrey D. Schultz,
DDS AAOMS Delegate

On Wednesday evening, the House passed the medical malpractice legislation  (HR 1215) that AAOMS has vigorously advocated. The near party-line vote was 218-210 with 6 members not voting.

One amendment was agreed to during the floor debate and was included in the bill. It does the following:

• Allows a physician to apologize to a patient for an unintended outcome without having the apology count against them in the court of law.
• Requires a plaintiff to provide a notice of intent to the physician 90 days before the lawsuit is filed.
  Defers to sundry state laws regarding lawsuits and outlines requirements witnesses must meet for testimony during trial.
• One amendment failed that would have given affirmative defense to defendants in health care liability cases if they can show they complied with clinical practice guidelines.

It will be an uphill battle in the Senate so our work is not done. We must support AAOMS’ legislative efforts.

TAKE ACTION NOW

Please click on this link to send a letter to your Senators:

Grassroots campaign aimed at the Senate.

Simply fill in your name and demographic information and the system will develop a letter to go to your Senators from you. Freely edit the letter or send as is.

Thanks for your help!

Alfred E. Pesto, Jr., DMD
President