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AAAAI, ACAAI and JCAAI support Rural Equity
Payment Index Reform Extension Act of 2006
The ACAAI, AAAAI and JCAAI wrote a letter to Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) in support for the Rural Equity Payment Index Reform Extension Act of 2006, S.3516. The joint letter from the three presidents states:

“While our specialty is facing a shortage, there is also a critical need for allergists and immunologists in rural and underserved areas. One reason cited by our members for not practicing in rural areas is payment for services. This bill will help to create some stability in the payment for services provided by physicians who work in rural areas. The practice expense for allergists in rural areas is no different than that of an allergist in an urban area. Any geographic adjustment is counter-intuitive to attracting and retaining allergists and physicians in rural areas.”

Two former ACAAI Board members report from Iraq
Former Fellows-in-Training representatives on the ACAAI Board of Regents – Drs. Warner W. Carr, Washington, D.C., and Theodore Kim, Tripler, Hawaii – are currently serving in Iraq.

Dr. Carr is chief of medicine with the 21st Combat Support Hospital near Baghdad. He serves as the medical director for both the ICU and Internal Medicine wards. He would love to hear from ACAAI members and friends at warner.carr@iraq.centcom.mil.

“I am holding up O.K.,” Dr. Carr reported. “I would have never imagined doing the things that I have been doing. It is such a unique privilege to serve my family, fellow soldiers, and country in such a position. I miss everyone, and it seems that one day just blends into the next. I hope time continues to go fast. I can’t say that I haven’t enjoyed certain aspects of my time here, as each day presents a new challenge. I really feel like I am part of something very important.”
	Dr. Carr in Iraq

Dr. Kim, serving as the Task Force 26 Surgeon, and 508th Military Police Battalion Surgeon, also welcomes e-mails from colleagues at theodore.kim@us.army.mil.

“I am up in the mountains of northern Iraq, in the Kurdish area, near the Iraq-Iran border,” Dr. Kim reported. “I've been here since January 2006, providing medical care to U.S. service members, DoD civilian and local Kurdish contractors. It's getting a little warm here, highs up to 113 F, but still much cooler than down south in Baghdad.”

Dr. Kim also was in charge of training a Kurdish military medical team, and was able to precept and teach visiting surgery residents from Sulaymaniah Hospital. When out in the city of Sulaymaniah, he travels with his Kurdish American interpreter and the Peshmerga bodyguard assigned to him.

The College also received news about other members: Dr. Thomas W. Frank, El Paso, Texas, is serving in Iraq, and Dr. Casey J. Geaney, Fort Carson, Colo., is scheduled to depart for Iraq in August.

Children in a nearby village with Dr. Kim on a Civilian Military Operation.
Dr. Kim (center) with the Army medics and Navy corpsman assigned to him.

Immunology Review Corner
Welcome to the Board Review Corner, prepared by Dr. Karla R. Davis, senior representative of ACAAI’s fellows-in-training (FITs) to the Board of Regents. The Board Review Corner is your chance to test your Board preparedness.

To refer to a previous Board Review Corner, click the “Archive” link in the left column.

Immunology Review Corner: Chapter 72 of the 6th edition of Middleton’s Allergy Principles and Practice, edited by N. Franklin Adkinson, et al. Prepared by Dr. Karla R. Davis, Walter Reed Medical Center.