I am honored, humbled, and privileged to assume the role of the President of the Missouri Sleep Society (7/2016-6/2017). I am deeply thankful to my predecessor Tom Gotsis, DDS, FAGD for his leadership to the MSS during his presidency. I am also very grateful to the board of directors of the Missouri Sleep Society for all their hard work.
Challenges for Sleep Medicine in Missouri
As the new president I believe it is important for us to continue to build our organization. Recently in Oklahoma, Medicaid dropped coverage for obstructive sleep apnea services. This will have a significant negative impact on the health of Oklahoma’s population.
It is important for us to have a strong Missouri Sleep Society (MSS) that works closely with other organizations such as the Missouri State Medical Association and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine to be able to address any major issues like this that might arise in Missouri. In addition to being in place to address major concerns with the Missouri legislators we need to continue to work on advancing the field of sleep medicine in Missouri.
Missouri Sleep Society's Commitment to Growth
To help our organization achieve our goals and with the success of our recent annual meeting, our small non-profit volunteer organization has been able to take the next step by hiring a part time executive director. Kelly Million, RPSGT a two time past-president of the MSS and a past president of the American Association of Sleep Technologist will be working up to 4 hours per week for our organization the upcoming year. If we are successful we hope to expand this in the future.
MoSleep Conferences
We have several exciting additional opportunities planned for the upcoming year. The 9th
annual conference, Missouri Sleep 2017, is scheduled on April 8th and 9th on the campus of Saint Louis University.
We are hoping to build off of last years conference which was a success with excellent speakers and just under 150 participants including 15 sleep exhibitors.
Missouri State Medical Association
The MSS is also becoming more active with the Missouri State Medical Association. We hope to present a lecture on the Economic Impact of Obstructive Sleep Apnea at their annual conference. Our president elect of the MSS, Dr. Lirong Zhu is also active with MSMA committees.
We have just invested in a new website for our organization and hope to build a job board and add sponsors.
Other Points of Interest
We are sponsoring an exhibitor booth at the national conference Clayton Sleep Institutes Updates In Sleep Medicine, this fall in Saint Louis.
With the assistance of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, we have produced our first newsletter.
In addition, we also hope to sponsor a local Sleep Day dinner in Saint Louis this fall.
I look forward to serving as your president and I am excited about the upcoming year and the future of sleep medicine in Missouri.
Yours Sincerely,
Thomas Johnson, MD
President - Missouri Sleep Society
