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A Day and A Life

in the New London County Medical Association


You Sung Sang, MD, FACG, AGAF

Did you know that the New London County Medical with the electoral slate which prevented the next
Association was formed in 1763 – twenty-nine years physician from assuming the position. At first I was
before the charter of the Connecticut State Medical a little hesitant as I had no experience in the field of
Society? That is quite a remarkable feat, especially “politics”. I asked Dr. Sridhar whether it was a good
when you look at the historical aspects of state idea or not, and he said, “I’ve done it before – I’m
legislators frowning upon organized medicine back in sure you could too”. With that vote of confidence, I
that era. We certainly have come a long way since then. agreed and began attending the Board meetings more
I would like to take a moment to describe to you my regularly and began learning the ropes of organized
personal experience with this organization. medicine. At the same time I began attending the
Annual Meetings of the American Medical Association
I first arrived in Norwich, CT in July 1995 after a brief held in Chicago every year. Upon my return from these
interview and meeting with my current partner, Dr. conferences I reported to the eager Backus Medical
Kolala Sridhar (who, in fact, is also a past president of Staff what was happening to organized medicine across
the New London County Medical Association). After a the rest of the nation.
few weeks of practice, I was handed an application to
be a member of the County Association. When I asked Dr. Michael Deren, a practicing thoracic surgeon
Dr. Sridhar what this was for, he said that for one, it at both of the local community hospitals, was (and
was required for physicians to be a member of both still is) a prominent figure in the medical community
the County Association and the State Medical Society especially when it came to the area of organized
in order to be part of the medical liability plan that medicine and health politics. He was instrumental in
we had back then. Secondly, he said it was a good way helping me adjust to this new life of medicine outside
of getting to meet new doctors and gain some fresh the walls of my office and hospital. And for this I owe
insight into the practice of medicine in Southeastern him much gratitude. This was something that he did
CT. I promptly paid my dues and was invited to my not have to do, but rather something that he wanted
first Annual Meeting of the organization in the fall of to do.
1995 – back then it was held in the cafeteria of the now
defunct Pfizer campus in New London. I was quickly In the spring of 2008 I started my tenure as President
introduced to many physicians who were mainly in of the New London County Medical Association. I
private practice in New London County. At the time remember preparing a speech and had it typed nicely
very few worked for either hospitals of large third-party on two sheets of paper. As I began to read it aloud,
companies. It was a pleasant evening with good food, standing behind the podium in the large conference
drinks, and entertainment in the very lively company room of the Mystic Marriot, something came over me
of physicians and their spouses. and I decided to speak from the heart instead. I urged
members of the Association to reach out to younger
In 2007 Dr. Drank Anderson (exiting President members – to tell them to take up a more active role in
of the County at the time) asked me if I would be organized medicine. I asked executive directors to find
interested in stepping in as the President-Elect of the out which physicians in New London County were still
organization. Something had come up last minute not members of the Association and to see if they

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would find out why not. I asked some politicians in the audience, attending our meeting as guests, to see if they could
help us physicians in the areas of tort reform and collective bargaining – two things that had eluded physicians in our
state for decades.

Fast forward almost a decade and I am now treasurer of the Medical Association, after having served for several years
as a trustee member after my one-year position as president. I must say that not much has changed in the ten years
in terms of the things that I asked for during my presidency: physicians are still not getting involved in organized
medicine. For years now, there has been annual attrition of physician members due in large part to several factors:
physicians retiring, physicians relocating to others states, physicians leaving private practice to join either the hospital
work force or to be employed by private organizations. Lastly, we still have made little progress in the areas of medical
liability and contracting issues in our state.

Having said that, what would things be like if there were no longer a local County Association? I’ll tell you – a much,
much worse situation. With the County Association, we have a say at the Annual Meeting of the Connecticut State
Medical Society. Why is this important? Things that happen in one county, say Fairfield, do not apply to those that
occur in Windham county. We are not a big state, but we are big enough to show differences in patient demographics,
private payor mix, physician specialties, etc. in the several counties that make up our state. Representation for
physicians is needed in the state Capital and the best way to achieve that is to have both a strong State Medical
Society and actively participating County Associations. Together we STAND TALL, divided we FALL.

I personally will stay faithful to the New London County Medical Association for all the things it has offered me in
my twenty-two years of practice. It is likely changes will happen as medicine is always in a state of flux, but at least
we can rest assured that there exists a local organization that will stand by us in times of need. g

Editor’s Note:
The county and state medical society is our “soft” union – an opportunity to speak with politicians and insurers with a single stern
voice. Employed physicians have as much to gain and lose as private practitioners, and we must envision our destinies as one. I will
rejoin the New London County Medical Association this year. The annual dues for the New London County Medical Association
are $250. Thank you, Dr. Sang, for your years of service.
-Dennis Slater, MD

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