Jim Mittelberger, MD, MPH, CMD, FACP | Incoming CALTCM President

Those of us in long term care medicine have an extraordinary role to play in the future of American medicine. For years, progressively more complex and acutely ill patients have become the norm in our care in skilled nursing facilities, assisted living and home. Without much fanfare, with our active medical leadership, our SNFs and assisted living sites have adapted and developed much improved medical capabilities and quality.

Without adequate recognition our California CALTCM leaders have been important members driving this measurable improved quality of care across this long term care continuum. To cite two of our leaders who have left, Dennis Stone was critical to revisions in the RVU reevaluation of nursing home work without which our skilled nursing homes physician quality would not have survived to the extent it has. Cheryl Phillips has been instrumental in work across the continuum of care building bridges with the field of geriatrics and senior housing. She continues her work nationally.

Our current board is similarly truly remarkable in their expertise and accomplishments. Our CALTCM leadership has unmatched expertise including academic geriatrics, health group management, governmental program management and communication, program evaluation and MDS, patient safety, advancing excellence, POLST and palliative care, pharmacy and more. Our active membership and board includes leaders from multiple disciplines and has forged alliances with California Department of Public Health, California Association of Health Facilities and many other organizations, medical groups, health plans and facilities committed to improving long term care medical care.

Yet, as I prepare to become President of CALTCM I want to highlight and celebrate the extraordinary work of Dr. Dan Osterweil. No one else has matched his effort and achievements toward building CALTCM into its current shape. Dan has been truly tireless. He does the day to day work building relationships that bring in sponsorships. He follows up on the details of our growing membership and our strengthening Board of Directors, and he has helped lead our successful efforts to build membership and stabilize finances.

But, even more, Dan has also worked with the Board on a clear strategic role for our organization. CALTCM starts as the proud CA affiliate of the American Medical Directors Association. Built on the passion of thousands of physicians and others working in long term care we bring and support those who are committed to providing medical care in long term care. Then, we in CALTCM add a commitment to interdisciplinary engagement. Our name itself reflects a commitment beyond physicians to the teams currently that will increasingly provide the care to our elders. Finally we top this interdisciplinary engagement with unique and special commitment to expertise and implementation of quality improvement initiatives.

My goal over the next two years will be to continue with the excellent momentum and direction we have currently achieved. We have already passed the tipping point, and the recognition of the need for quality across the continuum will accelerate rapidly. CALTCM is positioned well to be recognized as the place where cutting edge quality improvement techniques and systems such as POLST and Interact2 can be disseminated and integrated into practice. If you are a provider we will represent you and provide you the highest quality information. If you are a SNF or an assisted living facility CALTCM is the organization you need to join to support clinical excellence in your medical director and other leadership. We will drive engagement of the highest quality SNFs with the state, with health plans, with providers and others and be a dynamic part of the solution to improving care without increasing cost.

I am excited, humbled and proud to be approaching my role as President. I am very pleased that Dan will be working with me in a key administrative role. I ask each and every one of you to please dedicate yourself to work with me on our mission. As long term care is moving to the forefront of medical care, as the age wave begins to crest, and as the need for systems of care becomes recognized, please stand with me. Please join me in thanking Dan, join us both for the annual meeting in May, and continue active engagement in this remarkable organization. We need each other to meet this challenge.