Congratulations to Elizabeth Livingston, MD, and Clayton Alfonso, MD, for their appointments to the District IV section (North Carolina) of ACOG. In the fall of 2023, Dr. Livingston will move from vice chair, her current position, to chair of the North Carolina section. Dr. Alfonso was elected as North Carolina section vice chair. The appointments will take effect following the district meeting.
Additionally, representation from Duke Ob/Gyn (past and present department members) was strong at the 41st annual Congressional Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C., which took place March 5–7.
Faculty Drs. Livingston and Alfonso, and Elizabeth Thomason, MD, MPH; resident Kristen Carrillo-Kappus, MD, MPH; and UNC faculty Jenna Beckham, MD, MSPH, and resident Rodrigo Muñoz, MD, met with staff from leadership offices and U.S. Rep. Wiley Nickel (pictured below, center). Meetings were also held with staff from the offices of U.S. Rep Valerie Foushee, U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis and U.S. Sen. Ted Budd.
“We had three ‘asks’ this year: more research on pregnancy, better physician reimbursement and abortion access, although our focus is on women’s reproductive rights at the federal level,” said Dr. Livingston. “Additionally, to help address the maternal health care crisis, ob/gyns have been tasked with improving quality of access to care. Medicare physician payment dropped by more than 20% during a 20-year span, when adjusted for inflation. We hope to see enactment of long-term solution, averting Medicare cuts.”
