Register for Health & Harmony to support community health grants and attend physician wellness focused CME

Health & Harmony, the Wisconsin Medical Society’s (WisMed) medical education, Foundation fundraiser and annual business meeting, will be held April 5 and 6 at the Monona Terrace in Madison. The education conference will focus on the importance of physician wellness and the Foundation event will celebrate outstanding health professionals, the inauguration of the WisMed President and musical entertainment.

Plan your weekend for Health & Harmony, the WisMed Annual Event:

• Foundation Fundraising Event - April 5, 5 p.m.
• Medical Education Conference - April 6, 8 a.m.
• Annual Business Meeting - April 6, 12:15 p.m.

Register here for all or part of the Annual Event for just $150!

Foundation event special appeal to support community health grants

We hope you’ll join us on the evening of Friday, April 5, 2024 at Health & Harmony. We will be recognizing excellence in medicine and there will be a special appeal to raise funds for community health grants. You’ll enjoy social time with colleagues, a lively raffle and wine pull and time to dance and play casino games. We will recognize several notable physicians in the state, including our Superhero of Medicine, Corina Norrbom, MD and incoming Wisconsin Medical Society President Cynthia Hart, MD.

Here are just a few of the fabulous prizes you could win thanks to the many fantastic donations for our wine pull, raffle and casino.

• Thank you to General Beverage who donated two full cases of wine and to Red Crown Lodge for donating a special bottle worth $269 that someone could pull!
• A big shout out to Marathon County Medical Society and the Marathon County Alliance for donating a special raffle prize to explore the best of Marathon County valued at over $1,400!
• There will also be a Golden Ticket Prize allowing the lucky winner to choose either:
  
  • a luxurious seven-night stay for two in Amed, Bali, known for its world-class scuba diving, welcoming people and peaceful atmosphere,
  • or a romantic five nights in the enchanting Tuscan town of Cortona in a beautifully curated flat minutes from the historic center of Cortona with fine restaurants, cafes, boutiques, world class museums and Renaissance churches.

 

The grants supported through the special appeal, raffle and Golden Tickets will help to fund projects across the state providing direct support for a healthier Wisconsin. These grants support health literacy, disease prevention, reduce adverse childhood experiences and increase access to mental health services. Programs funded are identified by physicians because they are increasing health equity and access.

 

Get your tickets today here! Please reach out to Elizabeth at [email protected] to partner with the Foundation as a sponsor.

Health & Harmony CME to focus on physician wellness

There’s still time to register for this year’s education conference, which has been approved for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ and will feature breakout sessions addressing different aspects of physician wellness. 

Join Wisconsin Medical Society’s Chief Policy and Advocacy Officer, Mark Grapentine, JD, for tips on Navigating the Marble Big-Top: How to Be a More Effective Advocate for Sound Health Care Policy in the Capitol. As Chief Policy and Advocacy Officer, Mark is responsible for representing and protecting the interests of more than 10,000 Wisconsin Medical Society members at the state and federal level.

Is it a Tangled Web, Safety Net, or Both? Join Angela Rust, Health Law Attorney at von Briesen & Roper, s.c. to find out as she presents Tangled Web, Safety Net, or Both? Physician Wellness and the Law. This breakout session will provide attendees with an understanding of how employment, licensure, privileges, and other aspects of their careers fit together and offer ideas for how they can proactively address impairment or wellness for themselves and their colleagues in ways that promote wellbeing and mitigate risk. Practical tips for what to do (and not do) will be shared.

Join Erica Larson, DO, Founder and Lead Psychiatrist of Core Choice and Andrew Norton, Rising 4th year MD/PhD student at UW SMPH in Addressing the Upstream Determinants of Physician and Trainee Burnout. Like social determinants of health that affect the ability for physicians and trainees to care for their patients given their unique, intersectional needs, burnout during medical training and beyond also shares similar determinants. This session will focus on the upstream determinants related to burnout through small and large interactive group discussions. We hope this will generate thoughtful conversations and brainstorming of how to address these determinants in order to prevent burnout.

Click here to view the full Education Conference details. We hope to see you there!

Purchase an Education Conference ticket for just $150 and get one free Foundation event ticket. Register here for part or all of the Health & Harmony event.

Interested in sponsorship opportunities? Click here for more details!

Back to top

Student loan consolidation deadline is April 30, 2024

If you have commercially managed FFEL, Perkins or Health Education Assistance Loan (HEAL) Program loans, the deadline for student loan consolidation is April 30, 2024. In addition, federal student loans with different length payment history will also benefit from consolidation.

Why consolidate?

The Department of Education is performing a one-time payment count adjustment on student loans. One of the problems in the past was not qualifying for student loan forgiveness simply due to the loan type. This adjustment will give retroactive payment credits to loans that are normally ineligible. But to continue receiving credits for future payments, ineligible loans need to be consolidated to a Direct Consolidation Loan.

Some loans are not eligible for income driven repayment plans, loan forgiveness or public service loan forgiveness (PSLF). By consolidating ineligible loans to a Direct Consolidation Loan, they become eligible for these programs. You can even consolidate a single loan if that’s all you have.

Loans of differing payment lengths could see an even greater benefit by consolidating. The Direct Consolidation Loan will use the loan with the longest payment history as the payment count for the consolidation loan.

What’s the catch?

Many of the problems consolidating had in the past have also been eliminated. One of the biggest problems was consolidating reset the payment count back to zero. This has been fixed. By applying for a consolidation loan by April 30, 2024, your historical payments will be credited to the new Direct Consolidation Loan. Next, if you have unpaid accrued interest, this could be capitalized (added to the principal) on the new consolidation loan. However, for those working toward loan forgiveness, especially public service loan forgiveness, capitalized interest simply increases the balance forgiven and the total cost of monthly payments does not change. Finally, for those who qualify, Perkins Loan cancellation may be a better option than loan forgiveness programs. Most physicians do not qualify for Perkins Loan cancellation. In the rare cases for those who do qualify, it may be better to exclude Perkins Loans from the Direct Consolidation Loan.

Other details

This short article does not go into all the details of student loans. For more information, be sure to consult your loan servicer, a knowledgeable student loan advisor and online resources about the April 30 deadline and loan consolidation including:

• Payment Count Adjustment
• Pros and Cons of Loan Consolidation
• FFEL Program Loans

 

For personalized help with your financial plan, please contact Mark Ziety, CFP®, AIF® 608.442.3750. 

Note: This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as financial or tax advice. Please consult with a qualified financial advisor or tax professional before making any financial decisions.

Back to top

Physician wellness resources for WisMed members

As part of our mission to support physician well-being, the Wisconsin Medical Society (WisMed) offers physician wellness resources for all WisMed members.

Marvin is a confidential counseling and coaching service with flexible hours available via teletherapy to all Wisconsin Medical Society members.

LifeBridge is a staff of highly-trained therapists and psychologists vetted by the Wisconsin Medical Society currently available to Wisconsin Medical Society members in LaCrosse county. Contact a member of our team if you’d like your county to be considered for a pilot program

Core Choice, provided by Erica Larson, DO, focuses on your complete wellness. Dr. Larson uses a holistic approach with a comprehensive assessment and advanced diagnostics, and all Wisconsin Medical Society members receive a 25% discount on the assessment.

Back to top