Kentucky Governor's Newsletter October 2026
In this Issue:
- Governor's update
- Annual chapter meeting recap
- Congratulations on Mastership!
- Treasurer's Report
- Opportunities
- Advocacy Corner
- Resources from National ACP
- Apply for ACP Fellowship
- Upcoming Events
- Follow us on social media
Meagan Schaeffner, MD, FACP, ACP Governor
Governor's Update
The Chapter has had a busy few months with our recent chapter meeting.
For the second year in a row, our chapter earned the Gold Chapter Excellence Award from National ACP. This is a huge accomplishment and the culmination of hard work by the entire Governor's Advisory Council.
We have many exciting events planned for the spring, so be on the lookout for announcements about those in January.
I wish you a very happy and healthy rest of 2026!
Meagan Schaeffner, MD, FACP, AAHIVS
Governor, KY Chapter of ACP
Mmsc245@uky.edu
Annual Chapter Meeting Recap
The KY ACP Scientific Meeting was held September 11, 2026 in Lexington. Our theme this year was Practice Changing Updates in Infectious Diseases. We had an excellent lineup of speakers including:
Dr. Cynthia Young from UK- Sexual Health and HIV PrEP Updates
Dr. Sarah Battle from USC- Antimicrobial Stewardship and How to Pick the Best Antibiotic for Your Patients
Dr. Nishant Patel from UoL- Quick Hits Updates in UTI
Dr. Anum Fayyaz from UoL- Quick Hits Updates in CAP
Dr. Ashish Jha- Keynote: Trust in the Age of Information Chaos
Poster Winners
We had a large number of posters presented by medical students and residents from across the state. Special thanks to our judges for volunteering their time. The first place finisher for each category will represent our chapter at the 2027 National ACP Meeting in Los Angeles.
Medical Student Research:
- 1st Place- Maribeth Stafford. Cannabis Effects on Opioid Self-Administration in Non-Dependent Occasional Opioid Users: A First-in-Human Pilot Study. (University of Kentucky- Northern Kentucky)
- 2nd Place- Carey Beth Smith. Knowledge and Perceptions Around Environmental Factors Contributing to Lung Cancer in Kentucky. (University of Pikeville)
- 3rd Place- Hannah Jones. Menstrual Health Education for Collegiate Women with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Quality Improvement Initiative Using a Workshop-Based Health Literacy Intervention (University of Kentucky)
Resident Research:
- 1st Place- Akshaya Keerti. Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists and Esophageal Adenocarcinoma Risk in Barrett's Esophagus: A Propensity-Matched Analysis of 16,484 Patients Across 172 Health Systems. (Appalachian Regional Healthcare)
- 2nd Place- Naga Vamsi Krishna. Breaking the Habit: Reducing Low-Value FOBT Use in Emergency and Inpatient Care. (Appalachian Regional Healthcare)
- 3rd Place- Syeda Maria Hassan. Closing the Gap in Care: A Quality Improvement Project to Reduce Inpatient Rate of Hyperglycemia. (University of Kentucky- Bowling Green)
Medical Student Clinical Vignette:
- 1st Place- Julia D’Orazio. A Shot is Not a Shield: A Case of Tetanus After Recent Vaccination. (University of Kentucky)
- 2nd Place- Sarisha Lohano. A Tragic End: A Case of Vascular Ehlers-Danlos Manifesting as Cardiogenic Shock. (University of Kentucky)
- 3rd Place- Brandon Chou. Disseminated Tuberculosis Mimicking Guillain-Barré Syndrome: A Case Report. (University of Louisville)
Resident Clinical Vignette:
- 1st Place- Dylan Nunn. The Liver Pleads Not Guilty: Secondary Bacterial Peritonitis Masquerading as Spontaneous Bacterial Peritonitis in Non-Portal Hypertensive Ascites. (University of Louisville)
- 2nd Place- Akshaya Keerti. When Keratins Fail: Sarcoma-Mimicking Metaplastic Breast Carcinoma Diagnosed After Definitive Surgery. (Appalachian Regional Healthcare)
- 3rd Place- Jasmine Hedayati. Looking Beyond the Kidney: A Case of Secondary Membranous Nephropathy. (Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital)
Doctors' Dilemma
The winning team was from the University of Louisville this year and will represent KY in the national Doctor's Dilemma competition in Los Angeles.
Team members included Jasmine Tuazon, Rushabh Gujarathi, and Luke Miller.
Chapter Awardees
Our Laureate Award is the highest honor of our Chapter. It is given to an experienced physician who is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and has demonstrated outstanding service to medicine, the Chapter, and the community. The 2026 KY ACP Chapter Laureate Award winner was Dr. Angela Webb.
Program winners
Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital
- Faculty of the Year: Dr. Brad Qashou
- Resident of the Year: Dr. Abidell Hutchinson
- Medical Student of the Year: Connor Kure
University of Kentucky
- Faculty of the Year: Dr. Krista Perry
- Resident of the Year: Dr. Colton Hartig
- Medical Student of the Year: Chris Hughes
University of Kentucky Bowling Green Campus
- Faculty of the Year: Dr. Grace Essandoh
- Resident of the Year: Dr. Simon Bactawar
- Medical Student of the Year: Allie Miller
University of Louisville
- Faculty of the Year: Dr. Tyler Sharpe
- Resident of the Year: Dr. Rushabh Gujarathi
- Medical Student of the Year: Maunil Mullick
Appalachian Regional Healthcare
- Faculty of the Year: Dr. Joshua Minix
- Resident of the Year: Dr. Naga “Vamsi” Machineni
Special thanks to our meeting planning committee:
- Dr. Angela Webb
- Dr. Peter Sawaya
- Dr. Pranav Sharma
Congratulations on Mastership!
Congratulations to Dr. Jennifer Olges, Dr. Peter Sawaya, and Dr. Elizabeth Riley for being chosen to receive Mastership from the American College of Physicians. They are recognized for their extraordinary service to the College and for being outstanding internal medicine physicians and educators This is a well-deserved accomplishment for all!
Treasurer's Report
The following is a brief summary of our financial expenditures for the last fiscal year (July 2025-June 2026).
- In all, our expenses totaled about $33,000, and our revenue totaled about $43,000. We had a positive balance of about $10,000.
- Our major expense was our annual state meeting, which we spent just over $12,000 on, including venue, rentals, food, and awards.
- We also spent about $7,500 on sending our student and resident winners to represent Kentucky at the 2026 National ACP Meeting in San Francisco.
- We paid for travel for two trainees to Leadership Day 2026 in Washington, DC, at a cost of about $3,000.
- Salaries for our administrative assistant, accountant, and fees totaled about $10,700.
- Our two sources of revenue are membership dues and vendor payments from our state meeting. These brought in just over $43,000.
Opportunities
- The submission portal for the ACP National Abstract Competition is now open. Deadline is November 12. More info here
- The Emerging Leaders Internal Medicine Meeting Travel Award: Must be an early career physician (within 16 yrs of graduation from med school) serving an under-resourced community
- $2500 stipend to attend the 2027 ACP Meeting
- Application deadline is October 31
- Learn more and apply here
- Call for physicians to join the KY ACP Governor's Advisory Council: Are you interested in helping plan and lead future activities of KY ACP? Email Meagan Schaeffner at mmsc245@uky.edu and Megan Dunagan at kyacpstaff@gmail.com by October 30
- Call for Student, Resident/Fellow Volunteers! Are you interested in getting more involved with ACP and joining the student or resident/fellow council?
- Medical students- Please contact Dr. Tyler Sims (advisor) at tcsi224@uky.edu and Adam Strong (Chair of Student Council) at adam.strong@uky.edu
- Residents/fellows- please contact Dr. Andrew Hearn (Chair of Resident/Fellow Council) at andrew.hearn@louisville.edu and Dr. Jack Wilson (Vice Chair) at jack.wilson@lpnt.net
Advocacy Corner
If you are interested in easy ways to get more involved in advocacy on critical health policy issues, visit the Legislative Action Center
- There are customizable sample letters and ready to use talking points to make it easy to engage with your representatives
- Also consider joining the Advocates for Internal Medicine Network (AIMn) to get legislative updates on key policy issues and make it easy to join outreach campaigns
Want to join ACP's PAC and help protect the interests of internists? Click here
Resources from National ACP
- Adult Immunization Resources
- Advancing Equitable Obesity Care
- AI Resource Hub
- Career Connection
- Financial Well-Being Program
Apply for ACP Fellowship
Guided Fellowship Program: If you recently finished residency in 2025 or 2026, you are eligible! The deadline to apply is December 31, 2026. The program is 3 years long and starts in January 2027. Learn more here
For all other ACP members: Learn about the traditional pathway and apply here
Upcoming Events
- Save the Date- ACP IM 2027 Meeting in Los Angeles - Early bird registration is available now!
- Save the Date- ACP Leadership Day May 11-12, 2027 in Washington DC - Registration will open in 2027
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