Dr. Scott Cooper Installed as President
Rogers Orthopedic Surgeon Scott Cooper, MD, was recently named president of the Arkansas Medical Society. Dr. Cooper, who practices at Mercy Clinic Orthopedics, has been a member of the society since 1996 and has also served as a district trustee representing the physicians and patients of 10 Northwest Arkansas counties.
During his inaugural address at the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute, Dr. Cooper stated that to him, “the greatest value of the Arkansas Medical Society is in its advocacy in public policy.” Cooper went on to note the importance of physicians taking the lead to control health care spending and advocating for the best and most fiscally responsible public health initiatives. Dr. Cooper also reiterated the need to continue working to combat prescription drug abuse, a topic that was echoed throughout the weekend long meeting of the Society.
The Arkansas Medical Society is a voluntary professional association, established in 1875, representing more than 4,300 physicians and medical students as well as the patients and communities they serve for over 140 years. Most recently, the Arkansas Medical Society has worked to support the extension of private health insurance coverage to working families earning below 138% of the federal poverty level, advocating for responsible and practical reforms such as patient-centered medical homes and establishing a prescription drug monitoring program to combat abuse and diversion of prescription drugs.
Other significant advances for Arkansas patients and physicians supported by AMS include establishing a statewide trauma system, passage of the Clean Indoor Air Act, graduated drivers’ license and restrictions on cell phone use while driving, funding tobacco prevention and cessation programs, funding cancer research, providing vision screening in schools, requiring health care facilities to provide emergency care to sexual assault victims, providing research funding and insurance coverage for colorectal cancer screening, and protecting an Arkansan’s right to choose their physician.