Hoven
The American Medical Association held a dedication ceremony Thursday morning to celebrate the opening of its new location in an iconic downtown Chicago skyscraper. Built in 1972 and formerly known as the IBM Building, the AMA's new headquarters is the last American office building designed by famed architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and it now goes by the name “AMA Plaza.”
The oldest and largest physician organization and its approximately 1,000 employees will be housed in the floors 39-47 of the 52-story building located between the Trump Tower and the House of Blues. Although rumors of a move to Washington surface from time to time, the 166-year-old AMA has been based in downtown Chicago since 1902 and this is the fourth location it has called home. All four locations are within a few blocks of each other, and the AMA had been at its previous site—designed by architect Kenzo Tange—since 1990.
Read more »
Blackwelder
This year's American Medical Association House of Delegates meeting featured a renewed sense of collegiality, no noticeable net change in the number of bearded delegates, a recognition of ties between current delegates and momentous health policy events from 50 years ago, and—speaking of ties—a return of one of the more prominent bow tie-wearing delegates.
The AMA's new president, Dr. Ardis Dee Hoven, said in an interview that she felt a “good spirit” at the meeting. This was echoed by Shaan Gandhi, a fourth-year Harvard Medical School student and an alternate delegate from Massachusetts. Gandhi said he enjoyed the mix of healthcare policy discussions—ranging from support for a ban on the marketing of energy drinks to youths to delaying the implementation of the ICD-10 set of diagnosis and procedural codes. Gandhi said he definitely would attend future meetings.
Read more »
