Thank you, Central Ohio Pediatric Society, for your 75 years of service to Ohio’s Pediatricians!

The Ohio AAP would like to thank the Central Ohio Pediatric Society (COPS) for their commitment to the practice of pediatrics and their passion for the health and safety of Ohio’s children! We thank you for being a leader in the field and a partner to the Ohio AAP for so many years!

My association with the Central Ohio Pediatric Society (COPS) began in 1979 as a Pediatric Resident at Columbus Children’s Hospital (as it was called at the time).  As residents we were able to attend the COPS dinners as guests of the Residency Department.  Not only did the residents get a free meal but more importantly we were able to develop relationships with the pediatricians in private practice and those that were hospital based.  Then in 1983, I joined the organization as a new “Community” pediatrician.  I quickly went on to serve as Secretary-Treasurer, Vice-president and President.  We had a small working Board and the Columbus Medical Bureau organized all of our finances.  Dinners were monthly on Wednesday evenings from September through April, coordinating with the monthly Visiting Professor who was presenting at Grand Rounds at the hospital.  It was a wonderful experience to become friends with the pediatric medical practitioners and to meet experts from around the country.

I owe COPS a debt of gratitude because my association enabled me to become a Spokesperson for the national American Academy of Pediatrics.  As an officer of COPS, I was often approached by the local NBC, CBS and ABC TV affiliates, local radio stations and newspapers which led me to be a resource for national print and online media as well as submitting Letters to the Editor.  The focus of COPS, the Ohio Chapter AAP and the national AAP is to offer high quality pediatric medical information to the community which of course include the families who utilize us as their source of accurate medical advice.

When we went from the Columbus Medical Bureau handling our finances to the grant from Ross Labs for our educational and advocacy efforts, we were able to hire an Executive Director, initially Judi Stillwell followed by Joyce Gibson and then Amy Jo Hernandez.  This enabled COPS to provide even greater educational and advocacy efforts.  Over the years, the Visiting Professor program at Nationwide Children’s Hospital changed and COPS utilized our Dinner meetings to introduce and foster relationships between primary care pediatricians and the hospital and its various pediatric specialists. 

I salute the Central Ohio Pediatric Society for its 75 years of providing advocacy, education and camaraderie to the pediatric medical community and to the community in general.  We have certainly left a legacy.

–JoAnn Rohyans, MD, FAAP, Past COPS and Ohio AAP President

Join COPS for their final dinner meeting on Thursday, April 27^th at Scioto County Club. To RSVP or for inquiries, please contact Amyjo.Hernandez@nationwidechildrens.org.