May 19, 2018
Houston
emergency physician Arlo F. Weltge, MD, was reelected vice speaker of the Texas Medical Association (TMA) House of Delegates, the association’s
policymaking body. Delegates elected him today during TexMed, TMA’s annual
conference, in San Antonio.
“I have had the
wonderful privilege of serving as a TMA House of Delegates’ presiding officer,
the vice speaker, and I welcome the opportunity to continue in this service,”
said Dr. Weltge. He values TMA and its embrace of grassroots member involvement
to succeed. “This democratic process, the deliberation of the House of
Delegates, is a wonderful example of a how grassroots democratic process can
effectively focus an organization’s efforts on member needs and on the patients
we serve.” He says that is a reason TMA is “far and away one of the most
effective state medical associations in the country.”
Dr. Weltge is an
experienced parliamentarian working beside TMA Speaker Susan Strate, MD, to
preside over the House of Delegates. He previously served as speaker and vice
speaker for the American
College of Emergency Physicians from 2007 to 2011.
Dr. Weltge is a
board-certified emergency physician and has practiced for 37 years. He has been
an active member of TMA and the American
Medical Association for 39 years. He previously chaired the TMA Council on
Constitution and Bylaws, Harris County
Medical Society delegation to TMA, and TEXPAC political action committee’s Candidate
Evaluation Committee. Dr. Weltge served as a consultant to the TMA Council on
Legislation for more than 10 years and is a frequent participant in First
Tuesdays at the Capitol, TMA’s grassroots lobbying days held during the Texas
Legislative session. He has been an active member of the TMA House of Delegates
for 19 years.
Because of his
extensive leadership experience in state and national health care issues, Dr.
Weltge received the John A. Rupke Legacy Award in 2014 for his lifelong
commitment to the American College of Emergency
Physicians. He has served on the American Heart Association’s Emergency
Cardiac Care subcommittees for program administration and advanced
cardiovascular life support, and was president of the Texas College of
Emergency Physicians in 1994. As Texas passed landmark medical liability reform,
he served on the Board of Directors of the Texas Alliance for Patient Access
(2002-04). The group advocated for Texas’ reforms.
Dr. Weltge also has
a wide variety of clinical experience in primary and specialty care. Throughout
his years of full-time clinical practice, he has seen patients in Nacogdoches,
Wharton, and Houston, gaining a perspective of health care challenges in rural,
suburban, and urban hospitals. He currently practices emergency medicine at Houston’s
Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center, a Level I trauma center, and the Lyndon
Baines Johnson General Hospital, also in Houston.
TMA is the largest state
medical society in the nation, representing more than 51,000 physician and
medical student members. It is located in Austin and has 110 component county
medical societies around the state. TMA’s key objective since 1853 is to
improve the health of all Texans.
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Contact: Brent Annear (512) 370-1381; cell: (512) 656-7320; email: brent.annear[at]texmed[dot]org
Marcus Cooper (512) 370-1382; cell: (512) 650-5336; email: marcus.cooper[at]texmed[dot]org
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