The Texas Pediatric Member Spotlight exists to focus attention on the recent awards, promotions, degree completions, and appointments of TPS members.
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May 2021
Gary W. Floyd, MD, a a TPS Past President and Fort Worth pediatrician, was elected president-elect of the Texas Medical Association (TMA) today. TMA’s House of Delegates governing body announced elections during TexMed, the association’s annual conference, held virtually this year due to the pandemic. He will serve in this role for one year before assuming the presidency of America’s largest state medical society in 2022. Dr. Floyd currently serves as the American Academy District VII Chair.
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“It’s an incredible privilege and responsibility – and very humbling – for the members of our TMA to elect me to be the spokesperson for our organization,” said Dr. Floyd. “I will never tire of advocating for our patients and our physician members.”
Dr. Floyd has been very involved in TPS, TMA, and other organized medicine organizations throughout his 42-year medical career. He chaired TMA’s Board of Trustees governing body for the past year, having served in that body for seven years. He led the board in a “disaster board” function last year, temporarily acting on urgent business in place of the association’s policymaking body since the pandemic prohibited an in-person House of Delegates meeting. Board members explored a new diversity initiative as well.
Dr. Floyd also was reelected today by the TMA house as a delegate representing Texas in the American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates. He has chaired the TMA Council on Legislation and served on the association’s Council on Constitution and Bylaws, and the Select Committee on Medicaid, CHIP, and the Uninsured. Dr. Floyd also was a district chair of TEXPAC, TMA’s political action committee.
Dr. Floyd has several objectives planned for his presidency next year, which mirror long-term goals of the association.
“My goals include aggressively protecting against intrusions into the practice of medicine by those who have not done the necessary training, in order to protect our patients and unsuspecting citizens in Texas,” he said. He also lists defending Texas’ liability reforms and defending against intrusions into what he calls “the sacred bond” between physicians and their patients. He believes in protecting physicians’ autonomy to make medical decisions with and for their patients.
Dr. Floyd graduated from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and completed his pediatric residency at Children’s Hospital of Oklahoma, University of Oklahoma Health Science Center. He pursued his undergraduate studies at The University of Texas at Austin.
Board certified by the American Board of Pediatrics, Dr. Floyd has practiced in various settings in Texas and Oklahoma including general pediatrics, academic pediatrics, and pediatric emergency and urgent care, and he has worked in administrative medicine and government affairs.
Kimberly Avila Edwards, MD, a TPS Past President and Austin pediatrician in practice for 19 years, was elected to serve as an alternate delegate in the American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates, the national organization’s policymaking body. 
TPS Receives AAP Award of Chapter Excellence
TPS, the Texas Chapter of the AAP, was nominated for the AAP’s Outstanding Chapter Award in 2020. As one of the top three scoring chapters for the Outstanding Chapter Award in Very Large Chapter category, we are honored to receive the Award of Chapter Excellence.
The Texas Pediatric Society’s Injury Prevention and Environmental Health Committee Speaks at Pediatric Academic Societies meeting in May 2021
The Texas Pediatric Society’s Injury Prevention and Environmental Health Committee formed a firearm safety counseling workgroup in 2019, where a collaboration of physicians worked to develop a workshop on firearm safety counseling. This was based on previous research from the workgroup members, and is a leading mechanism to train physicians on how to discuss firearm safety counseling within the clinical encounter. It was presented at the TPS Virtual Annual Meeting in Sept 2020, and has been replicated at 2 other sites. Our workshop was featured at the Pediatric Academic Societies meeting in May 2021, which is a national meeting of pediatric providers and researchers. The success of the workshop is a direct result of the engagement of our amazing pediatric leaders within TPS and is a model for effective collaborations born out of TPS committees.
Texas Pediatric Society Firearm Safety Counseling Workgroup:
- Sandy McKay, MD; University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (lead)
- Ruchi Kaushik, MD; Baylor College of Medicine- Children’s Hospital of San Antonio
- Tracy McCallin, MD; Baylor College of Medicine- Children’s Hospital of San Antonio
- Anthony Arredondo, DO; Baylor College of Medicine- Texas Children’s Hospital
- Brittany Johnson, MD; Baylor College of Medicine- Texas Children’s Hospital
- Bindi Naik-Mathuria, MD; Baylor College of Medicine- Texas Children’s Hospital
- Melissa Kwan, MD; University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
- Rohit Shenoit, MD; Baylor College of Medicine- Texas Children’s Hospital
Presenters of the PAS workshop and featured in this photo left to right: Ruchi Kaushik, MD MPH, Tracy McCallin, MD, Sandy McKay, MD, Anthony Arredondo, DO, and Melissa Kwan, MD
January 2021
Ada Booth, MD has been appointed to Texas Medical Board District Four Review Committee
Governor Greg Abbott has appointed TPS member and TPS Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect Co-Chair Ada Booth, MD to the Texas Medical Board District Four Review Committee for terms set to expire on January 15, 2022. Dr. Booth of Corpus Christi is a Child Abuse Pediatrician with the Child Abuse Resource & Evaluation team at Driscoll Children’s Hospital. She has served on the TPS Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect for 7 years. We are excited for her appointment and are happy to support her during her term.
