As of this Specialist deadline date in late February, the SVS staff was still settling in, unpacking boxes, creating new work spaces and – a very important task! – locating the coffeemaker.

Registration and housing have opened for the 2019 Vascular Annual Meeting. This year’s premier educational event for vascular professionals will be June 12 to 15 at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Md., outside of Washington, D.C.

Vascular calcification affects the vascular health of millions of patients. No current therapies exist to prevent or reverse it, and the problem has confounded researchers and physicians for decades.

The early response has been “spectacular.” That’s as in “Vascular Spectacular,” the gala that will be a central festivity of the 2019 Vascular Annual Meeting.

SVS members can now use the Quality Payment Program (QPP) Participation Status Tool to check your preliminary eligibility status for the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) 2019 performance period.

The 2018 data submission period is open for Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) eligible clinicians who participated in the 2018 Quality Payment Program (QPP). Please note that your data must be submitted before the submission period closes on April 2, 2019.

By the end of this month, the Society for Vascular Surgery will be working out of its new headquarters in Rosemont, Ill., just minutes from O’Hare International Airport.

From JVS: Researchers believe metformin, a commonly used prescribed oral hypoglycemic agent, may limit enlargement of abdominal aortic aneurysms, after analyzing patients of diabetic patients who are being treated in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Apply by March 1 for SVS, SVS Foundation Awards

SVS is accepting nominations and applications through March 1 for its three highest honors, to be recognized at the 2019 Vascular Annual Meeting in June.

Young Erben, MD, has fully embraced SVS membership, joining an SVS committee and actively taking advantage of the benefits SVS offers.