December 28, 2021

Dear APGO FDS Attendee:

When faced with difficult decisions, APGO has always been guided by what is most important: our members, their learners and patients, and the institutions they serve. With the rapidly increasing Omicron surge, we were forced to make an extremely difficult and costly decision this week, which is to cancel the in-person Martin L. Stone, MD, Faculty Development Seminar (FDS), scheduled for January 8-11, 2022, and all other associated meetings scheduled to be held in person at the Ritz Carlton, Amelia Island.

To make this decision, the APGO Board of Directors reviewed the latest projections for COVID both nationally and in Florida, the results of the 2022 FDS Attendee Viewpoint Survey, and recommendations from an infectious disease expert who suggested we cancel the in-person event. After considering all options, the Board overwhelmingly agreed that it would be impossible to hold an in-person meeting without risking the health and safety of our attendees and made the recommendation to cancel the in-person meeting.

We will notify the Ritz Carlton Amelia Island of this decision later today. Our understanding is that this will result in the cancelation of all room reservations tied to our meeting, and you may receive an email from the hotel to that effect. It is suggested that you contact the hotel directly to cancel the reservation if you do not receive written notification from them in the next 72 hours. If APGO made your reservation no further action is needed.  Please note: We’ve had a few inquiries from FDS attendees who still wish to travel for leisure purposes, so we’ve spoken to the Ritz-Carlton and they’ve agreed to honor the group room rate. To rebook your room at the group rate, click here.

We are disappointed not to be able to gather in person but know that this is the safest and only responsible decision. While we hoped the 2022 FDS would be our long-awaited return to in-person conferences we did indicate during the registration process that registration for the in-person meeting would be used for a virtual meeting if we were forced to pivot due to COVID.

We appreciate the work required to submit abstracts and prepare presentations to be shared with the meeting participants. With the experience of having held a successful virtual meeting in 2021, the APGO FDS will be delivered as a high-quality virtual experience, with some content presented over the original meeting dates of January 9-10. We will contact presenters in a separate email about the schedule of events and will provide updates as soon as possible. We ask that you give the Program Chairs and APGO staff time to finalize and share plans before reaching out with questions. We will contact registrants of the APGO Susan M. Cox, MD, Clerkship Directors’ School in a separate email to share specific information about that program.

We appreciate your understanding and flexibility as we navigate the ongoing ramifications of this pandemic together.

Wishing health and happiness for you and your family in 2022,

Nadine T. Katz, MD                                                                 Molly Georgakis, CAE
APGO President                                                                     APGO Executive Director