Dr. John Carlo taking the oath of office
As of Jan. 1, AIDS Arms CEO John Carlo is president of the Dallas County Medical Society . He’s the youngest and the gayest, I mean first openly gay, president of the 134 doctors who’ve served in that position in the organization’s history.
Dr. John Carlo speaking at his swearing in
According to AIDS Arms spokeswoman Tori Hobbs, Carlo has “been active with the medical society and they’ve seen his leadership abilities.”
The Dallas County Medical Society is made up of 7,500 physicians and focuses on public health, community health and the doctor-patient relationship.
Carlo cited the many things the organization has done, from polio vaccine clinics in the 1950s to hurricane evacuations in the 21st century. In 2014, Carlo was chairing the emergency response committee during the ebola crisis.
He said one of the things he’s working on is finding ways for doctors who would like to see some poorer patients but aren’t in the Medicaid network to work through the network created by Parkland without having to become a Parkland or UT Southwestern doctor.
Disaster preparedness is another issue that includes how to be more prepared around the zika virus.
Carlo said AIDS Arms is tuned in to how social determinants affect health outcomes. His agency works with many with lack of food resources, the recently incarcerated, other issues that he’ll address as president of the Dallas County Medical Society.