VOS Names Senator Lionel Spruill 2018 “Legislator of the Year”

Cal Whitehead
VOS Lobbyist

Senator Lionel Spruill, Sr.

The Virginia Orthopaedic Society (VOS) Board of Directors has unanimously selected Senator Lionel Spruill, Sr. (D-Chesapeake) as the 2018 “Legislator of the Year.” Senator Spruill was nominated by former VOS President Wilford K. Gibson, MD, a partner with Atlantic Orthopaedic Specialists, former member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) Board of Councilors and currently Chair of the AAOS Council on Advocacy. Dr. Gibson and his partners worked with Senator Spruill on legislation that would have authorized an ambulatory surgery center (ASC) and advanced imaging center in Norfolk.

“Senator Spruill worked with us over several months to craft COPN (certificate of public need) reform legislation that would have expanded high-quality orthopaedic care in our community,” Dr. Gibson explained. “He worked hard with several of his colleagues to pass the first real reform legislation out of the Senate.” Ultimately, the legislation containing numerous projects stalled in the House of Delegates.

The VOS-led Virginia Coalition to Reform COPN worked with Senator Spruill and other General Assembly members in support of numerous bills intended to authorize health care projects across the Commonwealth. Attempts to deregulate COPN laws to allow for greater access to health services through increased competition and lower prices are opposed by hospital systems. Legislators, physicians, and other advocates frustrated with the burdensome laws drafted community-based project exemptions when comprehensive reform legislation was repeatedly blocked by the incumbent health systems.

On behalf of VOS, Dr. Gibson and colleagues in Hampton Roads will present Senator Spruill with his award later this year at a local event.

For information about Senator Spruill, please visit his website.

For more information about the Virginia Coalition to Reform COPN, visit here.