California Orthopaedic Association

The California Orthopaedic Association (COA) was organized by officers of the six California chapters of the Western Orthopaedic Association (WOA) on October 27, 1975. A meeting was arranged and hosted by Dr. J. Harold LaBriola, immediate past president of the Los Angeles chapter of the WOA. The chairman presented the need to represent California orthopaedic surgeons in socioeconomic and legislative affairs statewide and nationally. Motions to form the COA passed, as did a motion that it be structured as a non-profit corporation with an IRS 501(c)(6) tax status to allow for lobbying and other activities to influence legislation and policy. The next several months were spent organizing, and finally the first officers were elected on February 2, 1976, prior to an AAOS meeting. Elected were: President, Dr. Harold LaBriola (Los Angeles) Vice President, Dr. Carl Horn (Sacramento) Secretary-Treasurer, Dr. Dean Smith (Santa Barbara) Member, Dr. Milo Youel (San Diego) Member, Dr. Arthur Hartwig (San Francisco) Incorporation of the COA became effective December 27, 1976, as a non-profit corporation. By mid-1977, the membership grew to 758 members. An attorney lobbyist was retained, and a state orthopaedic PAC was developed in 1979 when podiatrists proposed legislation that would have expanded their scope of practice to include lower extremity surgery from the knee to the foot. Since then, over $90,000 is raised annually and used to support state legislators who support issues ensuring quality musculoskeletal care for all patients. Meetings of the Association were originally held in conjunction with the AAOS and WOA Annual Meetings, and a one-day meeting of the COA was added in 1979 in Sacramento with state legislators invited as speakers. In 1990, a three day combined educational, legislative, and socioeconomic program was held in Carmel, CA, and included sports, spouse activities, social events and technical exhibits. It was an immediate success and the COA Annual Meeting has grown to over 500 attendees and 80 technical exhibitors each year. Current membership is nearly 2,100 orthopaedic surgeons throughout California, categorized as active, life, military, resident and fellow members. For such a young organization, much has been accomplished. The officers have worked tirelessly each year and the socioeconomic goals of the founders have been exceeded by far. Since its inception, COA has introduced COA-sponsored legislation and successfully lobbied on a multitude of issues. In this bureaucratic and litigious society, the COA serves its constituency well. Blair Filler, M.D. COA Founder