Bylaws

Orleans Parish Medical Society Charter & By-Laws

Revised, December 6, 2018

Charter of the Orleans Parish Medical Society

Article I- Objectives

It is the continuing aim of the Orleans Parish Medical Society to serve the best interests of the community and the medical profession.

The pursuit of the following objectives is recognized as essential to the accomplishment of this aim: To foster the science and art of medicine

To maintain and elevate the standards of medical care through encouragement and support of those aspects of professional education which will assure competence and proficiency of the physician.

To guard professional ethics and values

To identify and pursue the professional needs of its members.

To disseminate to the community information on health matters and serve as a resource for the community, government, the medical profession elsewhere, health care professionals and related health care entities.

To seek accessible, quality health services for all citizens.

To educate, encourage and stimulate members, individually and collectively, to participate as involved citizens in local and national affairs.

To levy dues and assessments at level adequate to support the objectives of the Society.

Article II - Title and Definition

The name, style and title of this corporation shall be the Orleans Parish Medical Society.

Article III - Domicile

The domicile of this corporation shall be and is hereby fixed and established in the City of New Orleans, State of Louisiana.

Article IV - Officers and Council of Governors

Section 1. Officers. The Officers of this Corporation shall consist of a President, a President-Elect, a Secretary- Treasurer, and the immediate Past President. These officers and five other members at large elected by and from the Council of Governors shall constitute the Board of Directors. The President-Elect shall automatically succeed to the Presidency upon the expiration of the President's term of office, and shall fill a temporary or permanent vacancy in the office of President for any reason whatsoever. The President shall not be eligible to succeed himself in office, unless he attained the office of President by virtue of filling an unexpired term due to a vacancy in that office. In such case, he shall automatically succeed himself in office for the next term. All Officers shall serve a term of two year from first day of January through the last day of December or until their successors are elected and inducted, except as stipulated above in the preceding paragraph concerning the President-Elect. Eligibility to serve as an Officer, or a member of the Council of Governors, or the Board of Directors, shall be designated by the By-Laws.

No officers shall serve in any one office for more than six (6) consecutive years. Such officers shall become eligible again for election to an office after a lapse of service as an Officer of at least one year. Service of any member in filling an unexpired term of an Officer shall not be counted in computing the maximum time such officer may serve as an Officer.

The duties of the President, the President-Elect, and the Secretary-Treasurer, shall be set forth in the By-Laws of this Society. In addition, the President (or in his absence or disability, the President-Elect) shall be Chairman of, and preside overall meetings of the Board of Directors.

In the absence or disability of the President, the President-Elect shall assume and discharge the duties and functions of the President. In the event of the President's death, resignation or removal, the President -Elect shall succeed to the office.

In the event of a vacancy in the Board of Directors, for any reason whatsoever, except for a vacancy in the office of President-Elect, the President, with the approval of the Board of Directors shall appoint an active member of the Council of Governors eligible to hold office to fill the unexpired term. However, the office of President -Elect can be filled only by election by the membership of a member of the Council of Governors eligible for office. In the event of a vacancy in the office of President-Elect for any reason whatsoever, the President and the Board of Directors shall call a special election to fill the unexpired term of this office. The President-Elect shall hold his office until the expiration of the term of office of the President, at which time he shall be installed as President to serve until the installation of his successor at the following annual installation meeting.

Section 2. Board of Directors. The Officers enumerated in Section 1 above shall emanate from the Council of Governors, shall serve with the five members-at-large, herein known as directors, and together shall constitute the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors shall act in the interim between meetings of the Council of Governors, and their decisions shall be subject to ratification by the Council of Governors, unless otherwise specified in the By-Laws.

For the complete Orleans Parish Medical Society Charter & By-Laws, please download the PDF document.