AMERICAN BOARD OF FAMILY MEDICINE ELECTS NEW OFFICERS AND BOARD MEMBERS
=======================================================================

* Jane Ireland

The American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) is pleased to announce the election of 4 new officers and 3 new board members. The new officers elected at the ABFM’s spring board meeting in April are: Larry A. Green, MD of Denver, Colorado, elected as Chair; Craig W. Czarsty, MD of Oakville, Connecticut as Chair Elect; Alain J. Montegut, MD of Boston, Massachusetts as Treasurer; and John R. Bucholtz, DO of Columbus, Georgia as Member-at-Large, Executive Committee. In addition, the ABFM welcomes this year’s new members to the Board of Directors: Diane K. Beebe, MD of Jackson, Mississippi; Erika Bliss, MD of Seattle, Washington; and Howard Blanchette, MD of Valhalla, New York.

The new ABFM officers will each serve a 1-year term:

**Larry A. Green, MD, Chair,** has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2005. Dr. Green is currently Professor of Family Medicine at the University of Colorado in Denver. He formerly served as the Program Director and Chair of the Department of Family Medicine there and was a contributor in the development of the Ambulatory Sentinel Practice Network. He assisted with the establishment of the Robert Graham Center in Washington, DC where he now serves as Senior Scholar in Residence. He currently directs the Prescription for Health, a 5-year program of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation with partnership with The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Dr. Green will serve as an ex-officio member of all ABFM Committees.

**Craig W. Czarsty, MD, Chair-Elect,** has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2006. He has been practicing family medicine full time in Connecticut since 1983 and has been very involved at the national level in both the production and accreditation of continuing medical education. He will serve the ABFM on the Bylaws Committee as its Chair, the Credentials Committee, the Information & Technology Committee, the Examination Committee as its Chair, the Audit/Finance Committee and the MC-FP Committee.

**Alain J. Montegut, MD, Treasurer,** has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2005. As a family physician for over 25 years, he has practiced in both a solo and a 30-physician group setting. Dr. Montegut is now Associate Professor and Director of Global Health Primary Care Initiative, Department of Family Medicine, Boston University. He is also President of the North American Region of WONCA. Dr. Montegut will serve the ABFM on the Executive Committee, the Examination Committee, the Audit/Finance Committee, the Communications/Publications Committee and the MC-FP Committee.

**John R. Bucholtz, DO, Member-at-Large, Executive Committee,** has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2006. He is the Program Director of the Family Medicine Residency Program and Director of Medical Education at the Medical Center in Columbus, Georgia. Dr. Bucholtz will serve the ABFM on the Bylaws Committee, the Information & Technology Committee, the Examination Committee, the Audit/Finance Committee, the Research & Development Committee, and the Communications/Publications Committee as its Chair.

The following new Board members will each serve a 5-year term:

**Diane K. Beebe, MD** is the Chairman of the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. She previously served as the Residency Director and Vice-Chairman for the Department of Family Medicine. Dr. Beebe is also a member of the ACGME-RRC for Family Medicine Accreditation Appeals Board and the Academic Council for the AAFP’s Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors. Dr. Beebe will serve the ABFM on the Bylaws Committee, the Credentials Committee, and the Communications/Publications Committee.

**Erika Bliss, MD** is the lead clinician with Qliance Medical Group of Washington PC in Seattle, and the Director of Medical Care and Advisor with Qliance Medical Management. She currently serves as a Steering Committee Member for Preparing the Personal Physician for Practice (P4) Project. Dr. Bliss, a 1999 Pisacano Scholar, also served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Pisacano Leadership Foundation. Dr. Bliss will serve the ABFM on the Examination Committee, the Research & Development Committee and the MC-FP Committee.

**Howard Blanchette, MD** is Professor and Chairman of Obstetrics and Gynecology at New York Medical College. He is also the Director of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Westchester Medical Center. In addition, Dr. Blanchette serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Dr. Blanchette will serve the ABFM on the Information & Technology Committee and the Communications/Publications Committee.

The remaining current members of the Board are: Arlene Brown, MD of Ruidoso, New Mexico; Thomas H. Cogbill, MD of LaCrosse, Wisconsin; Susan C. Day, MD of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Thomas P. Gessner, MD of Latrobe, Pennsylvania; Samuel Jones, MD of Fairfax, VA; Warren P. Newton, MD of Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Daniel K. Winstead, MD of New Orleans, Louisiana; and Michael G. Workings, MD of Detroit, Michigan.

*   © 2009 Annals of Family Medicine, Inc.