The largest physician’s organization in the U.S., the American Medical Association, has announced its new board of trustees and president.
Susan R. Bailey, MD, has been sworn in as the association’s 175th president, replacing Patrice A. Harris, MD, who was elected to the position in 2019 and takes the position of immediate past president. Bailey, an allergist from Fort Worth, Texas, is the third consecutive woman to hold the position, marking the first such time in AMA’s history. Bailey’s swearing in was conducted virtually during a Special Meeting of the AMA House of Delegates, when a new board of trustees was also named.
Bailey was elected to the AMA’s board of trustees in 2011 and served as vice speaker and speaker of the house of delegates. She also held leadership positions at the AMA and served on the advisory council as well as other boards and committees.
“Our journey in medicine is simple: Let doctors be doctors,” Bailey said in her inaugural address. “After more than 30 years in a small, private practice, I am a passionate defender of the independent physician, and, like the AMA, I’m determined to remove all those obstacles that have come between us and our patients. Insurers and government mandates ... Burnout and physician suicide. And the coronavirus pandemic has made all of these problems more acute.”
In addition to a new president, the AMA announced its newly elected 21-member board of trustees for the coming year. Gerald E. Harmon, MD, was elected the president elect, and will assume the role in June 2021.
Russ Kridel, MD, was named as the new chair of the board, while Bobby Mukkamala, MD, was named chair elect of the board.
Executive committee members of the board include:
- Jesse M. Ehrenfeld, MD, MPH
- Sandra Adamson Fryhofer, MD
- Bruce A. Scott, MD
- Other members of the board of trustees include:
- David H. Aizuss, MD
- Lisa Bohman Egbert, MD
- Willarda V. Edwards, MD, MBA
- Ilse R. Levin, DO, MPH & TM
- Thomas J. Madejski, MD
- Blake Elizabeth Murphy
- Harris Pastides, PhD, MPH
- Grayson W. Armstrong, MD, MPH
- Scott Ferguson, MD
- Mario E. Motta, MD
- Jack Resneck, Jr., MD
- Michael Suk, MD, JD, MPH, MBA
- Willie Underwood, III, MD, MSc, MPH
Amy joined TriMed Media as a Senior Writer for HealthExec after covering home care for three years. When not writing about all things healthcare, she fulfills her lifelong dream of becoming a pirate by sailing in regattas and enjoying rum. Fun fact: she sailed 333 miles across Lake Michigan in the Chicago Yacht Club "Race to Mackinac."