STATE
President's Message from Teri Flanders
Thank you for your support as I serve as the UMA Alliance President 2011-2012.
Our theme for this year is “Align with the Alliance”. I chose this theme because of the importance of the Alliance now more than ever. With the challenges we face in health care reform that is being determined within our state of Utah and Washington D. C., we need to “ally oneself to the prescribed course of action”. The aim of our organization is found in our Mission Statement.
- To support medical families
- To increase awareness of the physician’s role in the community.
- To promote a healthy lifestyle for all through education and support of programs which improve the health of our state.
- To fight against social behaviors which threaten our health and safety.
- To support legislation leading to improved and continued quality health care.
- To support the UMA, AMA, AMA Alliance and our constituent alliances.
Visit our website umaaweb.org and click on the counties in our state to read how we are supporting our Mission Statement through activities and service.
“No one else can contribute your unique combination of talents, energy, insights and ideas.”
“What you do does make a difference.”
Chuck Durakis, Be the Difference
Let us “Align with the Alliance” as we promote the future of better healthcare.
At our January board meeting, Michelle McOmber (pictured below) shared information to prepare us for the Day at the Legislature. It will be held February 23, 2012, in the State Office Building Auditorium. Join us to make a difference in Utah.
Also, the UMA recently selected this year's Doctor of the Year from among several candidates, provided by our county alliances. Here is the list of county winners, starting with the physician chosen as Utah's Doctor of the Year.
DOCTOR OF THE YEAR FOR 2012
Salt Lake County Medical Society: Frank Bentley, MD
Dr. Louis Frank Bentley is this year’s Utah State Doctor of the Year. He was nominated as the Medical Student Alliance’s Doctor of the Year and has a Pediatric Practice at IHC Memorial Clinic. He graduated from the University of Utah Medical School in May of 1974, and then did his residency at the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles where he received the Outstanding Resident Award 1976-77. He and his wife Jean Alice have 9 children and 17 grandchildren. He has done medical projects in Senegal and Russia and has taught neonatal resuscitation in Guatemala, Panama, Argentina, Kenya, Zimbabwe, and Nicaragua. He has a beautiful tenor voice and has sung with the Tabernacle Choir.
Other nominees included:
Weber County Medical Society: Jack D. Wahlen, MD
Jack Wahlen, President of Endocrine Research Specialists, who was Ogden County’s Doctor of the Year. He took first place in the University of Utah Student Research Competition in 1973 and has continued research throughout his career. He has spoken in local and national presentations and served on a number of committees, including the American Diabetes Association and the Ogden Medical Surgical Society. He serves as a Family Practice Resident Instructor at IHC McKay-Dee Hospital and Adjunct Faculty at Weber State University.
Cache County Medical Society: Glen Owens Mortensen, MD
Glenn Owens Mortensen, Cache County’s Doctor of the Year, was the Chief Resident of Family Practice at Providence Hospital in Southfield, Michigan in 1978. He was a Family Practice physician in Logan with an emphasis on obstetrics and pediatrics from that time until 2009, and currently volunteers as an instructor in the Biology Department at Utah State University. He ranked in the top ten while competing in four National Masters Swimming Championships when he was between the ages of 34 and 42, ranking in the top ten in four events.
Davis County Medical Society: Dennis R. Peterson, MD
Dennis R. Peterson was Davis County’s Doctor of the Year. He served as Chief Resident and was among the first graduates in Family Medicine at the University of California Davis Residency in Family Practice. He has served as Chairman of the Utah State Medical Association Member Health Insurance Committee, and served numerous times as the Chairman for the Department of Family Practice at Lakeview Hospital, as well as chairing their the Medical Records and Quality Assurance Committees. His true brilliance is best seen through the care and rapport he has with each individual.
Utah County Medical Society: E. William LeRoy, MD
E. William LeRoy is a recently retired internist. He attended BYU and then Emery Medical School in Atlanta, Georgia. He did his General Practice Internship there also. He practiced about 4 years in Springville and decided to pursue an Internal Medicine Residency at Grady Medical Center in Atlanta. He practiced mainly out of Mountain View Hospital.
He served in the Utah National Guard and was deployed overseas during Operation Desert Storm. He writes poetry and is an accomplished sculptor. He also enjoys fly fishing. He has spent many hours counseling family about the seriousness of the condition of the patient and many times being there with them when the patient passed away. He is a very calm, steady, wise and thoughtful person.