Mary Beth Bolton, MD, Named 'Woman Physician of the Year' by Michigan State Medical Society
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EAST LANSING, Mich., Dec 11, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ — Mary Beth Bolton, MD, FACP, a Detroit internal medicine specialist, has been named “Woman Physician of the Year” by the Michigan State Medical Society (MSMS)
Doctor Bolton, Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer with Health Alliance Plan (HAP) since 2000, was recognized by her physician peers at MSMS for her career-long commitment to improving primary patient care through increasing access, promoting wellness and reducing racial and ethnic disparities.
“All of health care in Michigan, from primary care to hospice care, is better because of Doctor Bolton’s commitment to excellence and her focus on the needs of the individual patient,” said MSMS president Michael A. Sandler, MD, a diagnostic radiologist at Henry Ford Hospital who first nominated Doctor Bolton. “Doctor Bolton has served as a teacher, a mentor and an inspiration to countless young physicians and colleagues.”
That assessment was echoed by Bruce E. Bradley, Director, Health Care Strategy and Public Policy for General Motors Corporation, another of the dozens of Southeast Michigan health care leaders who endorsed Doctor Bolton’s nomination for the award.
“Outstanding value-driven physician leadership is one of the most important factors required to transform our nation’s health care system,” Bradley said. “Doctor Bolton is a role model.”
“Doctor Bolton brings a level of scientific discipline to studying health care issues of populations of patients without ever forgetting that each number represents a human being who deserves compassion, dignity and evidence-based health care,” said Dorothy Deremo, president and CEO of Hospice of Michigan, who also endorsed Doctor Bolton’s nomination for the award.
Doctor Bolton will receive formal recognition as “Woman Physician of the Year” during the 144th annual meeting of the MSMS House of Delegates on April 24-26, 2009, in Grand Rapids where 400 physician delegates from across Michigan will gather to set policy on a variety of health care issues.
At HAP, Doctor Bolton is responsible for establishing health care policy, chronic disease care and quality programs, as well as designing and implementing innovative programs that provide the best health outcomes for HAP members. She is involved in a number of community collaborations working to improve health care.
Prior to her current position, Doctor Bolton worked as Vice President at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, served as HAP’s senior associate medical director of managed care services and was a senior staff physician and program director in the Internal Medicine Primary Care Residency program at the Henry Ford Health System. She continues to practice medicine with the Henry Ford Medical Group. Doctor Bolton also chairs the board of the Professional Credential Verification Service, an MSMS subsidiary.
Doctor Bolton earned her medical degree at the University of California San Francisco where she completed her residency and internship in internal medicine. She graduated with honors and is a lifetime member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society. Doctor Bolton earned her undergraduate degree in nursing from Henry Ford College and graduated first in her class.
The mission of the Michigan State Medical Society is to promote a health care environment that supports physicians in caring for and enhancing the health of Michigan citizens through science, quality and ethics in the practice of medicine. For more information, visit www.msms.org.
SOURCE Michigan State Medical Society
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