Articles
Board Elects New Leadership Team
The North Carolina Medical Board elected new officers at its July meeting. In accordance with amended Board bylaws, the leadership team includes a place for an At-Large member for the first time this year. This change was aimed at opening up the Board’s Executive Committee to members who are not on a formal leadership track but nonetheless have an interest in shaping the Board’s priorities. New officers begin their terms on November 1. The Board’s current President, Dr. Janelle A. Rhyne, will continue to serve on the Executive Committee as immediate past President.
George L. Saunders, III, MD, President
Dr. Saunders graduated from Loyola University of Los Angeles and earned his MD from the University of California at San Diego School of Medicine. He completed his residency training in family medicine at St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Yonkers, NY, where he then served as a preceptor. He also served on the faculty at New York Medical College as a clinical instructor in the Department of Medicine.
Following the completion of his medical education, Dr. Saunders became the first medical director of the Urgent Care Network at Jackson Memorial-University of Miami Medical Center and later was appointed associate clinical professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine. He joined Landmark Learning Center, a 360-bed facility for the developmentally disabled in Miami, where he served as medical executive director and quality assurance officer. During his tenure at the Learning Center, Dr. Saunders’ department won a state award for quality and efficiency.
Since 1992, Dr. Saunders has been in private practice in Brunswick County, where he has been a trustee for Brunswick Community College. At Brunswick Hospital, Dr. Saunders has served as chief of the medical staff and is a former hospital trustee.
Dr. Saunders professional experience includes numerous appointments, including president, vice president and recording secretary of the Dade County, Fla., Chapter of the National Medical Association. He also served as president of the Brunswick County Medical Society and as president and convention chair of the Old North State Medical Society, a group that named him Physician of the Year in 1998 and 1999.
Dr. Saunders is currently an adjunct clinical instructor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill School of Medicine and a preceptor for medical students, nurse practitioner students and family practice residents.
Dr. Saunders is a member of the American Geriatrics Society, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the National Medical Association and other professional organizations. He is certified by the American Board of Family Practice and the American Board of Geriatric Medicine. Dr. Saunders is the medical director of Autumn Care Shallotte. He was appointed to the Board in 2003. Dr. Saunders is chair of the Board’s Review and Best Practices Committees and has served on its Policy, Complaints and Executive Committees. He has also served as secretary, treasurer and president-elect of the Board.
Ralph C. Loomis, MD, President-elect
A native of Kentucky, Dr. Loomis took his undergraduate degree, cum laude, at Vanderbilt University and his MD degree from Indiana University, where he received the Senior Honors program award in surgery. He did his internship at Indiana and his residency in neurosurgery at the same institution, during which he received the Willis Gatch General Surgery Award. He also took the Theodore Gildred Microsurgical Course and was coauthor of an article in the Annals of Surgery.
Dr. Loomis is certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery and is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He is a member of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons and the American Association of Neurological Surgery, an officer in the North Carolina Neurosurgical Society, and has served as North Carolina delegate to the national Council of State Neurosurgical Societies. Dr. Loomis represents the neurosurgery section of Mission Hospitals in the level II trauma section of the western region of North Carolina and is past chief of surgery for Mission Hospitals.
He was appointed to the Board in 2005. Dr. Loomis is chair of the Board’s Disciplinary Committee and has served on its Executive, Reentry, Complaint, Licensing and CPP Committees. He has also served as the Board’s treasurer and secretary. Since spring 2007, he has served on the Bylaws Committee of the Federation of State Medical Boards. He practices at the Mountain Neurological Center in Asheville.
Donald E. Jablonski, DO, Secretary/Treasurer
A native of Michigan, Dr. Jablonski took his undergraduate degree at the University of Windsor, Windsor Ontario, Canada, with graduate study at Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan. He received his DO degree from the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine. He did his internship at Lakeview General Hospital in Battle Creek, Michigan, where he served as chief intern. He is certified by the American Osteopathic Board of Family Practice. In 1996-1997, he participated in the Academic Leadership Fellowship Program of the Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Dr. Jablonski is a member of numerous professional organizations, including the American Osteopathic Association, the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians, the Association of Osteopathic Directors and Medical Educators and the North Carolina Osteopathic Medical Association. He is a fellow of several professional groups.
Dr. Jablonski is licensed and has practiced in Florida and Ohio, as well as North Carolina. Before coming to North Carolina, he was an associate professor of family medicine at the Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine. The list of his professional activities over the years includes more than 50 citations. He is currently a member of the Mountain Area Health Education Center and is a preceptor for medical students at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill School of Medicine, and at Duke University School of Medicine. He is also past president of the North Carolina Society of the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians and of the North Carolina Osteopathic Medical Association.
Dr. Jablonski has received the Outstanding Achievement Award of the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine and the Physician of the Year Award of the American College of Osteopathic Physicians.
Dr. Jablonski was appointed to the Board in 2005. He is chair of the Board’s Licensing Committee and serves on the Disciplinary, Best Practices and Executive Committees.
John B. Lewis, Jr, LLB, At-Large
Judge John B. Lewis, Jr, LLB, is a native of Farmville, NC, and a graduate in history of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He took his law degree from the University of North Carolina Law School, where he served as president of the Third Year Class.
Lewis’s distinguished legal career has included the private practice of law in Farmville for 16 years. For 12 of those years, he served as town attorney for Farmville, Fountain and Hookerton. Lewis served as a Special Superior Court judge for six years and on the North Carolina Court of Appeals for 11 years. He is currently a Court of Appeals recall judge, a temporary administrative law judge and an emergency Special Superior Court judge.
Lewis did active duty in the U.S. Navy and served on the USS Coral Sea (CV-43) off Vietnam. He was later a captain in the Naval Reserve, serving as a certified military judge. He retired from those duties in 1990. Among his many other activities and responsibilities, he has been chair of the North Carolina Property Tax Commission and the Judicial Standards Commission and a member of the North Carolina Sentencing Commission and Rules Review Commission. He has served as a member of the Wake Forest University School of Law Board of Visitors, the Board of Directors of the North Carolina Arts Council and a variety of civic and service organizations.
Judge Lewis’s beloved wife Kay Ellen “Kelly” Isley on February 25, 1967. “Kelly” Lewis died on July 20, 2006. Like their parents, the couple’s two sons, Benjamin May Lewis, II, and John Thomas Carlysle Lewis are both happily married. Thomas and his wife, Amanda, live in Huntersville. They welcomed a son, Kelan Carlysle Lewis, on February 22, 2008. Ben and his wife, Michelle, and their daughters, Margaret May and Ellen, live in Richmond, Virginia.
George L. Saunders, III, MD, President
Dr. Saunders graduated from Loyola University of Los Angeles and earned his MD from the University of California at San Diego School of Medicine. He completed his residency training in family medicine at St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Yonkers, NY, where he then served as a preceptor. He also served on the faculty at New York Medical College as a clinical instructor in the Department of Medicine.
Following the completion of his medical education, Dr. Saunders became the first medical director of the Urgent Care Network at Jackson Memorial-University of Miami Medical Center and later was appointed associate clinical professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine. He joined Landmark Learning Center, a 360-bed facility for the developmentally disabled in Miami, where he served as medical executive director and quality assurance officer. During his tenure at the Learning Center, Dr. Saunders’ department won a state award for quality and efficiency.
Since 1992, Dr. Saunders has been in private practice in Brunswick County, where he has been a trustee for Brunswick Community College. At Brunswick Hospital, Dr. Saunders has served as chief of the medical staff and is a former hospital trustee.
Dr. Saunders professional experience includes numerous appointments, including president, vice president and recording secretary of the Dade County, Fla., Chapter of the National Medical Association. He also served as president of the Brunswick County Medical Society and as president and convention chair of the Old North State Medical Society, a group that named him Physician of the Year in 1998 and 1999.
Dr. Saunders is currently an adjunct clinical instructor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill School of Medicine and a preceptor for medical students, nurse practitioner students and family practice residents.
Dr. Saunders is a member of the American Geriatrics Society, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the National Medical Association and other professional organizations. He is certified by the American Board of Family Practice and the American Board of Geriatric Medicine. Dr. Saunders is the medical director of Autumn Care Shallotte. He was appointed to the Board in 2003. Dr. Saunders is chair of the Board’s Review and Best Practices Committees and has served on its Policy, Complaints and Executive Committees. He has also served as secretary, treasurer and president-elect of the Board.
Ralph C. Loomis, MD, President-elect
A native of Kentucky, Dr. Loomis took his undergraduate degree, cum laude, at Vanderbilt University and his MD degree from Indiana University, where he received the Senior Honors program award in surgery. He did his internship at Indiana and his residency in neurosurgery at the same institution, during which he received the Willis Gatch General Surgery Award. He also took the Theodore Gildred Microsurgical Course and was coauthor of an article in the Annals of Surgery.
Dr. Loomis is certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery and is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He is a member of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons and the American Association of Neurological Surgery, an officer in the North Carolina Neurosurgical Society, and has served as North Carolina delegate to the national Council of State Neurosurgical Societies. Dr. Loomis represents the neurosurgery section of Mission Hospitals in the level II trauma section of the western region of North Carolina and is past chief of surgery for Mission Hospitals.
He was appointed to the Board in 2005. Dr. Loomis is chair of the Board’s Disciplinary Committee and has served on its Executive, Reentry, Complaint, Licensing and CPP Committees. He has also served as the Board’s treasurer and secretary. Since spring 2007, he has served on the Bylaws Committee of the Federation of State Medical Boards. He practices at the Mountain Neurological Center in Asheville.
Donald E. Jablonski, DO, Secretary/Treasurer
A native of Michigan, Dr. Jablonski took his undergraduate degree at the University of Windsor, Windsor Ontario, Canada, with graduate study at Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan. He received his DO degree from the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine. He did his internship at Lakeview General Hospital in Battle Creek, Michigan, where he served as chief intern. He is certified by the American Osteopathic Board of Family Practice. In 1996-1997, he participated in the Academic Leadership Fellowship Program of the Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Dr. Jablonski is a member of numerous professional organizations, including the American Osteopathic Association, the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians, the Association of Osteopathic Directors and Medical Educators and the North Carolina Osteopathic Medical Association. He is a fellow of several professional groups.
Dr. Jablonski is licensed and has practiced in Florida and Ohio, as well as North Carolina. Before coming to North Carolina, he was an associate professor of family medicine at the Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine. The list of his professional activities over the years includes more than 50 citations. He is currently a member of the Mountain Area Health Education Center and is a preceptor for medical students at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill School of Medicine, and at Duke University School of Medicine. He is also past president of the North Carolina Society of the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians and of the North Carolina Osteopathic Medical Association.
Dr. Jablonski has received the Outstanding Achievement Award of the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine and the Physician of the Year Award of the American College of Osteopathic Physicians.
Dr. Jablonski was appointed to the Board in 2005. He is chair of the Board’s Licensing Committee and serves on the Disciplinary, Best Practices and Executive Committees.
John B. Lewis, Jr, LLB, At-Large
Judge John B. Lewis, Jr, LLB, is a native of Farmville, NC, and a graduate in history of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He took his law degree from the University of North Carolina Law School, where he served as president of the Third Year Class.
Lewis’s distinguished legal career has included the private practice of law in Farmville for 16 years. For 12 of those years, he served as town attorney for Farmville, Fountain and Hookerton. Lewis served as a Special Superior Court judge for six years and on the North Carolina Court of Appeals for 11 years. He is currently a Court of Appeals recall judge, a temporary administrative law judge and an emergency Special Superior Court judge.
Lewis did active duty in the U.S. Navy and served on the USS Coral Sea (CV-43) off Vietnam. He was later a captain in the Naval Reserve, serving as a certified military judge. He retired from those duties in 1990. Among his many other activities and responsibilities, he has been chair of the North Carolina Property Tax Commission and the Judicial Standards Commission and a member of the North Carolina Sentencing Commission and Rules Review Commission. He has served as a member of the Wake Forest University School of Law Board of Visitors, the Board of Directors of the North Carolina Arts Council and a variety of civic and service organizations.
Judge Lewis’s beloved wife Kay Ellen “Kelly” Isley on February 25, 1967. “Kelly” Lewis died on July 20, 2006. Like their parents, the couple’s two sons, Benjamin May Lewis, II, and John Thomas Carlysle Lewis are both happily married. Thomas and his wife, Amanda, live in Huntersville. They welcomed a son, Kelan Carlysle Lewis, on February 22, 2008. Ben and his wife, Michelle, and their daughters, Margaret May and Ellen, live in Richmond, Virginia.