Board elects new leadership team

Raleigh, NC, December 2009. R. David Henderson, executive director of the North Carolina Medical Board, announced that the Board recently installed its officers for the coming year. Officers began serving in their new positions on November 1. Donald Jablonski, DO, of Etowah, took office as president, Janice Huff, MD, of Charlotte, became president-elect and William Walker, MD, of Charlotte, assumed office as secretary/treasurer. Their terms will run until October 31, 2010.

Donald E. Jablonski, DO, President
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.

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.

He 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 contains over 50 citations. He was a member of the Mountain Area Health Education Center and a preceptor for Duke and North Carolina medical students. He was also a preceptor for the Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine and in 2009 was the “Preceptor of the Year” for western North Carolina. Dr. Jablonski is currently the medical director of a community based outpatient clinic for the Department of Veterans Affairs in Rutherfordton.

Upon his appointment by the Governor in 2005, Dr. Jablonski became the first doctor of osteopathy to ever serve on the Board. In the Board’s 150 year history, he is also the first DO to ever serve as president. Dr. Jablonski chairs the Executive Committee. He was elected Board treasurer in 2007, in July 2008 he was elected to the combined position of secretary/treasurer and in November 2008 he was elected as president-elect, a position he now vacates to serve as president.

Dr. Jablonksi was president of the North Carolina Society of the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians and has served as president of the North Carolina Osteopathic Medical Association. At the same time, he is very active in community affairs.

Janice E. Huff, MD, President-Elect
Janice E. Huff, MD, of Charlotte, graduated with honors from Michigan State University, earning a BS degree in physiology. She earned her medical degree from Saint Louis University School of Medicine, where she was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society. She completed her internship and residency training in the Department of Family Medicine at Carolinas Healthcare System in Charlotte, formerly Charlotte Memorial Hospital and Medical Center.

Dr. Huff is a part-time faculty member of the Family Medicine Residency Program at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte and is an adjunct instructor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She also practices part-time at Presbyterian Urgent Care, Mecklenburg Health Care Center, and The Wellness and Recovery Center.

Dr. Huff is a member of the North Carolina Medical Society’s Managed Care and Access to Health Care Committees. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Mecklenburg County Medical Society and is a member of the Presbyterian Hospice and Palliative Care Advisory Board. She is vice-chair of the Board of Directors of the North Carolina Physicians Health Program. Dr. Huff is a fellow and member of the American Academy of Family Physicians. She is a member of the American Medical Association, the North Carolina Medical Society, the North Carolina Academy of Physician Assistants, the Mecklenburg County Medical Society, the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, the American Society of Addiction Medicine and the Mecklenburg County Chapter of the AAFP. She is a diplomat of the American Board of Family Medicine and the National Board of Medical Examiners.

Dr. Huff was appointed to the Board in 2007. In November 2008, she was elected secretary/treasurer. She chairs the Licensing Committee and serves on Executive, Physicians Health Program and Best Practices Committees.

William A. Walker, MD, Secretary/Treasurer
William A. Walker, MD, of Charlotte, earned his BA in chemistry and psychology and his MD from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He completed his internship and residency training in general surgery at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He also completed a fellowship in colon and rectal surgery at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.

A native of Goldsboro, Dr. Walker currently practices at Charlotte Colon and Rectal Surgery Associates and is a community faculty member in the Department of Surgery at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte.

Throughout his career, he served in a number of administrative and professional positions, including as chairman of the Endoscopy Committee and Peer Review Committee at Presbyterian Hospital and president of the Mecklenburg County Medical Society. He currently serves on the North Carolina Physician Advisory Group for North Carolina Medicaid, the North Carolina Medical Society’s Quality of Care and Performance Improvement Committee and the Surgical Specialties Quality Improvement Committee at Mercy Hospital in Charlotte. He is immediate past chief of staff at Presbyterian Hospital, also in Charlotte, and president of Charlotte Colon and Rectal Surgery Associates.

Dr. Walker is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons. He is an active member of the Mecklenburg County Medical Society and the North Carolina Medical Society. He is the recipient of the President’s Award from Mecklenburg County Medical Society. He has coauthored numerous publications and given presentations across the United States.

Dr. Walker was appointed to the Board in 2007. He chairs the Disciplinary and Policy Committees and serves on the Executive and Continued Competence Committees.

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The North Carolina Medical Board is the agency responsible for licensing, monitoring, disciplining and guiding the health care practitioners it regulates to ensure their fitness and competence.

Photos of Drs. Jablonski, Huff and Walker.

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