Philadelphia Physician Sworn In As 168th President Of The Pennsylvania Medical Society

HARRISBURG, Pa., Oct. 15, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Theodore A. Christopher, MD, FACEP, professor and chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College (SKMC) of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, has been sworn in as the 168th president of the Pennsylvania Medical Society (PAMED).

Swearing Dr. Christopher into office was David A. Talenti, MD, chairman of PAMED's Board of Trustees and a gastroenterologist in Sayre, Pa.  More than 400 guests and dignitaries attended the ceremony, held in Hershey, Pa., on October 14.

A 15-year member of PAMED, he has served on its board of trustees since 2011. 

Since becoming a physician, Dr. Christopher has been active in emergency medicine clinical practice, administration, education, and research.  Under his leadership, Jefferson's Department of Emergency Medicine has treated millions of patients and has helped establish Thomas Jefferson University Hospital as one of Philadelphia's premier safety net hospitals.

He has volunteered extensively in his community and assumed leadership positions not only in his medical institution, but also within several medical organizations.  In addition to his roll at PAMED, he is the past president of the Association of Academic Chairs of Emergency Medicine, the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians, receiving the Chapter's Meritorious Service Award, and the Philadelphia County Medical Society, serving as its liaison to the Philadelphia Health Management Corporation (PHMC). He has also served as a Pennsylvania Delegate to the American Medical Association for many years.

A Summa Cum Laude graduate of Harvard University, Dr. Christopher attained his medical degree at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in 1981. He then completed residencies in internal medicine, at Brown University's Rhode Island Hospital (1984), and emergency medicine at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital (1986). He is board-certified in both specialties. 

Dr. Christopher has written or co-authored more than 80 peer reviewed articles and delivered more than 140 abstracts and research presentations, nationally and internationally, on a wide range of topics, including ischemic reperfusion injury, hospital patient access and flow, advocacy in medicine, and the future of emergency medicine and health care.  Under his academic leadership, Jefferson's Department of Emergency Medicine is currently ranked seventh nationwide in specialty-specific NIH funding. 

This fall, Dr. Christopher became the recipient of Thomas Jefferson University's first distinguished endowed Professorship in the Department of Emergency Medicine. 

Dr. Christopher resides outside of Philadelphia with his wife of 33 years, Claudia, a head trauma and spinal cord physical therapist. He has three daughters ? Monica, a plastics and reconstructive surgery physician's assistant at the Johns Hopkins Medical Center in Baltimore; Adrienne, a general surgery resident at Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals in Philadelphia; and Vanessa, a fourth-year medical student at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College in Philadelphia.

Based in Harrisburg, PAMED is an advocacy organization with nearly 19,000 members statewide. It's membership consists of physicians, medical students, and practice administrators, who work to address state health care issues.

www.pamedsoc.org
@PAMEDSociety

To learn more about the Pennsylvania Medical Society, visit www.pamedsoc.org. PAMED can also be followed on Twitter @PAMEDSociety. Dr. Cutler can be followed during his year as president on Twitter via @PAMEDPrez. Members of the media are encouraged to also follow Chuck Moran, PAMED Media Relations, via @ChuckMoran7.

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SOURCE Pennsylvania Medical Society