If you didn’t go to the Ohio
Osteopathic Association’s (OOA) 107th Annual Meeting
& Scientific Seminar you may not know that David A. Bitonte, D.O.,
M.B.A., of Louisville, Ohio, was installed as its 98th
president. (The OOA convention was held June 23–26 in Cincinnati.) Bitonte is the latest distinguished Ohio
osteopathic physician to head the
state’s association.
He currently serves as medical
director for Ohio KePRO, the Medicare quality improvement
organization for Ohio serving 1.8 million beneficiaries. He also
served as chief of anesthesiology at Alliance Community Hospital
and provided anesthesiology services with Medical Doctor
Associates and Concorde Physician Staff Services.
Bitonte is a past president of
the American Osteopathic College of Anesthesiologists, the
Akron-Canton Academy of Osteopathic Medicine and the Stark
County Medical Society. He is a graduate of the University of
Dayton, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and
Youngstown State University’s M.B.A. program. He completed his
internship at Doctors Hospital in Columbus and residencies at
the University of Pittsburgh and Warren General Hospital. In
addition, he completed a pain therapy fellowship at the
Cleveland Clinic as well as the American Osteopathic Association
Health Policy Fellowship.
Bitonte will represent the OOA
at the annual Convocation Ceremony, which will be held Saturday,
Aug. 13, at Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium and
will bring greetings from the state’s osteopathic medical profession to the class of incoming first-year medical
students. The Phillips Medal of Public Service Ceremony also is
held as part of the Convocation, during which outstanding
individuals are honored for their contributions to medical
education, public service and public administration.
Other OOA officers elected for
2005-2006 are President-elect Victor D. Angel, D.O., of
Cincinnati; First Vice President William F. Emlich Jr., D.O.
(’86), of Columbus; Second Vice President Barbara A.
Bennett, D.O. (’84), of Dayton; and Treasurer Christopher
J. Loyke, D.O. (’88), of Cleveland.
“We received quite a bit of
positive feedback from conventioneers, especially about our
speakers and medical education programs,” said Emlich,
convention chairman. About 500 physicians, spouses, medical
students and guests attended the convention.
Of particular
importance to OU-COM was the presentation of a check for
$194,170, to Dean Jack Brose, D.O., during a special
convention luncheon (see photo). The check represents a
significant part of the matching funds that will help the
college draw down an additional $2.6 million from a federal
student loan program. To raise the money, the OOA foundation
contributed a dollar for every dollar pledged by physicians,
osteopathic hospitals, district academies and others. With this
latest donation, OOA’s total giving to support OU-COM is more
than $1.2 million since 1976.
Outgoing OOA President Jeffrey A. Stanley, D.O. (’82),
presented the check on behalf of the profession. He noted the
college’s outstanding record in training primary care physicians
and the need to support osteopathic medical students. “With this
gift, we are happy to support our students at OU-COM as well as
build the future of osteopathic medicine in Ohio,” he said.
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