Dr. Whitelaw Named CMA Interim President-Elect

Dr. Whitelaw, who was President of the SSVMS Board of Directors in 1984, is President of the Sutter Medical Group. He had announced his candidacy for President-Elect during this year's CMA House of Delegates and would have assumed that office next year, becoming President in 2003. With the untimely passing of Dr. Kreiger, Dr. Whitelaw will likely become CMA President a year earlier than expected.

The appointment must be ratified by the CMA House of Delegates, by a vote that got underway in early August and runs through October 1. The CMA Board retained Dr. Whitelaw as its Chair, to allow other Trustees to declare their candidacy for the position and campaign between now and the November Board meeting, when elections will be held.

Dr. Whitelaw said, "It's unfortunate that Gary's illness struck so quickly and deprived him of a life-long ambition to become CMA President. I'm honored to move up a year early and look forward to finishing out his term and becoming CMA President." He added, "These are exciting times for organized medicine. There are many demands and challenges facing California physicians. I believe that the CMA and our county medical societies are meeting those challenges head-on and there are signs that the public is beginning to understand the seriousness of such issues as physician supply, the interference with physician/ patient relationships and inadequate reimbursement. I look forward to leading our organization in addressing these and other issues."

Dr. Whitelaw is one of two CMA Trustees from District XI, along with Tom Wilkes, MD, of Yolo County. Four individuals have declared their candidacy to succeed Dr. Whitelaw as Trustee: Drs. Barbara Arnold, Joanne Berkowitz, Satya Chatterjee and Ronald Foltz.

Dr. Whitelaw, an obstetrician and gynecologist, was born in Portland, attended Oregon State University and graduated from the University of Oregon Medical School in 1965. His internship and residency were completed at Letterman General Hospital in San Francisco. He has held a number of positions in organized medicine including Delegate to the CMA, Chair of the District XI Delegation, AMA Alternate delegate, and Chair of the CMA Council on Legislation, and has served as a CMA Trustee since 1994. He is a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Air Force Reserve.