FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEWTON-WELLESLEY'S ERICA JOHNSON, MD, RECEIVES 2009 PRIMARY CARE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

NEWTON, Mass. (May 2009) –  More than 200 physicians and guests recently attended the first annual Primary Care Physician Recognition Event honoring primary care physicians across the Partners network. 

Erica E. Johnson, MD, Newton-Wellesley Hospital, John Stoeckle, MD, Massachusetts General Hospital and Marshall Wolf, MD, Brigham and Women’s Hospital were this year’s Primary Care Lifetime Achievement Award recipients for their outstanding leadership, vision and dedication to the practice of internal medicine.

Dr. Johnson has academic appointments at Tufts University School of Medicine, where she is currently Associate Professor of Medicine, and the University of Massachusetts Medical School, where she is adjunct Assistant Professor of Medicine. She has received a number of recognitions, including a listing in Boston Magazine as "Best of Boston" in internal medicine and Locke Awards for effective teaching of primary care and excellence in ambulatory teaching.

She has held numerous administrative positions at Newton-Wellesley Hospital and was the president of the Medical Staff in 1994. From 1995 to 2004, she was a member of the Board of Trustees of the hospital. She has been a leader in women's health and had chaired the Women's Health Steering Committee, which was dedicated to enhancing services for women at Newton-Wellesley Hospital and expanding educational opportunities in women's health.

Dr. Johnson has been active in a number of professional committees and organizations, including the Massachusetts Medical Society, and was a member of the Wellesley Board of Health for 12 years. Dr. Johnson has been Newton-Wellesley Hospital’s representative to the Board of Trustees of Partners Community Healthcare, Inc., and for over a decade, has been on the Board of Directors of the Newton-Wellesley Hospital Physician-Hospital Organization. She also served on the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine’s Credentialing Expert Panel Subcommittee. Dr. Johnson resides in Wellesley.

This recognition event was among the recommendations developed by the Primary Care Task Force, convened last year by James Mongan, MD, Partners Chief Executive Officer, to improve the day-to-day lives of primary care physicians.

Other recommendations being addressed include issues that affect recruitment and retention of primary care physicians, career development, compensation and practice redesign. The practice redesign work has provided a unique opportunity for teams to collaborate and share knowledge across the network. Nine pilot sites are actively engaged in examining ways to improve access to appointments, management of patients with chronic diseases and the enhanced use of the LMR.

CONTACT:
Rachel Kagno
Public Affairs & Marketing
Newton-Wellesley Hospital
617-243-6528
rkagno@partners.org