April 23, 2013
April 20, 2013 -- Dr. John McAnulty, a Portland cardiologist, was named the Oregon Medical Association’s 2013 Doctor Citizen of the Year at the Association’s 139th annual meeting in Portland. This year, the annual award honors a physician who has made outstanding contributions to his community, the practice of medicine, and health care policy in our state. Dr. McAnulty has led an active career in Oregon, starting with his fellowship at the University of Oregon Medical School—now OHSU—where he stayed on as faculty until 2004, when he left to lead the Legacy Health System’s Heart Rhythm Service. He has volunteered for over 25 years at several low income clinics, including work for the Virginia Garcia Memorial Clinic, as a general internist and cardiologist. He is also a frequent volunteer at Chapman Elementary School, where he reads to first graders, often along with medical students and residents. Dr. McAnulty has been an active advocate for a variety of political causes, testifying before the Oregon Legislature on a number of occasions, and he is currently involved in efforts to help reduce the cost of health care by reducing the use of unnecessary medical tests. As an award-winning teacher, leader and mentor, Dr. McAnulty’s work has been pioneering; he introduced the field of cardiac electrophysiology to the west coast at OHSU in the 1970s and performed some of the first cardiac ablation procedures in the Pacific Northwest in the 1990s. He has served as a leader of the Oregon Chapter of the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association, Portland Heart Club, and the Western Society for Clinical Investigation. His nominating colleague, Jack Kron, MD, noted that “Dr. McAnulty has touched the lives of hundreds of physicians. There are many primary care physicians and cardiologists in Oregon and Southwest Washington who owe the core of their understanding of cardiac physiology and pathophysiology to Dr. McAnulty’s skilled teaching methods. Beyond teaching, he is one of the most genuinely kind people around, and this is reflected by the deep trust and confidence his patients and colleagues place with him.” The OMA is an organization of over 8,000 physicians, physician assistants and medical and PA students organized to serve and support physicians in their efforts to improve the health of Oregonians. Additional information can be found at www.theOMA.org.
