| BHS Lab Medical Director Named President of National Credentialing Organization |
| December 10, 2008 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DIRECTOR OF BHS LABORATORIES ELECTED PRESIDENT OF NATIONAL CERTIFICATION BOARD PITTSFIELD, MA – Rebecca Johnson, MD, Medical Director of the Berkshire Health Systems Department of Pathology and Clinical Laboratories, has been elected President of the American Board of Pathology. The primary function of the American Board of Pathology is to provide certification to pathologists, determine competency criteria for pathologists, and help set criteria for pathology residency programs. Dr. Johnson has a distinguished history of achievements, including being the first member of the Berkshire Health Systems physician staff to receive an appointment to the Residency Review Committee of the American Council for Graduate Medical Education. Dr. Johnson was also honored by the College of American Pathologists (CAP) in 2003 with its William L. Kuehn, PhD, Outstanding Communicator Award, presented to a member of the College who has made outstanding communications contributions, strengthening the image of pathology and educating the public about vital wellness issues. In addition, CAP honored her with its Lansky Award in 1993 and a President’s Honor in 1997. “Dr. Rebecca Johnson is an extraordinary physician, and this latest achievement is further recognition of her national prominence in Pathology,” said David Phelps, President, Berkshire Health Systems. “Our community is very fortunate to have exceptional medical staffs at Berkshire Medical Center and Fairview Hospital, where many of our physicians are known nationally and even internationally for their clinical work.” Dr. Johnson is Chair of the Department of Pathology and Clinical Laboratories at Berkshire Health Systems and holds the position of Clinical Professor of Pathology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. She is also the pathology residency training program director and medical director of the School of Medical Technology at BMC. Dr. Johnson, a fellow of the College of American Pathologists, received her undergraduate degree from Illinois State University and completed her medical degree at Southern Illinois University. She served residencies at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield and Hartford Hospital in Connecticut. Dr. Johnson completed fellowships at Hartford Hospital and the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland. She is certified by the American Board of Pathology in anatomic and clinical pathology, with special qualifications in hematopathogy and immunopathology. The American Board of Pathology (ABP) was organized and incorporated in 1936. The first examinations were given and certificates issued in the same year. The ABP is one of 24 medical specialty boards that make up the American Board of Medical Specialties. There are 12 trustees of the ABP, who serve without compensation. The ABP offers primary certification in anatomic pathology, clinical pathology, and combined anatomic pathology and clinical pathology. The ABP issues certificates in the following subspecialty areas of pathology: blood banking/transfusion medicine, chemical pathology, cytopathology, forensic pathology, hematology, medical microbiology, neuropathology, pediatric pathology, and, in conjunction with the American Board of Dermatology (ABD), subspecialty certification in dermatopathology and, in conjunction with the American Board of Medical Genetics (ABMG), subspecialty certification in molecular genetic pathology. |
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