Hector Flores, MD
LACMA member since 1991
Under the leadership of Co-Director Hector Flores, MD, the White Memorial Medical Center family practice residency program won a Song-Brown award of $154,000 from the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development this past fall.

The residency program was recognized for placing a large number of family practice physicians, physician assistants, family nurse practitioners and registered nurses in medically underserved areas. Dr. Flores, Co-director Luis Samaniego, MD, and CEO Beth Zachary were presented the award by OSHPD Director David Carlisle, MD, at the Los Angeles hospital in November 2006.

"Since its inception in 1988, the family practice residency program has placed more than 55 percent of its graduates in underserved areas," Dr. Flores says. "In the past two years, we have boosted that number to 70 percent."

OSHPD recently awarded more than $2.5 million to 26 family practice residency programs in California. The funds are made available through OSHPD's Song-Brown Program, which financially assists a variety of training programs to increase the number of healthcare providers working with California's neediest populations.

"For the past five years, White Memorial's family practice residency has been ranked No. 1 by the California Healthcare Workforce Policy Commission for being the most successful family practice residency program in meeting the Song-Brown program goals," Dr. Flores says.
The Song-Brown Family Physician Training Act was passed by the California Legislature in September 1973 to encourage doctors to practice in underserved areas.

Donald J. Kurth, MD
SBCMS member since 2001
Kurth, chief of addiction medicine at the Loma Linda University Behavioral Medicine Center in Redlands, was elected mayor of the City of Rancho Cucamonga in November 2006. A councilmember for the City of Rancho Cucamonga from 2002-04, Dr. Kurth has served as president and longstanding board member of both the Rancho Cucamonga Chamber of Commerce and the Cucamonga County Water District.

"I am thrilled beyond description to be the new major of the City of Rancho Cucamonga," Dr. Kurth says. "In the past 15 years, Rancho Cucamonga has experienced a huge amount of business and financial growth. I believe I can make a difference in the City of Rancho Cucamonga, in the same way that I make a difference in treating patients."

As a physician, Dr. Kurth owns the Alta Loma Medical Group/Urgent Care Center in Rancho Cucamonga, which was established in 1983. He also founded the Children's Free Immunization Program, which has provided free immunizations to thousands of local children for more than 20 years. He is active in both state and national medical associations, serving as treasurer of the American Society of Addiction Medicine and as past president of the California Society of Addiction Medicine.

Dr. Kurth has been a resident of Rancho Cucamonga for more than 20 years.

Ronald Bangasser, MD
SBCMS member since 1977
Bangasser, medical director of the Wound Care Department at Redlands Community Hospital, was named recipient of the 2006 Inland Empire American Cancer Society's Celebration of Life Award. Dr. Bangasser was honored for demonstrating strength and courage during his battle with colon cancer. He was diagnosed in 2005.

"I was completely blown away that the American Cancer Society gave me this award," says Dr. Bangasser, who is also director of external affairs at Beaver Medical Group in Redlands. "I didn't even know anyone was paying attention to how I was dealing with my illness."

Dr. Bangasser was presented the award at a special ceremony at the Mission Inn in Riverside in November 2006. At the event, Dr. Bangasser gave a short speech about his journey.

"For a year, even though I was undergoing extensive chemotherapy and several surgeries, I never stopped working," Dr. Bangasser says. "By late September 2006, I was back to practicing medicine full time, treating patients in the Wound Care Department and giving talks on organized medicine in Washington, D.C., on behalf of the American Medical Association."

A key figure in organized medicine for the past 30 years, Dr. Bangasser has served as president of the California Medical Association and the San Bernardino County Medical Society.

Dev GnanaDev, MD
SBCMS member since 1981
GnanaDev, medical director and chair of the surgery department at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton, received the 2007 AMA Foundation Pride in the Profession Award for his outstanding work in the field of medicine. The award is given to "recognize the contributions of exemplary physicians who work in underserved areas or sacrifice their time for volunteer or public service efforts."

A California Medical Association trustee and past president of the San Bernardino County Medical Society, Dr. GnanaDev will be honored at the AMA Foundation's Excellence in Medicine Awards Banquet this month in Washington, D.C.

"In September 2005, Dr. GnanaDev took a team of 16 (10 physicians, two radiology techs and three mental health counselors) from Arrowhead Regional Medical Center to Houston where they treated the victims of Katrina," says Manmohan Nayyar, MD, an Apple Valley neurologist. "His team provided staffing to the clinics at the Astrodome and Reliant Center and the field hospital at the Reliant Arena. After returning from Houston, Dr. GnanaDev joined members of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors, several mayors, and the disaster council members of local cities to deliver relief supplies to the City of Gulfport, Miss."

Dr. GnanaDev has dedicated more than 23 years to the underserved. In the '90s, his grassroots efforts helped replace a crumbling county hospital with a state-of-the-art hospital in San Bernardino. In 1996, he developed a free tattoo-removal program for former gang members, and in 2003, he helped create the Inland Empire Burn Institute.

"Dr. GnanaDev is highly respected by his peers, his friends, his patients and our elected officials," Dr. Nayyar adds. "He exemplifies the true leader in the physician community."

Syed Bokhari, MD
RCMA member since 2004
Bokhari, an interventional cardiologist at Riverside Community Hospital, was named president-elect of the Inland Empire Chapter of the American Heart Association this past year. As president-elect, Dr. Bokhari is focusing on heart disease education and prevention for women and children. He will begin his two-year term as president in July 2007.

"Since 1984, heart disease has killed more women in the United States than men," Dr. Bokhari says. "Physicians are not that aggressive in screening and treating women for this disease. In fact, a smaller percentage of women who come to emergency rooms nationwide are getting aspirin for heart attacks, compared with men."

As a member of the board of directors, Dr. Bokhari will also help lead the chapter in continuing to promote public awareness of heart disease and strokes, aiming to reduce disability and death.

"I would also like to bring heart disease education to children and teachers in local classrooms from the elementary level through high school," Dr. Bokhari says. "Plaque can start building in the arteries of kids as young as 8."