Shannon Administrator Receives National Award

The Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) announced the recipients of its 2015 annual awards, which were presented at the FSMB Annual Meeting in Fort Worth. Each year, the FSMB recognizes outstanding service and leadership in the field of medical regulation.

Irv Zeitler, DO, Vice President of Medical Affairs at Shannon Medical Center, received the John H. Clark, MD, Leadership Award.

The award recognizes outstanding and exemplary leadership, commitment and contribution to advancing the public good at the state medical board level. Dr. Zeitler served 26 years as a member of the Texas Medical Board and nearly six years as board president– a tenure that spanned more than 350 Board hearings.

Dr. Zeitler provided full support to the expansion of the Board’s outreach efforts to medical students, physician licensees, medical societies and hospitals in the belief that the best preventative to disciplinary action are physicians who are well informed about the state’s laws. As president, he helped lead passage of legislation establishing the Texas Physician Health Program, encouraging health professionals to seek early assistance for substance-abuse problems and other impairment issues.

When the board undertook the arduous and complex task of revising the rules governing telemedicine in Texas, Dr. Zeitler played an integral role in ensuring the numerous stakeholders had input to the process and were fully informed of the intent and impact of the revised rules.

The Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) is a national non-profit organization representing all medical boards within the United States and its territories that license and discipline allopathic and osteopathic physicians and, in some jurisdictions, other health care professionals. FSMB leads by promoting excellence in medical practice, licensure and regulation as the national resource and voice on behalf of state medical boards in their protection of the public. To learn more about FSMB, visit: www.fsmb.org/.