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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives are pleased to congratulate William Ribbing,
4M.D. for receiving the 2022 Rural Physician Lifetime of
5Service Award from the Illinois Rural Health Association; and
 
6    WHEREAS, One of the biggest healthcare challenges across
7our nation is the shortage of physicians who practice in rural
8settings; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Dr. Ribbing graduated from UHS/Chicago Medical
10School in 1987; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Dr. Ribbing completed his residency in family
12practice at Resurrection Medical Center in 1990; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Dr. Ribbing relocated to Anna and went to work
14for Rural Health Inc., where he has made a huge impact on the
15well-being of the region, seeing 20-30 patients daily since
161990, and was responsible for bringing such specialty services
17as women's health, cardiology, orthopedics, and behavioral
18medicine to the area; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Dr. Ribbing has also been a huge asset to Union
20County Hospital, where he served as president of the medical

 

 

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1staff, as well as on its board of directors; and
 
2    WHEREAS, Dr. Ribbing guided efforts to successfully
3address the rural opioid epidemic through the creation of the
4Medicated Assisted Treatment Clinic, which has helped break
5the cycle of addiction for many and improve the quality of life
6in his community; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Dr. Ribbing has been a tireless advocate for the
8advancement of the physician assistant profession, in order to
9alleviate the physician shortage, and developed a partnership
10with Southern Illinois University to serve as a training site
11for physician assistants; he also successfully lobbied for the
12ratio of physicians to physician assistants to be removed in
13health professional shortage areas; and
 
14    WHEREAS, As an active member of the Society of Teachers of
15Family Medicine and of the faculty of both the University of
16Illinois College of Medicine and the SIU School of Medicine,
17Dr. Ribbing has helped train countless medical students to
18provide exceptional patient care; and
 
19    WHEREAS, In his "free time", Dr. Ribbing can be found
20honing his culinary skills on an outdoor grill, fishing,
21hunting, and debating whether he has a stronger allegiance to
22Star Trek or Star Wars; therefore, be it
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
2HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
3we congratulate William Ribbing, M.D. for receiving the 2022
4Rural Physician Lifetime of Service Award and commend him for
5his compassion and dedication to his patients and for filling
6such a tremendous void in rural medicine over the past 45 years
7in Southern Illinois; and be it further
 
8    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
9presented to Dr. Ribbing as a symbol of our respect and esteem.