HR0418 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0418 LRB103 34326 MST 64156 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to congratulate Ronald Johnson, M.D. on receiving the 2023 Rural Physician Lifetime of Service Award from the Illinois Rural Health Association; and

WHEREAS, One of the biggest healthcare challenges across our nation is the shortage of physicians who practice in rural settings; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Johnson graduated from the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in 1977; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Johnson completed his residency in family practice at Memorial Hospital in Carbondale in 1980; and

WHEREAS, After finishing his residency, Dr. Johnson began his service at Illini Community Hospital in Pittsfield, where he has held various leadership positions through the years, including president of medical staff, chief of emergency room, chief of obstetrics, and chief of respiratory therapy; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Johnson started his own practice, Pike County Family Practice, in Pittsfield in 1980; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Johnson opened the Winchester Family Practice to expand access to care across a wider geographic area in 1990; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Johnson has dedicated his time and expertise for many years at the state level by serving as a member of the Bureau of Medical Integrity for the Office of the Inspector General and the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation's Medical Disciplinary Board; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Johnson also served at the national level on the Federation of State Medical Boards Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education as the Illinois Representative of State Medical Licensing Boards in Washington, D.C.; and

WHEREAS, As an employed physician of Duly Health and Care, Dr. Johnson continues to serve generations of patients at Quincy Medical Group; and

WHEREAS, Having volunteered his time as an associate teaching physician at the SIU Family Practice in Quincy, Dr. Johnson has proctored and mentored countless medical students not only on family medicine but on the art of communication and care for patients through empathy, respect, and the art of listening; and

WHEREAS, When not practicing medicine, Dr. Johnson and his wife can be found traveling the world; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Ronald Johnson, M.D. on receiving the 2023 Rural Physician Lifetime of Service Award from the Illinois Rural Health Association and commend him for his compassion and dedication to his patients and for filling such a tremendous void in rural medicine for over 40 years in west central Illinois; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Dr. Johnson as a symbol of our respect and esteem.