Professional Achievement
Dr. John J. McGraw
Dr. John J. McGraw, an Orthopaedic Surgeon with Laurel Bone and
Joint Clinic in Laurel, serves as President of the Mississippi
Orthopaedic Society. Prior to his appointment as President, Dr.
McGraw served the society as a member of the Executive Committee
at-large, and Secretary-Treasurer.
He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Southern Orthopaedic Association. He also serves on the Political Action Committee of the Mississippi Medical Association, and was recently appointed to Mississippi's Health Care Trust Fund Board.
The Mississippi Orthopaedic Society was founded in 1958. Dr. McGraw is the 43rd President of the organization, which is affiliated with the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. With 110 members, the Mississippi Orthopaedic Society promotes com-radeship among its members and the exchange of scientific and socioeconomic information beneficial to the practice of orthopaedic surgery. Active membership is open only to diplomats of the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery who are also fellows in the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery.
The Society is active in legislative affairs pertaining to the welfare of the citizens of Mississippi concerning musculoskeletal health issues. Through the efforts of the Society in April 2000, Governor Ronnie Musgrove declared 20002001 to be the Bone and Joint Decade in the state of Mississippi.
Dr. James C. Waites
Dr. James C. Waites of Westridge Family Clinic in Laurel was
installed as President of the Southern Medical Associates at
the organization's 94th Annual Scientific Assembly in Orlando,
Florida.
Dr. Waites has received numerous honors, including Outstanding Alumnus and Hall of Fame, from the University of Southern Mississippi, Mississippi's Family Physician of the Year, and National Physician Executive of the Year. He also received the Community Service Award from the Mississippi State Medical Association.
In addition to having held a number of offices with Southern Medical Association, he has also served as a Delegate and Chairman of the Mississippi State Medical Association, the Mississippi Academy of Family Physicians, the Southern Mississippi Medical Association, and the Mississippi Physicians Care Network.
G. Douglas Higginbotham
G. Douglas Higginbotham, Executive Director of South Central
Regional Medical Center in Laurel, serves as Chairman of Mississippi
Hospital Association's (MHA) Board of Governors. He was elected
to the position during the Mississippi Hospital Association's
68th Annual Leadership Conference held in Biloxi.
Higginbotham has been MHA's Mississippi Delegate to the American Hospital Association and has actively served on the MHA Board since 1998. He is a member of the Healthcare Financial Management Association, the American College of Healthcare Executives, and serves as treasurer of Mississippi Healthcare Providers, Inc.
Mississippi Hospital Association was formed in 1931 to promote and protect the interests of its over 100 member hospitals and health systems and their 50,000 employees. Whether serving as an advocate for hospitals in the Mississippi State Legislature and the United States Congress, keeping members informed of changes in the health care community, or helping administer related services, MHA serves with one goal in mind--to help member hospitals and health systems provide the best health care possible to the patients they serve.
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