Alice A. Tolbert Coombs, MD, president of the
MMS, is a critical care specialist at South Shore Hospital and an
anesthesiologist with South Shore Anesthesia Associates. For the
past three years, Dr. Coombs has served as president-elect, vice
president, and secretary-treasurer of the MMS, respectively, and
has been a member of its Board of Trustees and House of Delegates.
She is a member of the American Medical Association's Commission to
Eliminate Healthcare Disparities, a former vice chair of the
Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine's Patient Care
Assessment Committee, a former member of the Massachusetts State
Commission to Eliminate Racial and Ethnic Healthcare Disparities,
and a past chair of the MMS Committee on Ethnic Diversity. She is
also a former member of the Massachusetts Special Commission on the
Health Care Payment System, established to evaluate the current
system and recommend reforms that will provide incentives for
cost-effective and patient- centered care.
She has served on the Medical Society's committees on Public
Health, Managed Care, Recognition Awards, and Leadership
Development. She is a past president of the Norfolk South District
Medical Society and a former chair of the Ethics Committee at South
Shore Hospital.
In 2005, Dr. Coombs received the Society's Henry Ingersoll
Bowditch Award for Excellence in Public Health, an annual award
given to a physician who demonstrates creativity, commendable
citizenship, initiative, innovation, and leadership in the public
health and advocacy arenas. In 1999, she developed an annual
anti-smoking program for South Shore youth, Smoking - Don't Go
There, an adaptation of a program produced by the American College
of Chest Physicians. She is also a driving force behind the
American Medical Association's Doctors Back to School Program,
which brings physicians into elementary, middle, and high schools
across the country to interest young men and women, particularly in
minority communities, in health care careers.
A native of Compton, California, and a graduate of Compton High
School, Dr. Coombs received her medical degree from the UCLA School
of Medicine. She is board certified in internal medicine,
anesthesiology, and critical care medicine. She is a diplomat of
the National Board of Medical Examiners and a fellow of the
American College of Chest Physicians.
Robin Richman , MD, has been chief medical
officer and executive vice president for medical affairs at Fallon
Clinic in Worcester, Massachusetts, since December 2007. In this
role, she heads a group medical practice consisting of 240
physicians and 90 advanced practitioners.
Before joining Fallon Clinic, Dr. Richman was associated with
Atrius Health where she held the position of vice president of
patient safety and risk management. Prior to that, Dr. Richman was
specialty director of OB/GYN services for Harvard Vanguard Medical
Associates (HVMA), leading a 200-member department that included 60
physicians and 20 midwives who delivered care at 17 different
practices and 6 Boston-area hospitals.She was also director of
continuing professional duration for Atrius Health's 600-physician
practice and a board member of CRICO/RME, the medical liability
organization for the Harvard medical community.
Before joining HVMA, Dr. Richman spent two years as the chief
medical officer for Tufts Health Care Institute. She also held the
chief medical officer position at Women's Health Management
Solutions.
From 1993 to 2001, Dr. Richman was vice president and medical
director of Tufts Health Plan, responsible for NCQA accreditation,
member grievances regarding clinical events, all quality
measurements and initiatives, and credentialing. She also served as
the organizational clinical representative for state and regional
legislative initiatives. On a national level, Dr. Richman has
served on both the Leadership Council and chaired the Women's
Health Subcommittee for the American Association of Health
Plans.
Before turning to more administrative endeavors, Dr. Richman
spent 13 years in private OB/GYN practice in association with
Newton-Wellesley and Emerson Hospitals in the Boston area. At
Emerson, she was the chief of obstetrics and gynecology from 1988
to 1990. Dr. Richman is a graduate of Temple University School of
Medicine. She completed her residency at Los Angeles County Women's
Hospital and spent a year in a fellowship program at Beth Israel
Hospital, Boston, in reproductive endocrinology and
infertility.
She is currently on the board of trustees of the Massachusetts
Medical Society, the Boston Medical Library, and the Girl Scouts of
America.
