Rhode Island OB-GYN elected to AMA Board of Trustees

CHICAGO - Heather A. Smith, MD, MPH, an obstetrician-gynecologist from Rhode Island, was elected to the Board of Trustees of the American Medical Association (AMA), the nation's largest physician organization.

"I am honored by the trust my colleagues have placed in me to serve on the AMA Board of Trustees at a pivotal time for medicine," said Dr. Smith. "Physicians continue to face growing administrative burdens, workforce challenges, and barriers that threaten patient access to care. I look forward to working with physician leaders nationwide to strengthen our profession, improve patient care, and ensure the AMA remains a strong voice for physicians and the patients we serve."

Dr. Smith has held leadership roles in clinical practice and organized medicine at both the state and national levels where she has championed physician-led health policies to uphold the integrity of patient care.

A member since 2002 of the House of Delegates, the AMA's policy-making body, Dr. Smith served as chair of the AMA Council on Legislation, helping advance federal and state policy solutions to key healthcare challenges.

A former president of the Rhode Island Medical Society, Dr. Smith led efforts to strengthen primary care, reduce administrative burden, and protect physician-led decision-making, guiding the organization through complex legislative and operational challenges.

In her clinical practice, Dr. Smith is a full-time academic OB-GYN and hospitalist at Women & Infants Hospital in Providence, R.I., one of the nation's highest-volume obstetric centers, where she is director of OB-GYN quality and leads initiatives to improve health outcomes and reduce disparities in care.

Dr. Smith graduated from the University of Massachusetts Medical School and earned a master's degree from Boston University School of Public Health. She completed OB-GYN training at Brigham and Women's Hospital/Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars Program at Yale University in New Haven, Conn.