Meet OOA President Geri Urse, DO

Geraldine N. “Geri” Urse, DO, of Columbus, was installed as 2016-2017 president of the OOA at a luncheon, April 22, during the Ohio Osteopathic Symposium.

Urse, who is executive director of Medical Education at OhioHealth Doctors Hospital, has been committed to serving and leading the osteopathic profession, as demonstrated through her active involvement in organized medicine. In addition to the OOA Board, she also sits on the Ohio ACOFP Board of Governors and was recently elected vice president of that organization. Other leadership positions include past president of the Columbus Osteopathic Association (COA), and member of the Doctors Hospital Executive Committee, Osteopathic Heritage Endowment Committee, OhioHealth Foundation, Ohio University Women in Philanthropy, Association of Osteopathic Directors and Medical Educators, and Society of Teachers of Family Medicine.

Passionate about educating the next generation of DOs, she was named OOA Mentor of the Year in 2013. She also established an endowed scholarship at Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine (OU-HCOM), worked to establish resident scholarships, published several articles in journals, and authored a chapter on Osteopathic Manipulative Therapy in a procedural text.

More recently, she has been instrumental to OOA advocacy efforts at the Statehouse. She testified before an Ohio House of Representatives committee and wrote letters to the editor to oppose legislation that threatens the team approach to quality care and patient safety.

She is the recipient of many awards, including Master Faculty and Outstanding Alumna from OU-HCOM; Outstanding Family Physician by the Centers for Osteopathic Research and Education; multiple Prism awards from OhioHealth for compassion and stewardship; and the COA Distinguished Service Award.

Urse is the organization’s 110th president. She is also the sixth female and the eighth OU-HCOM graduate to become OOA president.