SALINAS, CA. (May 25, 2017) — Dr. Steven Harrison, program director of the Natividad Medical Center’s Family Medicine Residency Program, was named Physician of the Year 2017 by the Monterey County Medical Society.

Dr. Harrison has been named co-honoree with Dr. Glenn Hudgens. The two will be honored at an event set for 6-8 p.m. Thursday, June 1, at Bayonet Black Horse Golf Course, 1 McClure Way, in Seaside.

Keynote speaker for the event will be Dr. Theodore Mazer, California Medical Association President-Elect. Dr. Maximiliano Cuevas will be installed as MCMS President-Elect by outgoing President, Dr. Craig Walls.

Dr. Harrison, 62, is a family medicine doctor who practices in Salinas. He has been practicing for 28 years and has been affiliated with Natividad since 1991, starting as partime clinical faculty for the residency program.

He was in solo practice in King City for 18 years before joining the medical staff and faculty of the residency program at Natividad on a fulltime basis. He maintained clinical privileges at George L. Mee Memorial Hospital in King City from 1989 to 2008.

Dr. Harrison received his MD from Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, Texas, in 1986, after getting his bachelor’s degree from University of California, San Diego in 1982. He did his family practice residency at the University of Maryland in Baltimore, from 1986-89, and participated in National Institute for Program Director Development Fellowship from 2009-2010.

“Medicine is a craft, an art, a profession, and an all-consuming obsession. It has been my honor and privilege to be a family physician since 1989,” says Dr. Harrison. “I chose family medicine because I was interested in living in a small town like King City and wanted a profession that would be appropriate for that venue. It was wonderful to be a small town physician and is equally wonderful to be program director of a residency in a county hospital like Natividad. Teaching residents how to be broad-spectrum physicians is incredibly rewarding, but not for the faint of heart.”

Dr. Harrison was a board member of the Central Coast Alliance for Health from 2000-2012; is currently a board member of Monterey County Medical Society in Salinas, and served as president from 2004-2005.He also serves as Rural Representative on the Board of the California Academy of Family physicians.

Dr. Harrison has been a Clinical Professor of the Department of Family & Community Medicine, School of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco since 1995.

Criteria For MCMS Physician of the Year includes:

1. Loyal member of MCMS/CMA (at least for 5 years).
2. Has made a significant contribution in the health care field.
3. Strong motivator and educator.
4. Good rapport with patients.
5. Demonstrated extraordinary professional competence.
6. Strong role model for young physicians.

About the Monterey County Medical Society:
The objectives of this Society shall be to promote and develop the science and art of medicine, to conserve and protect the public health, to promote the betterment of the medical profession, to cooperate with organizations of like purposes, and to unite with similar societies of other counties of the state to form the California Medical Association.

Background on Natividad Medical Center (NMC):
Owned and operated by Monterey County, NMC is a 172-bed, acute-care hospital providing health care services to county residents for more than 132 years. Based in Salinas, California, NMC offers inpatient, outpatient, emergency, diagnostic and specialty medical care. NMC provides more than 34,000 patient days of care each year and has more than 52,000 emergency department visits per year. NMC is a Level II Trauma Center providing the immediate availability of specialized personnel, equipment and services to treat the most severe and critical injuries. NMC’s Trauma Center is a vital community service locally that saves lives and eliminates the need to fly critically injured patients to a distant trauma center. NMC is ranked No. 1 in newborn deliveries in Monterey County and is the only teaching hospital on the Central Coast through its affiliation with the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). With a medical staff of more than 300 physicians, NMC’s mission is to continually monitor and improve the health of the people, including the vulnerable, in Monterey County through coordinated, affordable high-quality health care. For more information, please call 831-755-4111 or visit www.natividad.com.

Natividad Medical Center
1441 Constitution Blvd.
Salinas, CA 93912-1611
831-755-4196
www.natividad.com