Ross R. Black II, MD (known always to his former residents as “R2B2”) retired from his clinical practice at the end of January. It is impossible to overstate the impact which Dr. Black made on his department, his community, and the specialty of family medicine at local, state, and national levels.
Over the four decades since he completed his residency at the Akron City program in 1976, Dr. Black has epitomized the ideal of the family physician. Whether in his service as a navy flight surgeon during the Vietnam era, tenure as residency faculty, term as Ohio Academy of Family Physicians president and recipient of its 1998 Family Physician of the Year award, membership on multiple American Academy of Family Physicians committees and commissions, his service on the AAFP Board of Directors, or service in countless community charitable organizations, he has defined the very essence of family medicine leadership. He achieved all of this while providing outstanding patient care as a model of compassion and clinical excellence, still managing to find time to mentor countless students, residents, and colleagues along the way.
His future plans include continued involvement in medical student education at NEOMED.
Congratulations, Dr. Black!