Jennifer Hilliard ScottConrad Easley, MD, ’66, an orthopaedic surgeon in Dalton, Georgia, was surprised recently when he opened his mail and found he had received a Bronze Star for his service, 54 years after he left Vietnam. He was supposed to have received the award decades ago, but with changes in his commanding officers and changes in his assignments the award didn’t happen. Several years ago he was talking to Bernhard Mittemeyer, MD, a retired lieutenant general whom he served under in Vietnam. When Mittemeyer found Easley had never received a Bronze Star he began an effort to help him.
Jerry A. Miller Jr., MD, ‘76 recently published his second book, Sure Hope, the story of a boy who grows up in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, near Sure Hope, Virginia when the Civil War is in its final stages. Miller practiced pediatrics in Augusta for almost 40 years. His first book, The Burden of Being Champ: The Dropout, The Legend, and The Pediatrician, was published in 2014.
Dean Burke, MD, ’81, is the Georgia Department of Community Health’s Chief Medical Officer for the Medical Assistance Plans and will lead the department’s efforts related to health performance and quality reporting for the Medicaid and PeachCare for Kids® populations. Burke had been serving as chief medical officer for Memorial Hospital and Manor in Bainbridge, Georgia. He also served as a state senator for Senate district 11, representing Colquitt, Decatur, Early, Grady, Miller and Seminole counties along with portions of Mitchell and Thomas counties. During his senate service, he served as chair of the Insurance and Labor Committee, vice chair of the Health and Human Services Committee and Ethics Committee, secretary of Appropriations and was a member of the Reapportionment and Redistricting Committee and the Rules Committee. He also served as the chair of the Community Health sub-committee.
Howard L. Melton, MD, ’87, longtime general surgeon at Colquitt Regional Medical Center in Moultrie, Georgia, was recently reappointed as a Governor-at-Large (GAL) to the Board of Governors of the American College of Surgeons. Melton served a three-year term before being reappointed for another three years.
Douglas Thompson, MD, ’93, is the new medical director for hematology/oncology at AdventHealth in Hendersonville, North Carolina.
Helen Louise Moore, MD, ’96, has been recognized by Continental Who’s Who as a Top Pediatrician and Owner for her work in the medical field and in acknowledgment of her work at Cornerstone Medical Pediatric Associates in Warner Robbins, Georgia.
Diana Koelliker, MD, ’97, was named the EMS Physician of the Year by the Western Regional EMS and Trauma Advisory Council (WRETAC) in Colorado. Koelliker is the medical director of Emergency and Trauma Services at Telluride (Colorado) Regional Medical Center, and also serves as medical director for the Telluride Fire Protection District, Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Division.
Elizabeth Taghechian, MD, ’98, an OB/GYN at Marietta OB-GYN Affiliates, P.A., have been recognized by Atlanta Magazine and Castle Connolly Medicine as one of Atlanta’s Top Doctors.
Fatima Cody Stanford, MD, ’07, has been named a member of the Biden Administration’s US Department of Agriculture’s 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, which will examine the relationship between diet and health across all life stages, and will work to ensure factors such as socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity and culture are described and considered in new dietary guidelines.
Ngoc Minh Nguyen, MD, ’13, a cardiologist has joined the Canton-Potsdam Hospital medical team in Potsdam, New York.
Jonathan S. Harris, MD, ’11, an orthopaedic surgeon has joined OrthoGeorgia in Warner Robbins, specializing in the surgical and nonsurgical treatment of the hip, knee, shoulder, and elbow as well as joint replacement and trauma care.
Jason Harms, MD, ‘14 a spine surgeon, has joined Resurgens Orthopaedics, the largest orthopedic practice in Georgia. He specializes in complete adult spine surgery, reconstructive spine surgery, artificial disc replacement, kyphoplasty, and fracture care. He will treat patients from the Johns Creek area and his hospital affiliation is Emory Johns Creek Hospital.
Michael Webber, MD, ‘16, an orthopaedic surgeon, has joined Georgia Bone and Joint, an orthopaedic practice dedicated to providing exceptional care to the residents of Atlanta’s southside including Coweta, Fayette and Spalding counties.
Four MCG graduates have been named partners at Pediatric Partners in Augusta: Sandra Herzwurm, MD, ’86; Beatriz Barrientos, MD, pediatrics residency, ‘03, Jill Kitchens, MD, ’05; and Yolanda Safford Jones, MD, ‘15. Pediatric Partners is the largest private practice group of board-certified pediatricians and board-certified pediatric subspecialists in the Central Savannah River Area.
