Black Doctor To Head Virginia Medical Society

By Rosaland Tyler
Associate Editor
New Journal and Guide

In mid-October Dr. Alice Coombs, an anesthesiologist and internist at Virginia Commonwealth University Health, became the president of the nearly 100-year-old Medical Society of Virginia, an organization that was founded when most Blacks were enslaved.

The trade organization has 10,000 members, according to its website. Founded in December 1820 and incorporated in 1824, it created the State Board of Health, the State Board of Medical Examiners, the Board of Medicine and the MSV Review Organization (which has evolved into the Virginia Health Quality Center). Each of these now-independent entities had their beginnings within the MSV, the organization noted on its website. It provides administrative, membership, and legislative services to its members, as well as serving as the liaison between local, national, and specialty medical organizations.

The organization’s new president has an impressive resume.  In addition to being the first Black female president – and only the fourth female president of the Medical Society of Virginia, in 2010 she served as president of the Massachusetts Medical Society. She grew up in Compton, Ca. She is a graduate of  USC and UCLA School of Medicine.

Health, wellness and mental health treatment will be focal points this year, said Coombs, who chaired the commission’s diversity committee and served on the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission during the Obama administration.

At a time when some physicians are concerned about threats to their licenses to practice, Coombs said that during her tenure, other focal points will include launching efforts to push for a new law that will change the questions the state asks on licensure applications. Instead of asking a doctor if he or she has received counseling or therapy, it will ask if the doctor faces any mental health condition that affects his or her ability to do the job.

Coombs has practiced medicine for 35 years. She completed her residency at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Coombs said, in an October 2023 VCU Medical Center interview, “Working in the medical societies or any professional organization allows you to not be on the sidelines with a simple vote. It allows you to have a scalable impact.”