Ripley County Health Officer Re-Elected To National Leadership Role

David Welsh, MD, has been re-elected to help guide AMA health care policy.

(Indianapolis, Ind.) – The Indiana State Medical Association is proud to announce that past president David Welsh, MD, MBA, was re-elected to the American Medical Association (AMA) Council on Science and Public Health. In addition, Welsh has been named to the council’s executive committee.

Dr. Welsh is a practicing general surgeon affiliated with Margaret Mary Health in Batesville, Ind., and Decatur County Memorial Hospital in Greensburg. His nearly 40 years of medical training have been critical to his work serving the community as Ripley County health officer. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, Welsh has been a leading voice in southern Indiana’s fight against the coronavirus.

“We wish to congratulate Dr. Welsh, who was chosen once again by his peers for this prestigious position within the American Medical Association,” said ISMA Executive Vice President Julie Reed, JD. “Dr. Welsh has been a champion of medicine for the Hoosier State and for Ripley County. We look forward to his continued contributions guiding the future of health care at the national level on behalf of the AMA.”

The AMA Council on Science and Public Health consists of 12 physicians who advise on policies through scientific evidence that can improve patient care, promote medical progress and enhance public health.

“I am honored and humbled to be re-elected to the AMA Council on Science and Public Health,” said Dr. Welsh, who was first elected to the post in 2016. “I appreciate the trust that my fellow physicians have placed in me to help AMA meet its critical goals over the next four years.”

Welsh serves as chair of the AMA Organized Medical Staff Section Governing Council and is a past chair of the Joint Commission Hospital Professional and Technical Advisory Committee. In 2014, Welsh represented the AMA at the World Medical Association Leadership and Advocacy meeting in Singapore.

Welsh has served as a governor of the American College of Surgeons, which honored his service with the Arthur Ellenberger Advocacy Award for Excellence in State Advocacy. He was elected president of the Indiana State Medical Association in 2008 and has also served on the ISMA Commission on Legislation and as chair of the Board of Trustees.

After graduating cum laude from the University of Notre Dame, Welsh earned his medical degree from the Indiana University School of Medicine and completed his residency program at Good Samaritan Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio.