Rosenthal Named Editor Of Journal Of Rural Health

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Thomas C. Rosenthal, M.D., professor and chair of the Department of Family Medicine in the UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, has been named editor of The Journal of Rural Health, the peer-reviewed publication of the National Rural Health Association (NRHA). His appointment is effective April 1.

A longtime contributor to the journal, Rosenthal has served on the publication's editorial board since 1997.

His interest in rural health began in the late 1970s, when he opened a solo practice in the rural Western New York community of Perry.

Over the next eight years, he recruited and built the practice into a stable group model.

Rosenthal returned to his alma mater in 1986, establishing the Office of Rural Health at UB and leading the New York Rural Health Research Center.

Committed to improving health care in underserved rural areas through research into such issues as health professional workforce development and Medicaid managed care, he also led efforts to create the New York State Area Health Education Center, which he directs.

For his ongoing efforts in the field of rural health services, he was presented with the NRHA's Distinguished Educator Award in 1992.

A resident of Orchard Park, Rosenthal plans to broaden the journal's audience and impact by expanding its traditional focus on health-services research to include more articles on clinical issues and social issues of rural health.

A special section of the journal will publish the proceedings of a national conference co-sponsored by UB to be held in February on rural-based, graduate medical education, an area of special interest to Rosenthal.