RYE BROOK, NY (4/12/2008) — Saratoga Otolaryngologist, Robert. J. Hughes, MD, was reelected treasurer of the Medical Society of the State of New York (MSSNY) at its 202nd annual House of Delegates (HOD) meeting in Rye Brook, NY, on April 12. In this capacity, he will oversee the Finances of the state’s principal professional organization for physicians.

Dr.Hughes comes from a long-respected family of physicians. He is the son of Richard Hughes, MD, and Betty L. Voelker, MD. He has three sisters practicing medicine in New Jersey and three brothers practicing in New York State. With the benefits of having grown up within the family of medicine, he offers a unique perspective to organized medicine.

Dr.Hughes earned his medical degree from Creighton University Medical School and then received both his internship training and general surgery residency training at. St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York City. He then completed his otolaryngology-head and neck surgery training at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, earning certification in this specialty from the American Board of Otolaryngology.

He currently owns and operates North Country ENT, PC an otolaryngology and allergy practice in Saratoga Springs. Dr. Hughes is a staff physician at the Saratoga Hospital. He is a Fellow of the American Board of Otolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery and of the American College of Surgeons, and an Associate of the American Academy of Otolaryngic Allergy.

As chair of MSSNY’s Task Force on Tobacco. Dr. Hughes is particularly noted for his public health commitment to reducing the number of New Yorkers exposed to smoke, through education and legislation. His contributions to organized medicine have included serving as president of his specialty medical society. He has also served as president of MSSNY’s Fourth District and was elected to two terms as MSSNY Councilor. His activities in the legislative area include chairing MSSNY’s State Canidate Evaluation Committee and vice chairing its Legislative Advocacy Committee. He has also chaired MSSNY’s federal evaluation committee, served on its collective bargaining task force, and been a delegate to MSSNY’S House of Delegates for 16 years. He is in his first term as a delegate to the AMA.

Dr. Hughes lives in Queensbury with his wife Clair Hensler and their daughter Larissa. He makes time to serve on the school board of her school, St. Mary’s St. Alphonsus Regional Catholic School in Glens Falls.

More than 300 delegates attended the House of Delagates, April 11-13, to set policy elect new leaders and recognize the achievements of their colleagues. The primary mission of the not-for-profit Medical Society of the State of New York is to represent the interests of patients and physicians to assure quality healthcare services for all.