Ciminelli elected president of the New Jersey Academy of Family Physicians

The New Jersey Academy of Family Physicians (NJAFP) announced on Wednesday the election of Dr. Maria Ciminelli as president at the NJAFP’s Family Medicine Forum in Atlantic City.

As president, Ciminelli serves as the chief elected officer, representing the membership, patients and the interests of the Academy. In addition to serving as a motivating force for other officers, board members, committee members, staff and membership, Ciminelli will influence the establishment of goals and objectives for the organization during her term of office.

During her acceptance speech, Ciminelli outlined key issues she would address during her presidency, including defining and increasing New Jersey primary care investment, working with different state medical schools to incentivize students to choose family medicine and looking for new ways to advance physician loan redemption.

“The desire to make family medicine more meaningful and your experience better is what has motivated me to become and stay active in the Academy,” said Ciminelli. “Mentoring many of you to follow that road has been so very rewarding. I love what I do.”

Ciminelli stressed the importance of promoting the family medicine brand, advancing team-based care and continuing to be engaged with membership to ensure their voices are heard.

“I will always try to do what’s best for our organization and its members,” she said. “I will follow the legacy of my predecessors to the best of my ability and keep family medicine strong in New Jersey,” she added.

The director of the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Family Medicine Residency Program at CentraState and a fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians, Ciminelli has received numerous honors for her efforts in teaching future generations of family physicians, including the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School-CentraState Family Medicine Residency Faculty of the Year in 2011 and the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School-CentraState Family Medicine Residency Faculty Award of Excellence in 2007. Additionally, she was named the New Jersey Academy of Family Physicians Family Physician of the Year in 2016.