Samaritan to Host Dinner to Recognize Physicians
Published on: February 14, 2025
Dr. Jack D. Rush to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award
Watertown, New York – Samaritan Medical Center will host its Physician Recognition Dinner on Tuesday, March 18, 2025. The event, sponsored by the Samaritan Medical Center Medical Executive Committee and the Samaritan Foundation, takes place each year around and in celebration of National Doctors’ Day, honoring both active and retired physicians for their tireless dedication to the community. National Doctors’ Day is observed annually on March 30.
As part of the evening, one physician will be presented with the eleventh Lifetime Achievement Award, which recognizes a Samaritan doctor for their leadership and long-term service to the health and well-being of Northern New York. Whether through private practice, hospital duties, leadership roles on the Board or Medical Staff, or volunteer efforts, Samaritan physicians contribute their time and expertise to making the community a better place to live.
This year’s recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award is Dr. Jack D. Rush, a family medicine physician, in recognition of his 41 years of service to both Samaritan Medical Center and the surrounding St. Lawrence River community.
Raised in Oakford, Indiana, Dr. Rush earned his medical degree from the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Medicine in 1980, through the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Scholarship Program. He went on to complete a residency in family medicine at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. Following his residency, Dr. Rush fulfilled his NHSC commitment by providing primary care services in Clayton, NY, a designated Health Professional Shortage Area. He worked with North Jefferson Health Systems on Strawberry Lane starting in 1983. In 1990, he and Dr. Stephen Grybowski established French Creek Family Medicine at the same location. By March 1992, Dr. Rush joined The House of the Good Samaritan, which later became part of Samaritan Family Health Center within the Samaritan Health system. He retired recently after spending his entire Samaritan career at this location in Clayton.
Since joining Samaritan Medical Center’s medical staff in 1983, Dr. Rush has provided exceptional primary care services for more than four decades. He served as Chairman of the Department of Medicine in 2010, President of the Medical Staff in 2013 and 2014, and was a long-time member of the Peer Review Committee. He is currently a board member for Hospice of Jefferson County and serves as Vice Chair of the North Country Initiative Board.
“This event provides a special opportunity to recognize our physicians and celebrate the critical role they play in caring for our patients and our community,” said Thomas H. Carman, president and CEO of Samaritan Medical Center. “Dr. Rush’s remarkable career, spanning over 40 years, has touched the lives of countless individuals. His unwavering commitment to the well-being of his patients and colleagues has made him an invaluable asset to the medical community and the families he has served.”
Dr. Rush lives in Redwood with his wife, Laurie. They have three daughters: Kim, Caitlin, and Elizabeth.
The Physician Recognition Dinner will take place at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, at Samaritan Summit Village in Watertown. The event is open to the public. Tickets are $60 per person. For more information or to RSVP, please visit www.samaritanhealth.com/physiciandinner, or call 315-785-4584.
The Lifetime Achievement Award was established in 2013. Past recipients of this award include Dr. Karl Komar (2024); Dr. Maja Lundborg-Gray (2023); Dr. Jan Turcotte (2022); Dr. LaVerne VanDeWall (2019); Dr. Al Maloney (2018); Dr. John Poggi (2017); Dr. Collins F. Kellogg, Jr. (2016); Dr. David P. Rechlin (2015); Dr. David O. VanEenenaam (2014); Dr. Ronald G. Perciaccante (2013).
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