Ronald Bangasser, M.D., FAAFP

Ronald Bangasser, M.D., FAAFP, 57, of Redlands, Calif., died May 2. He had been a member of the Academy since 1976.

Bangasser received his medical degree from the Chicago Medical School, now part of Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, in 1975 and completed his residency at (then) San Bernardino County Medical Center in Colton, Calif., in 1978.

A board-certified family physician, Bangasser was named an AAFP Fellow in 1996. He was both medical director and director of external affairs for Beaver Medical Group in Redlands, Calif. Bangasser specialized in managing complicated chronic wounds and founded the Paul F. Bangasser Wound Care Center (named for his father) at Redlands Community Hospital in 1986.

Bangasser was an acknowledged expert on pay-for-performance issues, serving as chair of the Integrated Healthcare Association's Pay-for-Performance Technical Committee and a member of the National Committee for Quality Assurance's Committee on Performance Measurement.

Bangasser held multiple offices within the California Medical Association and served as the association's president in 2003-04. He was a long-time CMA delegate to the AMA House of Delegates and the current chair of the AMA Council on Medical Service, having received the AAFP's endorsement in his 2005 bid for re-election to the council. Five years ago, Bangasser was appointed to the AMA Foundation Board of Directors and was scheduled to take over as the foundation's president this month. He received numerous honors and accolades during his career, including an AMA Pride in the Profession Award in 2002.