May 20, 2024 by matray

Christine M. Tomkins, MBChB(Hons), FRCS, FRCOphth, FRCP, MBA, BSc(Hons), DO, strategic advisor to the Medical Defence Union, has been selected to serve as the chair of the Medical Professional Liability (MPL) Association.

“It’s a privilege to continue my service to the MPL Association in the role of Chair,” Tomkins said. “There are challenges for the MPL industry, but there are also many great opportunities. I look forward to working with the board members and staff and to engage our members as we continue to implement the Association’s strategic plan and deliver what our members want and need from their MPL Association.”

Tomkins serves as the Strategic Advisor to the Medical Defence Union (MDU), a company run by doctors for doctors and one of the UK's leading medical defense organizations. Tomkins was in clinical practice as an ophthalmologist before joining the MDU. She served as a medicolegal adviser, head of claims, and director of professional pervices prior to her appointment as chief executive in 2009 and moved from CEO to strategic advisor in 2021.

In addition to naming Dr. Tomkins its chair, the MPL Association elected two new board members to three-year terms:

Cheryl F. Matricciani is president and chief executive officer of Medical Mutual Liability Insurance Society of Maryland and has been with the company since 2005, previously serving as executive vice president and chief operating officer and in other roles. Prior to joining Medical Mutual, Matricciani was employed by the Maryland Department of Legislative Services as a senior staff attorney for the Senate Finance Committee of the Maryland General Assembly. She received her Juris Doctor from the University of Baltimore School of Law and a Bachelor of Science degree in business from the University of Baltimore. Matricciani is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the Maryland Association of CPAs and the Maryland State Bar Association.

LaDona M. Schmidt, MD is vice chair of Kansas Medical Mutual Company (KAMMCO). She began her career in nursing, then went on to receive her doctor of medicine from American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine. She began residency at Trinity Lutheran Hospital in Kansas City and completed it at the University of Kansas School of Medicine/Smoky Hill Campus in Salina, Kansas. Schmidt has been active in organized medicine for many years, having served on the KAMMCO Board of Directors since 2015, as president of the Kansas Medical Society from 2019-2022, as delegate to the American Medical Association, and as former International Medical Graduate representative to the AAFP. She works in a critical access rural hospital covering inpatient, outpatient and emergency medicine.

The MPL Association Board of Directors also appointed J. Michael Conerly, MD, president & CEO, LAMMICO, to serve as vice chair, Edward L. Rand, Jr., president and chief executive officer, ProAssurance Corporation, to serve as Secretary, and Joseph G. Murphy, president and CEO, Coverys, to serve as Treasurer.

Also at the meeting, MPL Association members approved Michele J. Johns, Cleveland Clinic, Agustin L. Montalvo, SIMED, and Mark E. Reynolds, CRICO, to additional three-year terms on the Board.

“We are pleased to welcome Dr. Tomkins to the helm of the Board,” said MPL Association interim president and CEO Eric R. Anderson. “She has an extensive and distinguished career in the healthcare and medical professional liability fields, and we will benefit greatly from her guidance and expertise.”

“We are also extremely appreciative of the commitments of our other new Board officers and directors,” he continued. “All of these leaders bring tremendous expertise and knowledge to the MPL Association, and we look forward to working with them as we strive to advance the interests of the MPL industry and deliver on the mission of the organization.”