History of the Society

The Pennsylvania Society of Gastroenterology (PSG) was founded by the sole initiative of Edwin Cohn, MD. Dr. Cohn was a highly respected clinician and teacher at the Albert Einstein Hospital in Philadelphia, where he served as the Director of Gastroenterology for many years. He met with several gastroenterologists in 1980 from various geographic areas of Pennsylvania to discuss the feasibility of developing a state society.

The proposed aims of the PSG were to serve the educational needs of state gastroenterologists, improve the level of care for gastrointestinal disorders throughout the state, and to act as an advocate for gastroenterologists and patients on socioeconomic issues.

The first meeting of the PSG was held in the Museum of the University of Pennsylvania. Subsequent yearly meetings were rotated and held in venues such as Pittsburgh, Hershey, Philadelphia, the Pocono mountains, Lancaster, Absecon, New Jersey, and the Baltimore Inner Harbor

Name

Edwin M. Cohen, MD *

Richard L. Wechsler, MD

William H. Mahood, MD *

Philip Bralow, MD

Morton L. Goldstein, MD

Michael M. Geduldig, MD *

Harris R. Clearfield, MD

Robert J. Kania, MD

Frank W. Jackson, MD*

Julian Katz, MD *

Darrell K. Reed, MD

Norman N. Cohen, MD *

Harvey B. Lefton, MD

F. Wilson Jackson, III, MD

Anne L. Saris, MD

Louis La Luna, MD

David A. Sass, MD

Ralph D. McKibbin, MD

Richard E. Moses, DO, JD

Ravi K. Ghanta, MD

David L. Diehl, MD

Karen Krok, MD

Term

1981-1983

1984-1985

1986-1987

1988-1989

1990-1991

1992-1993

1994-1995

1996-1997

1998-1999

2000-2001

2002-2003

2004-2005

2006-2007

2007-2009

2009-2011

2011-2013

2013-2015

2015-2017

2017-2019

2019-2021

2021-2023

2023-Present

*deceased