Fort Smith Chamber Announces the Physician of the Year Award

Fort Smith, Arkansas, September 3, 2024 — Each year, the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce strives to show its appreciation for the importance of healthcare to the quality of life and economic strength of the area. During the month of September, the Fort Smith Regional Chamber’s Healthcare Celebration will welcome Chamber members and its community partners to highlight the significance of our regional healthcare systems, healthcare workers, and new practitioners. This tribute to our local healthcare industry includes a “Physician of the Year” selected by the Chamber’s Healthcare Committee. 

The Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce Physician of the Year Award recognizes a local healthcare physician (currently practicing or retired) who has made significant contributions to healthcare in our region by demonstrating excellence in areas of (but not limited to) quality, service, people, finance, growth, and community. Past recipients include Dr. Larry Price (2023), Dr. Timothy Waack (2022), Dr. Leslie Ziegler (2021), Dr. Lee Johnson (2020), Dr. Nasser Adjei (2019), Dr. Tony Flippin (2018), Dr. Taylor Prewitt (2017), Dr. Cole Goodman (2016), Dr. James Buie (2015). 

The Fort Smith Chamber and representatives of the Healthcare Committee surprised the 2024 Physician of the Year honoree, Dr. David Hunton on Thursday, August 29th. Dr. Hunton was greeted with a certificate acknowledging his selection.  

Dr. Hunton is a valued retired physician with more than 35 years’ experience in the healthcare community. During his years of serving patients in Arkansas, Dr. Hunton was a pillar of our medical community, serving first as a general and vascular surgeon, later as chief medical officer, then president of Mercy Clinic Fort Smith and finally as regional physician executive in Fort Smith as part of the Specialty Service Lines Performance Division.  

Dr. Hunton began serving the River Valley as a general and vascular surgeon at Cooper Clinic in 1985. As a surgeon, Dr. Hunton’s dedication to patient care left a great impact on the community. It is estimated that he performed more than 20,000 operations and procedures, worked more than 2,200 days of surgical and trauma calls and spent 60 holidays in the operating room at the bedside with patients.  

In addition to his direct clinical work, Dr. Hunton has served in multiple leadership roles. As chief medical officer for the hospital from 2012-2019, Dr. Hunton was instrumental in creating Mercy’s current culture of quality and safety. Arkansas Communities President of Mercy, Ryan Gehrig said, “Dr. David Hunton retired from Mercy in December 2023, but his dedication and service to the Fort Smith community left a tremendous impact that will be seen for years to come. We appreciate all that he did for Mercy, for patients and for this community.” 

It is with this strong leadership and positive impact on the Healthcare Industry and the lives of the residents in the Fort Smith Region that Dr. David Hunton was selected as the 2024 Physician of the Year Award recipient. The Fort Smith Chamber looks forward to celebrating Dr. Hunton and our important healthcare community at the 2024 Healthcare Reception. 

Healthcare Reception: Thursday, September 12, 2024, 6:00pm-8:00pm Wyndham Fort Smith, Main Ballroom 700 Rogers Ave, Fort Smith, AR 72901 - Tickets can be found at www.FortSmithChamber.org.