KMF Board Members

Anita R. Avery, MD

Doctor Avery has been a member of the Kent County Medical Society since November 2002. Born in the Netherlands, she graduated from Calvin College and received her medical degree from Michigan State University College of Human Medicine in 1998. She took her internship and residency program in obstetrics and gynecology at Stanford University.

Doctor Avery is President of KCMS for 2009 and is a Delegate to the Michigan State Medical Society (MSMS) House of Delegates. She is a member of MSMS, the AMA and Saint Mary’s Health Care medical staff in practice with Advantage Health.

Shirley Daniels

Shirley K. Daniels is a retired educator and former Grand Rapids Community Foundation trustee who reflects the unique spirit of giving that makes this community special. Ms. Daniels worked her way up from serving salads at Oakwood Manor to operating an elevator at Steketee’s to leading a labor union at General Motors. When she enrolled as a junior at Michigan State University in 1963, her son was already a sophomore. Her former GM coworkers from Local 1231 sent her on her way with a new typewriter, and she remembers writing some of her first drafts on a brown paper bag.

By 1969 she had earned a Masters in Education. She has degrees from Michigan State University, including doctoral work, and Western Michigan University. She also did post-graduate work at the University of Hawaii.

Ms Daniels has served on many Boards in Grand Rapids, including the Grand Rapids Art Museum Board and the Grand Rapids Library Board Foundation. She has been a Kent Medical Foundation Trustee since 2008 and is currently Board Vice Chair.

Michael J. DeJong, MD

Doctor DeJong was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He received his medical degree from Michigan State University in 1992. He took his internship and residency training in General Surgery at Blodgett Memorial Medical Center and St Mary’s Health Services here in Grand Rapids. He took a fellowship in Surgical Critical Care and Trauma at Penn State University.

Doctor DeJong has been a member of the Kent County Medical Society since 1998. He has been a Kent Medical Foundation Board member since 2005. He is currently in practice at West Michigan Surgical Specialists, PLC.

Patrick J. Droste, MD

Doctor Droste has been a member of the Kent County Medical Society (KCMS) since September 1987. Born in Detroit, he graduated from the University of Detroit and received his medical degree from Wayne State University in 1980. He took his internship and residency program in Ophthalmology at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit and is board certified in Ophthalmology as well as Pediatric Ophthalmology and Ocular Modality.

Doctor Droste, a past Director of KCMS, is a Delegate to the Michigan State Medical Society (MSMS) and is Past President of the Michigan Society of Eye Surgeon and Physicians. His practice is Pediatric Ophthalmology, P.C.

David E. Hammond, MD

Born in Charlotte, Michigan, Doctor Hammond graduated from Olivet College and received his medical degree from Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. He did his internship and residency at Bronson/Borgess Hospitals in Kalamazoo as well as a fellowship in Dermatology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

Doctor Hammond has been a member of the Kent County Medical Society since 1980. He was elected to a 3 year term as a KCMS Director in 2005 before becoming Secretary/Treasurer in 2008.

Jay P. LaBine, MD

Doctor LaBine was born in Argyle, Minnesota and graduated from the North Dakota State University. He received his medical degree from the University of North Dakota. He did his internship and residency programs in General Surgery at Blodgett Memorial Medical Center and St. Mary’s Hospital here in Grand Rapids. He did a fellowship at the University of California at San Diego Medical Center in Trauma and Critical Care. He is in practice at West Michigan Surgical Specialists, PLC.

Doctor LaBine has been a member of the Kent County Medical Society since 1997 and is currently a delegate to the Michigan State Medical Society House of Delegates.

Thomas H. Peterson, MD – President

Doctor Peterson was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan and received his medical degree in1987 from the American University of the Caribbean. He took his internship and residency program in pediatrics at Saint John Hospital in Detroit, and is board certified.

Doctor Peterson has been a member of the Kent County Medical Society since 1990 and is a member of the Michigan State Medical Society, the American Medical Association and a Fellow in the American Academy of Pediatrics. He is the Medical Director of Spectrum Health’s Healthier Communities and Quality at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital. He is also founder and chair of Tobacco Free Partners.

Jack L. Romence, MD

Dr. Romence was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He attended Hope College and earned his medical degree from the University of Michigan. After spending two years in the U.S. Air Force at Wright Patterson AFB where he did general practice, he and his wife Lija returned to Grand Rapids. He completed his OB-GYN residency at Butterworth Hospital and joined West Michigan OB-GYN, P.C. where he practiced for thirty years.

He has served on the KCMS Board of Directors and been a delegate to the MSMS for twenty years. Since retirement, he has served on the boards of the KMF, Spectrum Health Foundation, Spectrum Health Foundation Finance Committee as well as the Grand Rapids Community Foundation Finance Committee.

Willard S. Stawski, MD

Doctor Stawski was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan and received both his undergraduate and medical degree from the University of Michigan. He did a rotating Internship with surgical emphasis at Blodgett Memorial Medical Center in Grand Rapids. He did a surgical residency at the University of Washington in Seattle and another at Spectrum Blodgett Campus in Grand Rapids. He is in practice at HealthQuest Surgical Associates, PLC.

He has been a Kent County Medical Society member since 1968 and has been on the Board of the Kent Medical Foundation since 2005.