Arlington Native, Doctor Honored by His Peers

The following is a press release from the Massachusetts Medical Society. It has been lightly edited.

Arlington native Earl Yunes, M.D., has been honored by his physician peers as the 2012 Community Clinician of the Year for the Charles River District Medical Society.

The Community Clinician of the Year Award was established in 1998 by the Massachusetts Medical Society to recognize a physician from each of the Society’s 20 district medical societies who has made significant contributions to his or her patients and the community and who stands out as a leading advocate and caregiver. The Charles River District Medical Society covers the communities of Newton, Waltham, Needham, Wellesley and Weston and has nearly 950 physicians as members who work and live in those communities. 

Prior to his retirement in June 2011, Dr. Yunes was in the private practice of internal medicine and hematology in Needham for 30 years and served on the staff of Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital Needham for the same period. He is now on the Emeritus Staff of the Hospital.

In nominating him for the award, his colleagues said, “Dr. Yunes is well respected by patients, colleagues, and the community. He is so dedicated to this profession that he continued to provide services and care to the community above and beyond despite significant physical impairments. He has devoted his practice life exclusively and intensively to patient care.”

A graduate of Boston University with a bachelor’s degree, Dr. Yunes earned his medical degree from the Tufts University School of Medicine and his master’s in public health from the Harvard School of Public Health. Board certified in internal medicine, preventive medicine, and aerospace medicine, he served as a physician in the United States Air Force from 1975 to 1981. He has been a member of the Massachusetts Medical Society since 1983.

This latest award from his peers is one of several Dr. Yunes has received. In 2007 he was voted Outstanding Physician by members of the Beth Israel Deaconess Needham Medical Staff and was named a top doctor based on peer review by U.S. News and World Report magazine. In 1998, he was voted Needham’s Number One Doctor in a poll of town residents. He now resides in Dover.

The Massachusetts Medical Society, with more than 23,000 physicians and student members, is dedicated to educating and advocating for the patients and physicians of Massachusetts. The Society publishes the New England Journal of Medicine, a leading global medical journal and web site, and Journal Watch alerts and newsletters covering 13 specialties.

The Society is also a leader in continuing medical education for health care professionals throughout Massachusetts, conducting a variety of medical education programs for physicians and health care professionals. Founded in 1781, MMS is the oldest continuously operating medical society in the country. For more information please visit www.massmed.org, www.nejm.org, or www.jwatch.org.