Dr. Laurence Klein, one of the founding partners of Connecticut River Internists, has been named as this year's Community Clinician of the Year by his peers in the Franklin District Medical Society.

The 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. "I was pleased and honored to be recognized," said Klein, who lives in Greenfield with his wife, Deb. He has two stepdaughters and a grandson who live in the area.

He has been practicing primary care in Franklin County since 1981.

"I especially enjoy primary care because of the ongoing continuity I have with patients and families I have taken care of for up to 30 years," he said. "I have known a lot of these people a long time."

Some lawmakers and President Obama have stressed the need for more primary care doctors to ensure the overall health of the country, at a time where areas throughout the country, including Massachusetts, are experiencing a shortage of these physicians.

"There are a lot of forces that are pushing new grads out of primary care, unfortunately," he said. "I expect that it is going to turn around."

"There is a new found respect on the part of the public, as well as medical students, on how important primary care is to the health of the system in general."

Klein is a graduate of the Medical College of Wisconsin and board certified in internal medicine. He is a member at large of the Medical Executive Committee and a member of the Hospital Quality Committee at Baystate Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield.

Active in the community, Klein is a board member of the YMCA in Greenfield and serves as chairman of its Exercise is Medicine Committee. He also volunteers for the Bread of Life community meals program and the Greenfield Tennis Association. He was presented a community service award in 1988 by U.S. Sen. John Kerry for implementing smoking regulations in the town of Greenfield.

Founded in 1781, the Massachusetts Medical Society is the oldest continuously operating medical society in the country. It has about 23,000 physicians and student members and publishes the New England Journal of Medicine.