Art Hengerer, MD

Dr. Art Hengerer is a graduate of Westminster College in New Wilmington, PA and the Albany Medical College. He completed a residency in Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery at University Hospital in Syracuse, NY, and a fellowship in Pediatric Otolaryngology at Boston Children’s Hospital and Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, MA.

His career in health care spans 40 years in multiple roles from patient care to leadership positions responsible for regulation and policy creation. Most of his clinical practice was at the University of Rochester serving as Chair of the Department of Otolaryngology from 1981-2007. In 2002 he was appointed to the NYS Medical Conduct Board and chaired that Board from 2011-2019. He was elected to the Board of the Federation of State Medical Boards from 2011-2018 and was Chair in 2016-2017. He served on the National Board of Medical Examiners Advisory Board from 2017-2021. The National Academy of Medicine “Action Collaborative” on Well-being and Resilience, serving as the representative for the FSMB. Presently, Dr. Hengerer is a board member of the Federation of State Physicians Health Programs. The accomplishment that he is most proud of is chairing the workgroup in 2018 that drafted the report on physician wellbeing at the FSMB. It outlines the guidelines for mental health questioning on state licensing applications and renewals to be limited to current impairment that is not being addressed. This is a big step toward allowing physicians to feel safe seeking care. These various activities have led to a strong commitment to addressing burnout and wellness in clinicians. The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the need for support of our health care workers.