Nov. 11, 2019 –Patrick Godbey, M.D., FCAP, laboratory director and Chief, Department of Pathology-Brunswick Campus,
Southeast Georgia Health System, was recently elected as the 36th president
of the College of American Pathologists (CAP).
Godbey was sworn into office at a ceremony during the annual meeting in
Orlando, Florida, CAP ’18 – The Pathologists’ Meeting™.
He was elected by CAP Fellows as president-elect in the fall of 2017,
during which time he has served on the Board of Governors and assumed
various leadership duties.
“I am truly honored and gratified by the confidence that my peers
have placed in me by allowing me to serve as president of the College
of American Pathologists,” Godbey says. “Thank you to everyone
who voted and supported me during this important election. I will work
hard to ensure that the CAP continues to provide for the needs of its
current and future Fellows so that we may continue to provide high-quality
care to our patients.”
The College of American Pathologists is the world’s largest association
composed exclusively of board-certified pathologists and is the worldwide
leader in laboratory quality assurance. CAP advocates for accountable,
high quality, and cost-effective patient care. Laboratories earning CAP
certification, including those located on the Health System’s Brunswick
and Camden campuses, meet the industries highest standards and their accreditation
is recognized world-wide.
After receiving his medical degree in 1979 from the Medical College of
Georgia in Augusta, Godbey completed internship and residency programs
in obstetrics and gynecology and anatomic and clinical pathology at the
Medical College of Georgia. He is board-certified in anatomic and clinical
pathology as well as obstetrics and gynecology.
Godbey joined the Southeast Georgia Health System medical staff in 1983
as an obstetrician and gynecologist before transitioning to the practice
of anatomic and clinical pathology. He also serves as CEO and laboratory
director of Southeastern Pathology Associates.
An active member of the CAP for 25 years, Godbey was elected to his first
full term as a member of the CAP Board of Governors in 2011 and held that
position for two full terms, six years. He was elected to a two-year term
as the president-elect in 2017. He also served as chair of the Council
on Government and Professional Affairs that oversees the direction of
the organization’s legislative and regulatory advocacy efforts on
behalf of patients, pathology, and medical laboratories—an issue
he focused on during his term as president-elect and will continue to
make a priority as president.
Godbey has served on many other CAP committees, including vice chair of
the Council on Accreditation and Council on Membership and Professional
Development; member of the Audit Committee, Conflicts of Interest Review
Committee, Finance Committee, Investment Committee, Risk Management Committee
and SNOMED Terminology Solutions (STS) Venture Steering Committee (SVSC);
and delegate, House of Delegates.
He is a member of the Georgia Medicare Contractor Advisory Committee; a
clinical faculty member of the Department of Pathology, Medical College
of Georgia and College of Coastal Georgia; and board chair of the Camden
Healthcare Network, a 300-member multispecialty group. He is also the
co-founder and CEO of Southeast Energy/Tabby Power and trustee of Godbey
Charitable Trust for the Godbey Appalachian Center.
Professional positions held throughout his career have included president
of the Glynn County Medical Society, treasurer of the Glynn County Medical
Society and member of the American Pathology Foundation Finance Committee,
University of Georgia Honors Program Advisory Board and State of Georgia
Maternal Mortality Review Committee.
Godbey is a member of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists,
American Pathology Foundation, American Society of Clinical Pathology,
Association for Pathology Informatics, Chinese American Pathologists Association,
Florida Society of Pathologists, Georgia Association of Pathologists,
and United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology.