American Academy of Family Physicians Awards National Honors at Scientific Assembly

SAN FRANCISCO -- The American Academy of Family Physicians presented 11 awards for exceptional achievement in the field of family medicine at its annual meeting this week in San Francisco. The AAFP's Scientific Assembly, one of the largest gatherings of primary care providers in the country, is September 28 - October 2.

Barbara Starfield, M.D., M.P.H., of Baltimore, M.D., was awarded the John G. Walsh Award for Lifetime Contributions to Family Medicine for her dedicated, long-term, effective leadership in advancing the development of family medicine. A physician and health services researcher, Starfield is university distinguished professor and professor of health policy and pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University. She is internationally known for her work in primary care. Her books, Primary Care: Concept, Evaluation, and Policy and Primary Care: Balancing Health Needs, Services, and Technology, are widely recognized as the seminal works in the field. Starfield was elected to the Institute of Medicine and was the co-founder and first president of the International Society for Equity in Health, a scientific organization devoted to equity in the distribution of health.

Adele O'Sullivan, M.D., of Phoenix, Ariz., was named the 2006 Family Physician of the Year. The Family Physician of the Year award honors an outstanding American family physician who provides patients with compassionate, comprehensive and caring family medicine, and serves as a role model professionally and personally to his or her community, other health professionals, and residents and medical students. O'Sullivan has committed her life to providing medical care to Arizona's underserved, especially the homeless. She spent the last nine years as the medical director of the Maricopa County Health Care for the Homeless Program, providing primary health care to homeless individuals and families in Maricopa County, Ariz., the fourth most populous county in the United States. In addition to her clinical practice, Dr. O'Sullivan serves as a clinical lecturer at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, where she provides a unique rotation for medical students and residents on the health care needs of the homeless and underserved.

John L. Pfenninger, M.D., of Midland, Mich., received the Thomas W. Johnson Award for his outstanding contributions to family medicine education at all levels -- undergraduate, graduate and continuing education. Pfenninger, president and founder of The National Procedures Center in Midland, has touched the lives of more than 30,000 medical students and physicians who have participated in the Center's procedures courses since its inception in 1989. Pfenninger has also authored and edited one of the most highly cited textbooks in medical publishing history, Procedures for Primary Care Physicians.

Eduardo J. Sanchez, M.D., M.P.H., of Austin, Texas, received the Public Health Award for his outstanding contributions to improving the health not only of individual patients, but of entire populations. Sanchez is commissioner of health at the Texas Department of State Health Services where he has been an enthusiastic leader for improved public health in Texas. He is the first person of Hispanic descent to hold the office. Sanchez is also a member of the U.S./Mexico Border Health Commission, where he developed integrated public health preparedness and response systems to address such issues as bioterrorism, natural epidemics and improved public health-related infrastructure.

Larry A. Green, M.D., of Aurora, Colo., received the Robert Graham Physician Executive Award in recognition of his executive skills in leading health care organizations to improve health care quality. Green is the founding director of The Robert Graham Center: Policy Studies in Family Medicine and Primary Care, which opened in 1999 in Washington, D.C. with the mission of bringing a family medicine perspective to health policy deliberations in Washington. Green also was the Woodward-Chisholm Chairman of the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Colorado for 14 years and continues to serve on the faculty there, where he is professor of family medicine. He also serves as director of the National Program Office for Prescription for Health, a $9 million practice-based research initiative sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Calvin Lucas Wilson, M.D., of Lakewood, Colo., received the Humanitarian Award for his extraordinary and enduring humanitarian efforts. Wilson has been involved in the global development of family medicine for more than 25 years. Most recently, he served as a training advisor for a USAID-funded primary health care project in Jordan, spearheading a continuing education program for the Ministry of Health physicians, nurses, health workers and laboratory technicians, and supported the expansion of family medicine training in that country. Because of his work in Jordan, he was invited to lead the first phase of primary health care training in post-war Iraq. Wilson's achievements also include developing and directing the first university-affiliated family medicine program in Ecuador and establishing and directing the University Hospital Family Medicine residency program of the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

Roger A. Sherwood, of Kansas City, Mo., was named an Honorary Member of the AAFP for his 25 years of service to family medicine. Sherwood currently serves as executive director of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, which nearly doubled its membership under his direction. Sherwood also was co-founder of the Academic Family Medical Organization and has served as president of the Kansas City Society of Association Executives and on the board of the American Society of Association Executives.

Four family physicians received Exemplary Teaching Awards, which recognize AAFP members who have excellent teaching skills and who have implemented outstanding programs or developed innovative teaching models. The awards are given in three categories: full-time, part-time and volunteer.

Kathleen M. Macken, M.D., of St. Paul, Minn., received the Exemplary Teaching Award in the category of full-time faculty member. Macken is currently director of the United Family Medicine Residency Program in St. Paul, Minn., which she led from its infancy 15 years ago to its position now as one of the highest caliber family medicine residencies in the country.

Michael E. Machen, M.D., of Quinter, Kan., was awarded the Exemplary Teaching Award as a part-time faculty member. Machen is clinical assistant professor at the University of Kansas School of Medicine, Wichita. Based in the isolated western Kansas town of Quinter, Dr. Machen exposes medical students to the challenges of rural family medicine.

Larry Anderson, M.D., of Wellington, Kan., received the first of two Exemplary Teaching Awards in the volunteer faculty category. Anderson is clinical assistant professor at the University of Kansas School of Medicine, Wichita. Dr. Anderson has served as a preceptor of medical students and residents in the rural Kansas town of Wellington for 30 years. He has served as president of both the Kansas Academy of Family Physicians and the Kansas Medical Society.

David McRay, M.D., of Jellico, Tenn., also was also recognized with an Exemplary Teaching Award in the volunteer faculty category. McRay has served as clinical associate professor of family medicine at East Tennessee University for more than 10 years. McRay is in private practice and serves as an in-office preceptor to medical students for semester rotations in community-based family medicine.