Pennsylvania Physician Elected to the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Family Physicians
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Contact:
Janelle Davis
American Academy of Family Physicians
(800) 274-2237 Ext. 5222
jdavis@aafp.org
Filer has been a practicing family physician for more than 25 years. She is the founder and president of the Strategic Health Institute in York, Pa., a health policy and public health consulting firm dedicated to building awareness of today’s health issues and the need for change. In addition, Filer is a family physician at East York Family Medicine where she sees patients on a part-time basis.
A member of the AAFP since 1987, Filer serves on the board of FamMedPAC, the AAFP’s political action committee. As a board member of the AAFP, Filer will advocate on behalf of family physicians and patients nationwide to inspire positive change in the U.S. health care system.
A member of the Pennsylvania Academy of Family Physicians since 1987, Filer is a past-president and currently serves as the chapter’s delegate to the AAFP Congress of Delegates.
At the state level, Filer has the distinction of having served as the first Physician General of Pennsylvania, where she acted as public health advisor to then Governor Tom Ridge. She also has served as an ad hoc member of the Pennsylvania State Board of Medicine and Pennsylvania State Board of Osteopathic Medicine. In addition, Filer is past-president of the Pennsylvania chapter of the American Cancer Society. She is the current chair of Visions of Hope for the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape, which is focused on the prevention of child sexual assault. Filer also worked for 18 years as a health correspondent for WGAL-TV, the NBC affiliate in Lancaster, Pa.
Filer earned a combined undergraduate and medical degree from Gannon University, Erie, Pa., and her doctorate degree from Hahnemann University in Philadelphia. She completed her family medicine residency at Underwood Memorial Hospital in Woodbury, N.J., where she also served as chief resident. Filer earned an executive MBA from Pennsylvania State University.
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Founded in 1947, the AAFP represents 110,600 physicians and medical students nationwide. It is the only medical society devoted solely to primary care.
Approximately one in four of all office visits are made to family physicians. That is 240 million office visits each year — nearly 87 million more than the next largest medical specialty. Today, family physicians provide more care for America’s underserved and rural populations than any other medical specialty. Family medicine’s cornerstone is an ongoing, personal patient-physician relationship focused on integrated care.
To learn more about the specialty of family medicine, the AAFP's positions on issues and clinical care, and for downloadable multi-media highlighting family medicine, visit www.aafp.org/media. For information about health care, health conditions and wellness, please visit the AAFP’s award-winning consumer website, www.FamilyDoctor.org.