Norman Haug, M.D., FAAFP, of Del Norte, Colo., died May 6. He had been a member of the Academy since 1971.
Haug received his medical degree from the University of Colorado, Boulder, in 1962 and completed his family medicine residency at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, or OUHSC, in Oklahoma City in 1969, following a stint in Malaysia as a Peace Corps volunteer and two years in the U.S. Army. Stationed in South Vietnam for part of his tour of duty, Haug worked with physicians in-country to establish a national health system.
After finishing his residency at OUHSC, Haug joined the faculty there, serving as acting program director until a full-time director could be found. In 1981, he moved to Del Norte and set up practice in that rural community. Haug was named Rio Grande County coroner in 1984 and held that position until his death. He also served as the physician for the Rio Grande County Jail, was medical director for the Colorado State Veterans Center at Homelake, and volunteered his services in Honduras in 1998 after Hurricane Mitch devastated that country.
In 1999, Haug received the Rural Healthcare Excellence Award from the Colorado Rural Health Center, and, in 2003, the National Rural Health Association named him Rural Health Practitioner of the Year. He spearheaded a drive to build the 14-bed Rio Grande Hospital in Del Norte after a 12-bed facility in that community closed its doors. Haug served as administrator and medical director of the new facility, which opened in August 2004.
A board-certified family physician, Haug was named an Academy Fellow in 1974 and was a member of the Task Force on Government and Member Participation.
