FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, September 24, 2024
Contact:
Emily Holwick
Public Relations Strategist
eholwick@aafp.org
PHOENIX, AZ — The American Academy of Family Physicians today presented seven prestigious awards to family physicians for their exceptional contributions to family medicine, their patients and their communities. The recipients were recognized at the AAFP’s annual Congress of Delegates.
Marjorie J. Heier, MD, FAAFP, received the AAFP’s Humanitarian Award for her work as the director and only physician at Chifundo Rural Health Center in Zambia, where she helped to integrate the clinic into the local health care system, providing full-spectrum medical care in a limited-resource area. Heier is an associate professor at the University of South Dakota’s Sioux Falls Family Medicine Residency Program and returns to the clinic in Zambia yearly with residents from the program.
Daniel Van Durme, MD, MPH, posthumously received the AAFP’s John G. Walsh Award for Lifetime Contributions to Family Medicine, which honors family physicians whose dedication and effective leadership have advanced family medicine. Over the past 40 years, Van Durme was a valued leader, educator and humanitarian. He served on the AAFP Board of Directors and the AAFP Foundation Board of Trustees. He was the chair of the Florida State University Department of Family Medicine and Rural Health and received numerous teaching and service awards highlighting his commitment to family medicine. Van Durme died May 30, 2023.
Fern R. Hauk, MD, FAAFP, received the AAFP’s Public Health Award for her work implementing an approach to caring for the growing population of refugees from Afghanistan in her community of Charlottesville, Virginia. Her advocacy and patient-centered approach resulted in interpretation services and personnel resources for patients and improved processes for clinical care. As a family physician, Hauk teaches family physicians, medical students and residents about the importance of learning to care for diverse populations.
Grant Hoekzema, MD, FAAFP, received the AAFP’s Thomas W. Johnson Award for his profound contributions to family medicine education. He is the Chairman of the Department of Family Medicine at Mercy Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri. Hoekzema is recognized for his advocating for specialty-specific requirements for faculty responsibilities, as well as his work to re-imagine accreditation and family medicine training, shifting residency requirements to a more competency-based framework. Under his leadership, his residency program participated in the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Advancing Innovation in Residency Education pilot program, through which they developed an innovative curricular design integrating obesity medicine with family medicine.
Andrew J. Goodbred, MD, FAAFP, and Robert C. Langan, MD, FAAFP, received the American Family Physician Article of the Year Award for their excellent scholarly contributions to family medicine. Their article, “Chronic Kidney Disease: Prevention, Diagnosis, and Treatment”, includes comprehensive research on chronic kidney disease, which affects approximately 15% of the U.S. population. Goodbred serves as program director for St. Luke’s Family Medicine Residency – Anderson Campus, in Easton, Pennsylvania. Langan is the program director of St. Luke’s Family Medicine Residency/Sacred Heart Campus in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
Christopher Crow, MD, received the AAFP’s Robert Graham Award for his outstanding leadership skills in a health care organization. Dr. Crow has spent more than two decades focused on helping communities thrive by improving the delivery of primary care. He is the co-founder and CEO of Catalyst Health Group based in Plano, Texas, and created LightPath Health, a non-profit organization dedicated to developing and investing in primary care programs for those without health insurance.
Ann Klega, MD, received the AAFP’s Exemplary Teaching Award for Continuing Professional Development, which acknowledges outstanding accomplishments in this area along with the demonstration of innovative tactics and curriculum and exemplary teaching skills. Klega practices at the AdventHealth Family Medicine Residency in Winter Park, Florida, where she splits her time between the Family Medicine Clinic, Women’s Health Clinic, and teaching Family Medicine residents.
“The AAFP congratulates all award recipients for their unwavering dedication to family medicine. The recipients of these awards have a deep understanding of how primary care improves health outcomes and the essential role family physicians play in caring for their patients and communities and ensuring patients have access to compassionate, comprehensive care,” said Steven P. Furr, MD, FAAFP, chair, American Academy of Family Physicians.
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About American Academy of Family Physicians
Founded in 1947, the AAFP represents 130,000 physicians and medical students nationwide. It is the largest medical society devoted solely to primary care. Family physicians conduct approximately one in five office visits — that’s 192 million visits annually or 48 percent more than the next most visited 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 and the AAFP's positions on issues and clinical care, visit www.aafp.org. For information about health care, health conditions and wellness, please visit the AAFP’s consumer website, www.familydoctor.org.