FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, April 22, 2025
Contact:
Julie Hirschhorn
AAFP Public Relations
jhirschhorn@aafp.org
LEAWOOD, KS—The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) has partnered with Ardmore Institute of Health to strengthen primary care’s central role in addressing chronic conditions, one of the leading contributors to shorter life expectancy in the U.S. This partnership, which includes over $1,000,000 in grants from Ardmore Institute of Health, has allowed family physicians to test novel interventions and approaches in their own communities and supported AAFP’s efforts to educate and resource family physicians with the knowledge and skills needed to maximize their impact in a wide range of practice settings.
“The AAFP and Ardmore Institute of Health have a long history of working together to solidify primary care’s place in a health care system focused on achieving whole health rather than thriving by treating disease,” said R. Shawn Martin, AAFP executive vice president and CEO. “We’re grateful for their continued partnership as we work to ensure physicians have the tools and resources they need to mitigate health disparities and build healthier communities.”
Ardmore Institute of Health’s investment in AAFP programs include:
Most recently, the AAFP Foundation was awarded grants from Ardmore Institute of Health and the Healing Works Foundation to ensure family physicians’ voices are reflected in the continued movement toward a system that rewards whole health approaches. The AAFP will form a physician-led, multi-stakeholder advisory group to inform a national convening focused on how primary care payment and training must change to empower the workforce needed for this new vision of the future.
“Ardmore Institute of Health’s continued partnership with the AAFP is instrumental in transforming the way people are cared for in America. By empowering family physicians to deliver whole person care, we are building a foundation for greater individual and collective health,” said Dr. Ron Stout, president and CEO of Ardmore Institute of Health.
The country has lower costs and healthier outcomes where there are family physicians, and the partnership with Ardmore Institute of Health reinforces the important work family physicians do every day.
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About American Academy of Family Physicians
Founded in 1947, the AAFP represents 128,300 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.
About Ardmore Institute of Health
Ardmore Institute of Health, established in 1947, works for a future where healthy environments and lifestyles provide equitable and preferred methods to prevent, treat, and reverse chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. To achieve this vision, AIH offers grant funding, Full Plate Living nutrition programming, and resources to accelerate Whole Health and Lifestyle Medicine adoption and learnings. For more information, visit ardmoreinstituteofhealth.org.