Texas represents well at AAFP annual convention
Samantha White
Thousands of family physicians and other health care professionals traveled to Phoenix last week for AAFP’s Congress of Delegates and FMX. This included more than 300 attendees from Texas including TAFP leaders, family physicians, and family medicine residents.
The Congress of Delegates met for two-and-a-half days to conduct official Academy business including elections, writing resolutions, hearing addresses from officers, commission and board of directors updates, and more. Thank you to TAFP President Terrance Hines, MD, for attending, as well as this year’s Texas delegation: Clare Hawkins, MD, MSc; Emily Briggs, MD, MPH; Ashok Kumar, MD; and Tricia Elliott, MD.
View photos from AAFP COD & FMX
AAFP also honored this year’s award winners during COD, including Plano physician Chris Crow, MD, MBA. Crow was given the Robert Graham Physician Executive Award by the AAFP’s Board of Directors for his work as an executive in a health care organization. “Along with 21 previous awardees, Crow has demonstrated leadership as an award-winning executive, thought leader, innovator, and physician, driving advancements in health care delivery and patient outcomes,” AAFP said. “Crow’s innovative strategies have impacted health care in Texas, evidenced by his physician network’s value-based contracts with major carriers.” He is the co-founder and CEO of Catalyst Health Group in Plano, and created LightPath Health, a nonprofit dedicated to developing and investing in primary care programs for the uninsured.
"There are so many physicians and nonphysician leaders who have been aligned and committed year after year to our purpose of helping communities thrive by continuously supporting the primary care patient relationship."
“It’s an honor to be named alongside Dr. Graham,” Crow said after winning the award. “What a great advocate for our peers and patients! The other thing this means to me is that we have a great team at Catalyst. There are so many physicians and nonphysician leaders who have been aligned and committed year after year to our purpose of helping communities thrive by continuously supporting the primary care patient relationship. This award is because we have delivered great outcomes and that just motivates us more to keep at it.”
Two more Texans were also honored for their work — residents Madeline Huff, MD, and Tochukwu Noh, MD, were among this year’s winners of the Award for Excellence in Graduate Medical Education. Award winners are selected for their “exemplary patient care, their interpersonal relationships with patients, physicians, and faculty, and their demonstrated leadership and community involvement.”
Huff is currently a resident at the Dell Medical School Family Medicine Residency in Austin and a graduate of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine. Her work to address underlying mistrust and systemic racism in the Valley during the COVID-19 pandemic specifically focused on Spanish-speaking patients and those who were deaf and hard of hearing.
Noh is a resident at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Family Medicine Program in Odessa and completed his medical school at the University of Nigeria College of Medicine. His work in Gombe State, Nigeria reduced the mother-to-child HIV transmission rate from 28% to a mere 2%.
As the Congress of Delegates events wound down and FMX ramped up, TAFP hosted a reception for all Texas attendees. Around 100 TAFP members and Texas guests got together Wednesday, September 15 at Hanny’s Bar and Restaurant in downtown Phoenix for fellowship time with colleagues, refreshments, and a good time! Thank you to everyone who joined us.
Congratulations to all this year’s award winners and thank you to everyone who traveled to Phoenix to represent Texas at yet another great AAFP Congress of Delegates and FMX.