About Foundation

The first annual Legacy Club Luncheon was held Nov. 8 at the Cobb Galleria Centre, with guest speakers Barbara Carlton, MD, and Ferrol A. Sams Jr., MD. Legacy Club members have contributed $1,000 or more to the Foundation of the Georgia Academy of Family Physicians.

Dr. Carlton recently showed her generosity in stimulating interest in her primary care speciality in her native Georgia by making a significant contribution to the Foundation. A retired family physician in Wauchula, Fla., she continued her dedicated work in ensuring that the citizens of Georgia would continue to have access to high-quality medical care.

An alumna of the Medical College of Georgia, Dr. Carlton donated one of the three TA Sappington Awards recently given to qualified senior medical students at the college.

She brought a timely message to the Legacy Club Luncheon on the art of giving, reminding the audience to ask someone to give and to create a legacy of giving for your children and grandchildren.

The keynote speaker, Dr. Sams, is the recipient of the GAFP’s 2007 Georgia Family Medicine Physician of the Year Award. Dr. Sams wrote eight books, including the New York Times best-seller “Run with the Horsemen.

December 19, 2007


GAFP helps Members Affected by Tornado
You might have long forgotten the powerful tornado that blazed through south Georgia in early March, but for two GAFP members, this natural disaster made a lasting impact.

Michael Busman, MD, of Americus was in the process of building a new office in which to expand his practice. With only a month left before opening the doors, the tornado completely destroyed his new office as well as the one that he was practicing in at the time.

B. Bret Law, MD, also of Americus, lost some of his office space. As of the end of April, he estimated that his total losses would reach a staggering $250,000 over the next three years.

The GAFP reached out to its colleagues in their time of distress. An
e-mail and mail campaign was launched in mid-March, offering a helping hand to those affected by the tornado. The campaign also sought donations from members, to be funneled into the Georgia Tornado Recovery Fund, and the GAFP made a mid-summer donation to Drs. Busman and Law.

Six months later, both physicians have struggled to pick up the pieces of their practices.

“I am extremely thankful for the thoughtfulness of my fellow members. This was a tough thing to go through, and knowing that I was supported by my family physician colleagues was helpful,” said Dr. Busman.

October 8, 2007


Research Poster Presentation Will be Held at Scientific Assembly
The Foundation of the Georgia Academy of Family Physicians is currently seeking submissions for the Eighth Annual Research Poster Presentation, to be held Nov. 9, 2007, during the GAFP’s 59th Annual Scientific Assembly and Exhibition. Submissions must be postmarked by Oct. 12.

Posters may be research results, case reports, summer projects or educational projects. Posters may address any topic relevant to family medicine. Submissions must be of original work not yet published or presented at regional or national meetings. Medical student projects previously presented at medical schools or student “research days” will be accepted. Concurrent submissions to other conferences such as NAPCRG and STFM are considered legitimate and are, in fact, encouraged.

Submissions from fellows, residents, students and pre-med students are welcome. Students who have participated in summer preceptorship programs are especially encouraged to submit a poster on their summer experience.

Awards will be given to promote research in the Academy and are reserved for submissions of exceptional quality. One award of $500 will be given for the best poster presentation in each of the following categories: Residents/Fellows, Students, and Pre-med Students.

For more information or to download forms, please visit www.gafp.org and click on the Clinical Care & Research tab. If you have any questions, contact Jacquelyn Butts at the GAFP office at (800) 392-3841 or jbutts@gafp.org.

July 06, 2007


Tar Wars Presenters Needed to Help Spread the Word
The Foundation of the Georgia Academy of Family Physicians needs your help spreading the tobacco-free Tar Wars message to fourth- and fifth-grade students in all corners of Georgia. Currently, we do not have enough family physicians, residents and medical students signed up to present the Tar Wars program this fall to children eagerly awaiting these presentations in classrooms throughout the state. Please help us spread the message to youth in your community by volunteering just one hour of your time during the upcoming 2007-2008 school year.

Presenting Tar Wars is easy and fun. We’ll mail a Tar Wars classroom kit to your school so that everything will be there when you arrive. The kit contains all the activity materials and handouts you’ll need for the presentation, including free awareness bands for the kids and poster board and crayons to help them create posters. Prior to the presentation, we’ll send you a copy of the Tar Wars Program Guide, which contains step-by-step instructions for presenting. To volunteer or learn more about potential schools in your area, please contact Kara Sinkule at ksinkule@gafp.org or call (800) 392-3841. Simply send us the name of your chosen school along with preferred dates for you to present and we’ll do the rest.

Thank you in advance for helping to further the GAFP’s mission of keeping Georgia kids tobacco-free.

Tar Wars is a tobacco-free education program created by the American Academy of Family Physicians for fourth- and fifth-grade students. The program is designed to teach kids about the short-term, image-based consequences of tobacco use, the cost associated with using tobacco products and the advertising techniques used by the tobacco industry to market their products to youth.

To learn more about becoming a Tar Wars presenter, visit the Tar Wars home page at www.tarwars.org.

July 06, 2007


Foundation of the GAFP Hires Tar Wars Staff

The Foundation of the GAFP has hired Kara Sinkule to be the new Director of Programs.  Kara's main focus will be on re-igniting the Tar Wars Program that the Foundation sponsors.

Tar Wars is a tobacco-free education program for fourth- and fifth-grade students. The program is designed to teach kids about the short-term, image-based consequences of tobacco use, the cost associated with using tobacco products and the advertising techniques used by the tobacco industry to market their products to youth.

Kara served as the Deputy Press Secretary to the Honorable Cathy Cox during her tenure as both Secretary of State and Assistant Secretary of State.  The Director of Programs is a part time position with the Foundation and the first employee that the Foundation has been able to hire.

If you are interested in helping to reach out to fourth- and fifth-grade students for the 2007-2008 school year, please email Kara at ksinkule@gafp.org.  Look for updates on Georgia's Tar Wars program in the coming months.  Welcome Kara!

June 18, 2007


2007 Foundation of the Georgia Academy of Family Physicians Trustees

Congratulations to the men and women who have been elected to serve on the 2007 Foundation of the Georgia Academy of Family Physicians. This years Trustees include: President George Shannon, MD, of Columbus, Vice President Roslyn D. Taylor, MD, of Savannah, Treasurer Beulette Y. Hooks, MD, of Midland, Sean T. Bryan, MD of Albany, H. Gordon Davis, MD of Sylvester, Edwin Hendricks, DO of Demorest, Nancy Lefever, MD of Talking Rock, Tammy J. Robinson, MD of Douglasville, and Gregory Strayhorn, MD of Atlanta.

Also, welcome to our 2007 Foundation Corporate Trustees Carla H. Parris, Director of Provider Marketing of Amerigroup and Gerry Kiplinger, Executive Director of APS Healthcare.

The Board Trustees are charged with ensuring comprehensive quality health care to the citizens of Georgia by supporting the development in education of family physicians through its various programs.

The Foundation of the GAFP was founded in 1987 as the philanthropic arm of the Georgia Academy of Family Physicians. The Foundation is a 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt, grant-making public foundation. It is the only charitable organization in Georgia that exists to improve and increase access to health care by investing in the specialty of Family Medicine.

February 10, 2007


The AAFP’s Family Medicine Philanthropic Consortium (FMPC) has announced that the Foundation of the GAFP is a recipient of a $5,000 grant to create Tar Wars tool kits. The AAFP Foundation received 29 grant proposals and the Foundation of the GAFP was one of 10 to be funded.

The Tar Wars tool kits will be a package with all the supplies needed for family physicians, residents or medical students to present Tar Wars, a tobacco-free education program for Georgia fourth and fifth grade
students.

The program is designed to teach kids about the short-term, image-based consequences of tobacco use, the cost associated with using tobacco products and the advertising techniques used by the tobacco industry to market their products to youth. A follow-up poster contest is conducted at the school, state and national level to reinforce the Tar Wars message.

The tool kits should be ready by March 2007. If you would like to present Tar Wars to a school in your community, please contact Jacquelyn Butts at jbutts@gafp.org or (404) 321-7445.

January 19, 2007


2006 Foundation Research Poster Winners

Resident Category:
1st place: Sadaf Sabzali, MD at Emory Family Medicine Residency Program, “Role of Wheelchair Cushions in Prevention of Pressure Ulcers

2nd place: Leena Mane, MD at Emory Family Medicine Residency Program, “Overview of Pacemaker Infections

Medical Student Category:
1st place: Henna Pearl, Medical College of Georgia, “Green Tea Polyphenols Reduced Psoriasiform Lesions in a Mouse Model for Human Psoriasis Associated with Caspase 14 Activation

Pre-Med Students:
1st place: Kinsey Burriss, University of Georgia and Amanda Fischer, Georgia Southern University, “Efficiency of Cancer Screening Rates Utilizing a Modified JOG Sheet

There were two 2nd place winners:
2nd place: Christopher Riley, Georgia Southern University, “Hypertension Quality of Care: A Retrospective Evaluation

2nd place: Thomas Jordan, Berry College and Stephanie Parsons, Georgia Southwestern State University, “Coronary Artery Disease Quality of Care: A Retrospective Evaluation

Foundation Sponsors Pathway Program Helps Students Interested in Primary Care

The Pathway to Medical School is a novel collaboration aimed at helping college students interested in primary care improve their chances of being accepted into a Georgia medical school.

The program is spearheaded by Sean Bryan, MD, FAAFP, program director of Southwest Georgia Family Medicine Residency (SWGFMR) at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital, and James Hotz, MD, who founded Albany Area Primary Healthcare (AAPHC). The Foundation of the GAFP contributed $2,500 to Pathway and will be monitoring the program for future family physicians.

In the fall of 2004, Southwest Georgia Area Health Education Center (SOWEGA-AHEC) staff members polled members of the admissions committees of the allopathic medical schools located in Georgia and asked what criteria separated candidates’ applications and increased their chances of being accepted to their schools. There was a consensus among admissions committees that evidence of an applicant’s participation in a structured clinical shadowing experience was most beneficial, followed by evidence of participation in medical research. Based on this information, the Pathway to Medical School program was designed as a 160-hour structured experience consisting of 100 hours of clinical shadowing and 60 hours of primary care research. To avoid conflicts with college courses, the program was scheduled over a four-week block during the summer.

For the pilot session, launched on July 11, 16 pre-med students applied and the eight who were invited to participate completed the four-week program on Aug. 5.

If student interest and funding allow, the number of pre-med students invited to participate will increase to 16 per year, with two blocks of eight participants each starting in the summer of 2006.

For more information on the program, contact Dr. Sean Bryan at sbryan@ppmh.org.

October 6, 2005


The Foundation of the Georgia Academy of Family Physicians, founded in 1987, is the philanthropic arm of the Georgia Academy of Family Physicians, and a networking member of the American Academy of Family Physicians Foundation. The Foundation is a charitable public foundation recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization and is thereby eligible to receive grants and tax deductible gifts and contributions. Click below to download a giving form.

Yes, I would like to help!

The mission of the Foundation of the Georgia Academy of Family Physicians is to ensure comprehensive, quality health care to the citizens of Georgia by supporting the development and education of Family Physicians through:
  • Supporting the objectives and programs of the Georgia Academy of Family Physicians as its philanthropic arm,
  • Developing and providing philanthropic resources for the promotion and support of the specialty of family practice, and
  • Assisting the advancement of family practice in areas of research, education, student interest and health care delivery.

The Foundation of the GAFP is an affiliated chapter foundation of the American Academy of Family Physicians Foundation (AAFP/F) based in Kansas City, Missouri, which is the nation's second largest medical specialty association. Through its relationship with the AAFP/F, the Foundation of the GAFP is able to share some resources, including contributed support and technical assistance.

The Foundation is governed by a Board of Trustees comprised of up to 19 members. The Trustees include family physicians and corporate representatives, as well as medical students and residents.

The Foundation of the GAFP is the only charitable organization in Georgia whose objective is to improve access to quality health care by promoting the specialty of family medicine.

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