What's New
Nominate a Colleague: Help Us Recognize Our Heroes
Take a moment to recognize a fellow member who is involved in their community, with students, or as a mentor; we may not know who they are, but you do. Help GAFP recognize those everyday heroes and celebrate those members!
Nominations are open for any member who has contributed to the specialty of Family Medicine or the community in a meaningful way. Nominees can apply themselves or may be nominated by a friend or colleague. An application form can be downloaded here.
Georgia Family Physician of the YearDeadline: May 24, 2013
The GAFP's highest honor, candidates for this award will be those members who are leaders in professional affairs, along with making an outstanding contribution to the profession or the community by:
- Providing their community with compassionate, comprehensive and caring medical service on a continual basis;
- Directly and effectively involved in community affairs and activities that enhance the quality of life of their home area; and
- Providing a credible role model as a healer and philanthropist in their community, and as a professional in the science and art of medicine to colleagues and other health professionals.
Family Physician Community and Volunteer Services Award
Deadline: May 24, 2013
Nominees are GAFP members who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to support their communities; family physicians who have made outstanding contributions in welfare, education, health, government or the arts.
Family Medicine Educator of the Year Award
Deadline: May 24, 2013
Candidates for this award will be deserving members who have been leaders in academic, community and professional affairs, along with making an outstanding contribution to the profession or the community.
- Nominees should have a minimum of seventy-five (75) hours annually spent teaching family medicine; and
- Areas of expertise to be considered are: Clinical, Teaching Skills - Lecture, One-on-One and Small Groups, Academic Credentials and Community Involvement.
Family Medicine Resident of the Year Award
Deadline: April 15, 2013
Nominees should be deserving GAFP resident members who have been leaders in academics and role models to other residents.
- Qualifications to be considered are: Academic, Clinical Expertise, Community Involvement, and Involvement in the Discipline of Family Medicine and in Academy Activities.
Keith Ellis Resident Scholarship Award
Deadline: April 15, 2013
Nominees should be deserving chief/co-chief residents who have been leaders in academic and community affairs.
Governor Appoints Georgia Academy Leader to Commission on Mandated Health Insurance Benefits
Gov. Nathan Deal, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and House Speaker David Ralston announced in mid-March the appointments to the Special Advisory Commission on Mandated Health Insurance Benefits. Dr. Harry Strothers, immediate past GAFP Board Chair, is the Georgia Academy's representative.
Under state law, signed by the governor, the commission is charged with evaluating the social and financial impact of current and proposed mandated benefits. Members will assess the impact of mandated benefits on employers and insurers, the impact of treatment, potential costs or cost savings and other appropriate information and from there they will advise the governor and the General Assembly.
Commission members are as follows:
Governor's Appointments
William A. Bornstein, MD
Bornstein is the chief quality and medical officer of Emory Healthcare. He is board certified in Internal Medicine and in Endocrinology and Metabolism.
Harry S. Strothers, MD
Strothers is a chairman and a professor in the department of Family Medicine at Morehouse School of Medicine. He is board certified in family medicine, has a certificate of added qualifications in geriatrics and a certificate in medical management from the American College of Physician Executives and Tulane University. Strothers is also a past president of the Georgia Academy of Family Physicians.
James D. Fortenberry, MD
Fortenberry is pediatrician in chief at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and professor of Pediatric Critical Care in the Department of Pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine.
R. Charles "Randy" Daniel, DDS
Daniel has been a private practice dentist in Stockbridge since 1984. He is a member of the medical staff of Henry Medical Center.
Stephen Gray
Gray is executive vice president of logistics, research and development for Fieldale Farms. In his role, he leads the transportation, supply chain management and research functions, and provides functional leadership for operations and marketing.
Albert C. Ertel
Ertel is the chief operating officer at Alliant Health Plans. He served on the governor's committee for Health Insurance Exchanges and currently serves on the Healthcare Policy and Small Business committees with the Georgia Chamber of Commerce.
J. Myron Faircloth
Faircloth is a faculty member at the School of Nursing at Valdosta State University and practices rural family medicine at G&G Family Medicine in Valdosta. He earned a bachelor's degree in Nursing from Valdosta State University, a master's degree in Nursing with a family nurse practitioner concentration from Brenau University, and in 2011, he earned his doctor of Nursing Practice from Georgia Southern.
Frederick Lambert Hooper, III
Hooper is chief counsel for Shaw Industries Group, Inc., where he directs the legal and corporate compliance departments.
Steven M. Wilson, O.D.
Wilson currently practices optometry in Valdosta. Prior to opening the practice, he worked in Cambodian refugee camps in Thailand.
James J. Rush, Jr.
Rush is the chief integrity officer for the Georgia Regents enterprise. Prior to that, he was the director of risk management for the Georgia Regents Medical Center.
Tripp Strickland
Strickland is president of Georgia Metals, Inc., a managing partner of Madison County Ace Hardware and the Hampton House Assisted Living Facility.
Roy "Reg" Gilbreath, MD
Gilbreath is vice president and chief medical officer for the DeKalb Regional Health System. He was formerly chief medical officer at Gwinnett Hospital System, chief quality officer at Texas Health Presbyterian Dallas, and vice president of medical affairs at Georgetown Hospital System.
Robert Fitzgerald
Fitzgerald is president of Robert Fitzgerald Insurance Agency. He is an independent agent serving the health insurance marketplace.
Trip Addison
Addison is currently the deputy director of the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget. Before joining OPB, he served as Gov. Deal's policy adviser for economic development.
Lt. Gov.'s Appointments
Sen. Tim Golden (R-Valdosta)
Golden, of the 8th Senate District, was first elected to the Georgia State Senate in 1999. He is now serving in his seventh term. He is the chairman of the Senate Insurance & Labor Committee and serves on the Administrative Affairs, Appropriations, Finance and Higher Education committees.
Sen. Renee Unterman (R-Buford)
Unterman, of the 45th Senate District, was first elected to the Georgia State Senate in 2003. She is now serving in her fifth term. She is the chairwoman of the Senate Health & Human Services Committee and serves on the Administrative Affairs, Appropriations, Assignments, Insurance & Labor and Rules committees.
Speaker's Appointments
Rep. Richard H. Smith (R-Columbus)
Smith, of the 134th House District, was first elected in 2004 to the Georgia House of Representatives. He is currently serving in his fifth term. He is the chairman of the House Insurance Committee and serves on the Appropriations, Natural Resources and Environment, Legislative and Congressional Reapportionment and Rules committees.
Rep. Ben Watson, MD (R-Savannah)
Watson, of the 166th House District, was elected in 2011 to the Georgia House of Representatives and is now serving in his second term. He is the vice chairman of the House Health and Human Services Committee and serves on the Appropriations, Higher Education and Science & Technology committees.
Ex-Officio Members
Commissioner David Cook, Georgia Department of Community Health
Commissioner Ralph Hudgens, Georgia Department of Insurance
Commissioner Mark Butler, Georgia Department of Labor
Georgia Academy of Family Medicine Prepares to Honor Outstanding Students and Residents
The Georgia Academy is taking nominations for outstanding students and residents! Three awards are given out each year specifically honoring these individuals and you can assist in choosing them.
An application form can be downloaded from the GAFP's website at http://www.gafp.org/awards.asp. The deadline to nominate an outstanding student or resident for any of these awards is April 15, 2013. So don't delay and send in an application for a deserving student or resident!
Family Medicine Resident of the Year Award
A candidate for this award will be a deserving GAFP resident member who has been a leader in academics and a role model to other residents. Qualifications to be considered are: Academic Achievement, Clinical Expertise, Community Involvement, and Involvement in the Discipline of Family Medicine and Academy Activities.
Recent Family Medicine Resident of the Year Award Winners
2012 Ann Marie Lam, MD
2011 Jennifer Malcolm, DO
Keith Ellis Resident Scholarship Award
The award nominee is a deserving chief/co-chief resident who has been a leader in academic and community affairs.
Recent Keith Ellis Resident Award Winners
2012 Jose Ventura, MD
2011 Viktoria Nurpeisov, MD
T.A. Sappington Awarded to Graduating Family Medicine Medical Students
This award, in memory of Thomas Asbury Sappington, MD, a dedicated family physician from Thomaston, originally was presented to high-school seniors for completing projects that best promoted the understanding of family medicine. In 1999 the criteria was changed; the award is now given to a graduating medical student from each of the Georgia medical schools who have been selected to attend a local Family Medicine Residency Program. Each medical school's Family Medicine Department chair nominates a potential awardee. The deadline is April 15.
Recent T.A. Sappington Winners
2012 Jennifer FrancoisMorehouse
2012 Raj Singh
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
2011 Zachary Cohen
Mercer
2011 Michelle Cooke
Morehouse
2011 Amanda Fischer
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
2011 Erin Meeks
Medical College of Georgia
GO! Diabetes -National Program Gets Funded for 2013. It's a GO!
The Georgia Academy is pleased to announce that GO! Diabetes was recently awarded a significant education grant from Sanofi for the fifth consecutive year. GO! Diabetes began as a joint education project of the Georgia and Oklahoma chapters and expanded to a nationwide program for family medicine residency programs. GO! Diabetes is funded by an unrestricted educational grant from Sanofi.
Since its inception in 2008, GO! Diabetes has helped hundreds of family medicine physicians, faculty, residents, and clinicians achieve higher standards of patient care through practice improvements and system changes. And we need you to help with outreach and recruitment.
GO! Diabetes teaches practice changes to improve patient outcomes while using the AAFP's METRIC to complete Part IV of ABFM Board recertification requirement. Up to 40 family medicine residencies will be selected to participate in 2013. Programs will gain knowledge in diabetes management and team care for chronic disease, CME credit, AAFP METRIC (which meets ABFM Part IV) and the ability to present their findings to a national audience.
The Georgia Academy has outreached to all Family Medicine Residency Directors in the continental U.S. (except for those in the military) - and to date the Georgia residency programs that are participating in 2013 include: Columbus, Emory, Georgia Regent's University, and Morehouse.
Outcomes reports from past activities are available on our website: www.godiabetes.org.
2013 Georgia Physicians Leadership Academy (GPLA)
The GPLA is an exciting program of the MAG Foundation in collaboration with the Medical Association of Georgia. This 2013 leadership class will educate physicians who want to improve health care delivery for their patients, communities and the medical profession. The sessions provide interactive classes to enable physicians to enhance their leadership skills and develop continuing relationships with colleagues. The in-depth, year-long program will begin this spring. Dr. Brian Nadolne, of Marietta, was nominated by the GAFP's Executive Committee to participate. Dr. Nadolne joins a distinguished group of GAFP leaders who have participated in the program including Drs. Scott Bolke, Mitch Cook, Beulette Hooks, Howard McMahan and Harry Strothers.
GAFP Members Encouraged to Sign Up for Health Alerts
The GAFP Congress of Delegates approved the following resolution at the November 2012 meeting: Resolve that the Georgia Academy of Family Physicians outreach to the Georgia Department of Public Health Chemical Hazards Project Director in order to offer assistance in the utilization and expansion of the Department of Public Health Physician Notification System for all Georgia when contaminants are found in drinking water in Georgia.
The Georgia Department of Public Health has available a service for all physicians to receive communication regarding matters of urgency. Register to receive these communications by emailing: askDPH@dhr.state.ga.us.
CDC has a national Health Alert Network (HAN) that has been operational since September 2011. Physicians, as well as members of the public, may register to be included in this network at http://emergency.cdc.gov/HAN/. Georgia is in the process of developing its own HAN for Georgia-specific issues.
Georgia Physician Order for Life Sustaining Treatment Form - Start Using It!
GAFP Supported Legislative Initiative Signed into Law
The Georgia Academy was one of the key organizations, along with the Georgia Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association, to convince state legislators to pass legislation to allow for Georgia to have a Physician Order for Life Sustaining Treatment Form.
The form is now published and available for use on the Department of Georgia's Public Health website: http://www.dph.ga.gov/POLST/
While legislation has passed, we still have heavy lifting to do to educate our patients about the form and its utility in end-of-life discussions. The GAFP is a part of the Georgia POLST Coalition to develop educational materials. Below are a few brief informational items about the POLST form:
The gold standard of "end of life" care includes discussions and following a patient's preferences as routine as asking about and responding to a patient's allergies to medicine. The Georgia POLST is a medical order that is completed by a physician and a mechanism to communicate patient preferences for end-of-life treatment designed to travel with the patient from one care setting to another. The POLST needs to be signed by the physician and the patient or the patient's surrogate.
Patients who should have a POLST include: anyone choosing to "allow natural death", anyone choosing to limit medical interventions, anyone residing in a long term care facility and anyone who might die within the next year. The use and compliance with a POLST form provides immunity to any person acting in good faith. A patient or their agent can request alternative treatment or revoke a POLST at any time.
The Georgia Academy will continue to bring you information about educational materials for you, your staff, and your patients - but we encourage you to start the conversations and use the POLST form now available for use in Georgia.