TAFP member and former president, Justin V. Bartos, III, M.D., appointed to Board of JPS Health Network

One of TAFP’s recent presidents, Justin V. Bartos, III, M.D., has returned to the site of his residency to serve on the JPS Health Network Board of Managers. The Tarrant County Commissioners Court appointed Bartos to this position at JPS.

Described as one of JPS Hospital’s “favorite sons” by Jay Hayes, M.D., Chief Medical Officer for JPS, Bartos will work with fellow board members to help improve the health of the communities they serve. The JPS Health Network says it is committed to achieving excellence in health care and medical education, while delivering sensitive, compassionate and timely care to the Tarrant County community.

“Dr. Justin Bartos has always had an extraordinary passion and dedication to family medicine. He is a valuable asset to the John Peter Smith Hospital Board and will offer us outstanding leadership as we move toward innovation and a changing future in family medicine,” Hayes says.

Bartos is a graduate of the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, and he completed his residency at the John Peter Smith Family Practice Residency Program in Fort Worth in 1985. He has a private practice, North Hills Family Practice, in Keller, Texas.

Bartos is a board-certified family physician, a fellow of the AAFP and currently serves as an alternate delegate to AAFP’s Congress of Delegates. Bartos served as TAFP President from 2001-2002.

Bartos also serves on the board of the Tarrant County Academy of Medicine and is active in the Northeast Leadership Forum. He is the administrative physician for his group practice and has organized several independent practice associations for physicians. Bartos is associated with Bishop Davies Nursing Center in Northeast Tarrant County and serves as physician for the Diocese of Fort Worth.

Mygdal honored by STFM

William K. Mygdal, Ed.D., director of the Faculty Development Center, was honored with the 2003 Society of Teachers of Family Medicine Excellence in Education Award. The award honors STFM members for excellence in family medicine education, with demonstrated skills in teaching, curriculum development, mentoring, research or leadership in education at regional or national levels. The award was presented in September 2003 in Atlanta, Ga. At the STFM Annual Spring Conference in May, Mygdal was elected to the position of president-elect. He previously chaired the education committee and served in various other capacities. STFM was founded in 1967 and has over 5,000 members nationwide.

In recognition of his many years of dedication to family medicine and his work to develop the Faculty Development Center, the TAFP Executive Committee has written a resolution of commendation and recognition that will be introduced at the TAFP Annual Session.

Physicians volunteer during legislative special session

This year marks the 32nd anniversary of the Family Physician of the Day Program, which has provided a volunteer family physician for every convening of the Texas Legislature since 1971. Family physicians participating in the program volunteer time away from their practices to staff the Capitol First Aid Station. TAFP would like to thank the following physicians for serving as Family Physician of the Day during the special session of the Texas Legislature that ran April 20, 2004 through May 18, 2004: Ronald Only, M.D.; Barbara Conner, M.D.; Harold Timboe, M.D.; Troy Fiesinger, M.D.; Rita Schindeler-Trachta, D.O.; Keith Miller, M.D.; David Schneider, M.D.; Enrique Muyshondt, M.D.; Henry J. Boehm, Jr., M.D.; Padmaneel Kanase, M.D.

 

 

TAFP to install new officers

At this July’s TAFP Annual Session and Scientific Assembly, the TAFP will install its officers for the next year. As the outgoing president, F. David Schneider, M.D., will preside over the event, passing the gavel to Erica W. Swegler, M.D., of Keller. The officers for 2004-05 are: Erica W. Swegler, M.D., president; Tim Coleridge, D.O., president-elect; Douglas Curran, M.D., vice president; Linda M. Siy, M.D., treasurer; Kaparaboyna Ashok Kumar, M.D., parliamentarian.

TAFP offers FPJobsOnline

TAFP is pleased to announce that they have entered into an agreement with HEALTHeCAREERS Network to promote FPJobsOnline.org, the online job placement service for family physicians. Job seekers can post their resume and conduct nationwide searches for free. If you are you looking for an exceptional candidate to fill a position or the perfect job to match your exceptional talents, your first stop should be FPJobsOnline.org.

Sanchez wins national award for serving minority and underserved populations

Texas Health Commissioner and TAFP member, Eduardo Sanchez, M.D., M.P.H., M.S., received the Louis B. Russell, Jr. Memorial Award this spring from the American Heart Association. The AHA presented Sanchez with this award for his community service in and around Austin, Texas, at the association’s 2004 National Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C. 

This annual award recognizes volunteers who demonstrate outstanding service to minority and underserved populations. The award is named for Louis B. Russell, Jr., a 1968 heart transplant patient who advocated heart disease prevention in the minority community until his death in 1974. 

According to a statement from the AHA, Sanchez was recognized for his efforts with the AHA Austin/Capital area division to improve public health in the minority community. He created the Hispanics and Heart Disease Outreach task force, in efforts to break down barriers and increase health care access for one of Texas’ fastest growing populations. In addition, Sanchez’s task force created the Hispanic Health Festival, which provides the community with free health screenings and risk assessments.

During his tenure as Health Commissioner, Sanchez has worked with the Texas Department of Health to conduct a feasibility study on placing automated external defibrillators (AED) in state buildings. Sanchez’s work with this feasibility study helped the AHA secure state funding for AED placement during the last legislative session.

Sanchez has had a family practice in Austin, Texas, since 1992. He has an M.D. from Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, Texas, a M.P.H. from the San Antonio branch of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, and a M.S. in biomedical engineering from Duke University.

In addition to his position as Health Commissioner for Texas, Sanchez has also served as the Health Authority and Chief Medical Officer for Austin-Travis County Health and Human Services Department.

Sanchez’s key public health issue is obesity, especially in minority communities. He promotes nutrition and physical activity to counter this growing problem.

Texas residents honored by AAFP

Two Texas residents were selected for the prestigious AAFP/Bristol-Myers Squibb Award for Excellence in Graduate Medical Education. Formerly known as the Mead Johnson Award, it honors second-year family medicine residents for exemplary patient care and demonstrated leadership ability.

Chay B. Ung, M.D., of the UT Houston Family Practice Residency Program is a leader among TAFP residents, currently serving as vice chair of the Section on Resident Physicians. He also regularly attends the Harris County TAFP chapter meetings and was editor of the residency program newsletter. Ung attended Texas Tech Health Science Center School of Medicine where he volunteered with the peer tutoring program and served in the student senate. He received his undergraduate degree in physics from Baylor University where he was involved with various leadership and service activities.

Laura Birnbaum, M.D., of the Conroe Family Practice Residency is the other recipient of the award. She attended University of Texas School of Medicine at San Antonio. She received her undergraduate degree from Texas A&M University where she graduated Magna Cum Laude and was on the Dean’s List. Throughout her academic career she has been involved with volunteer and leadership activities.

Ung and Birnbaum will be honored at the AAFP Annual Assembly in Orlando.

Report from AAFP’s Annual Leadership Forum and the National Conference of Special Constituencies

TAFP leaders traveled to Kansas City at the end of April for the AAFP’s National Conference of Special Constituencies and the Annual Leadership Forum. This year’s conference, held April 29 – May 1, focused on the Future of Family Medicine report that was released earlier this year.

The NCSC constituencies — women; minorities; new physicians; international medical graduates; and the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender constituency — approved 44 resolutions, which will go to either the AAFP Board of Directors or the Congress of Delegates. Among resolutions passed is one that asks the Academy to “support medical necessity rather than insurance carriers or health care systems dictating frequency of patient visits.” This was in reaction to some efforts to curb the cost of Medicaid by limiting the number of doctor visits allowed and the number of prescriptions provided to those patients. There was also a resolution asking the Academy to help identify lower socioeconomic status as a vital criterion in diversifying medical schools to address disparities in health care. Another effort was a resolution asking AAFP to support legislation to provide tax credits for physicians who provide medical care to underinsured and uninsured patients. Another asks the Academy to continue discussions with the American Board of Family Practice regarding members’ concerns about cost and accessibility issues with the Maintenance of Certification Program for Family Physicians.

Texas was represented by four NCSC representatives: Melissa Gerdes, M.D., Beverly Nuckols, M.D., Bruce A. Echols, M.D., and Diana Ballesteros, M.D. Also in attendance were AAFP Board Chair James C. Martin, M.D.; TAFP President David Schneider, M.D.; TAFP President-elect Erica Swegler, M.D.; AAFP Delegates Leah Raye Mabry, M.D., and Roland Goertz, M.D.; AAFP Alternate Delegates Lloyd Van Winkle, M.D., and Justin Bartos, M.D.; TAFP Treasurer Linda Siy, M.D.; AAFP Delegate to AMA Dale Moquist, M.D.; AAFP IMG Delegate K. Ashok Kumar, M.D., Andrew Eisenberg, M.D., and Debra Bell.

 

Attention TAFP local chapters: to have news from your chapter printed here, please contact Jonathan Nelson at jnelson@tafp.org