John Richmond, M.D., right, receives the Physician of the Year Award from President Douglas Curran, M.D., at TAFP’s Annual Session and Scientific Assembly Awards Lunch.

John Richmond, M.D., of Dallas, Texas, has been named the 2007 Texas Family Physician of the Year—the highest award among family doctors in Texas—by the Texas Academy of Family Physicians. Richmond received the award during TAFP’s 58th Annual Session and Scientific Assembly in Corpus Christi, Texas, July 28. Each year, patients and physicians nominate extraordinary family physicians throughout Texas, and a panel of TAFP members chooses one as the Family Physician of the Year.

“I feel very honored to be named the Physician of the Year,” Richmond says. “I am privileged to have the roles of both an educator and a physician with the opportunity to help the Academy and help my patients.”

Richmond currently serves as program director for the University of Texas Southwestern Family Medicine Residency Program in Dallas. As program director, a position he has held since 2004, Richmond oversees the training of almost 30 family medicine residents. He started practicing in 1979 at the St. Paul Medical Center and has been an active family physician in Dallas ever since. He was awarded his medical degree by the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago in 1976, and completed a family medicine residency with the Corpus Christi Family Medicine Residency Program and Memorial Medical Center in 1979.

In his community, Richmond serves as the team physician for W.T. White High School, scoutmaster of Boy Scouts of America Troop 835, and as the attending physician for the UT Southwestern student-run free clinic in conjunction with North Dallas Shared Ministries. Richmond is also active with TAFP. He served as president of the TAFP Dallas Chapter in 1986, has served as the chairman of the TAFP Student and Resident Conference for 15 years and has been a member of the Education Committee since 1989. He has also volunteered to serve as Physician of the Day at the Texas Capitol during the 78th, 79th and 80th Legislative Sessions. Richmond is also a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians, the Dallas County Medical Society, the American Medical Association and the Texas Medical Association.

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Wichita Falls physician recognized for lifetime achievements

TAFP life member D. Clifford Burross, M.D., of Wichita Falls, was awarded the highest honor of the Texas Medical Association, the TMA Distinguished Service Award. Burross’ peers in the Wichita County Medical Society nominated the retired physician for his work for his community and the profession.

“Over the years, in taking care of my patients, I always hoped that they would consider me to be just like a member of their family,” Burross said in a TMA press release.

Burross practiced family medicine in Wichita Falls from 1957 to 1990. In 1990 he closed his practice and joined the faculty of the Wichita Falls Family Medicine Residency Program. Burross has been active with TMA over the years, serving as vice speaker, speaker, and president of TMA and of the TMF Health Quality Institute. In his community, Burross served on the Wichita Falls City Council and as president of the Texas Municipal League.

Fellow TAFP member Max Butler, M.D., of Houston presented Burross with the award. “Texas medicine and all of the people of Texas have benefited from his efforts,” Butler said of Burross in the presentation. “The lives of all who have been fortunate enough to know him and work with him all these years have been enhanced by his friendship and support.”

He has been a TAFP member since 1958 and serves as a member of the TAFP Committee on Academic Affairs. He served on the Texas State Board of Medical Examiners and on various committees of the National Board of Medical Examiners.

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Longtime Scout, family doc and community leader honored

The Three Rivers Council of the Boy Scouts of America in Beaumont named Port Arthur osteopathic physician Harvey H. Randolph, Jr., D.O., the 2006 Eagle Class Namesake. Each year the Three Rivers Council chooses an outstanding person who exhibits extraordinary work within scouting and within the larger community to serve as the namesake for the new class of Eagle Scouts.

Randolph became an Eagle Scout in 1957 in Troop 67 and has served as cubmaster and scoutmaster for other units of the Three Rivers Council. He is currently the assistant scoutmaster of Troop 51. Beyond his local chapter, Randolph has served on the medical staff for each of the National Boy Scout Jamborees from 1981 to 2005, has served on the National Eagle Scout Committee and has received numerous awards including the Scout Master Key Training Award, the St. George Award, the Johnny Tauber Award of Merit and the Silver Beaver Award, among others.

Randolph was awarded a bachelor’s degree from Lamar University in Beaumont and a doctor of osteopathy degree from Kirksville College in Oklahoma City, Okla. In addition to his membership in TAFP, Randolph is a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians; the American College of General Practice in Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery; the Texas Osteopathic Medical Association; and the Texas Society of Team Physicians. He is also the founder and past president of the American Osteopathic-Geriatric Medicine Association.

Randolph is a major in the U.S. Army Medical Corps Reserve and former commander of the 491st Army Reserve Medical Unit in Houston.

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Blackstock honored for service to family medicine, community

Mathis Blackstock, M.D., of Austin, has been recognized for his longtime service to family medicine. He was awarded the 2007 TAFP Physician Emeritus award at the 58th Annual Session and Scientific Assembly in Corpus Christi, Texas, July 28. Each year, patients and physicians nominate extraordinary long-serving physicians for the award and a panel of TAFP members chooses one to distinguish as Physician Emeritus.

In addition to 38 years of active medical practice, Blackstock spent more than 25 years as an educator for family medicine residents and students in the Austin area. He served as attending physician and faculty member for the Family Practice Residency Program, Central Texas Medical Foundation in Austin.

Professionally, he is active in issues regarding geriatrics, indigent health care and access to health care. Blackstock played a pivotal role in creating the Austin Groups for Elderly Programs. Nomination letters from patients describe his flexibility and willingness to provide health care after hours, on weekends and in their own homes. They also talk about his patience, dedication to medicine and willingness to listen to all of their concerns. Blackstock “always met the needs of the indigent, the poor,” a colleague wrote in a nomination letter. “It was never about the money, but the actual calling on people at all times and under all conditions.”

Blackstock was awarded a bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 1944, his medical degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston in 1948 and completed a general practice residency at the University of Colorado Medical Center in 1953. He served as president of the TAFP Travis County Chapter in 1960 and is currently a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Medical Association and the Texas Medical Association.

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Reports from AAFP’s NCSC and ALF conferences

National Conference of Special Constituencies

By Molly Nakyonyi Alakayi, M.D.

I attended AAFP’s National Conference of Special Constituencies as the minority physician representative for the Texas chapter. This was my second time to attend NCSC. I went to the conference with a lot of issues, ideas and enthusiasm. I had a better understanding of NCSC this time around than the first time. I went to the conference with a mission to accomplish. I had my agenda on-hand and strategies to achieve my goals. The first thing I did was sign up as a volunteer on the Reference Committee, which was charged with specific responsibilities.

The three days at the conference were very productive, rewarding and fulfilling. The time spent in the meeting rooms full of thinkers and do-ers was fantastic. There were useful, educative discussions, and realistic ideas about how to fix the problems we all experience in our practices. For issues that seemed to be too big or overly complex, we resolved to keep thinking and watching what others are doing. We resolved to coordinate our activities, share information and chip away at the issues over time. Some of the topics and issues were made into resolutions to be addressed by the AAFP Board of Directors.

As a volunteer on the Reference Committee, I was able to analyze, synthesize and digest the issues discussed during the minority meetings. I actively participated with the committee members by listening to testimonies of members for and against the proposed resolutions. After listening to the testimonies, the committee members met and discussed each resolution in detail. The reference committee came up with its report of recommendations, which was presented to the members. The members had a final meeting to discuss and vote on the resolutions. The resolutions that were passed during the last meeting were to be forwarded to the AAFP Board of Directors for further action. Some of the resolutions and their intended actions will likely result in real action and change for the benefit of our patients and our specialty. Among the resolutions that were passed and forwarded to the AAFP Board of Directors are:

• Establishing an office of minority health;
• Establishing minority health fellowships to reduce and eliminate racial and ethnic health care disparities;
• Establishing educational programs to reduce and eliminate racial and ethnic health care disparities;
• Supporting research to identify and develop interventions to reduce and eliminate racial and ethnic disparities; and
• Marketing to patients the benefits of medical homes versus retail clinics.

At NCSC there was also a message from AAFP President Rick Kellerman, M.D., stating that family medicine and the health care system need to change for every American to have a personal medical home. The Academy president reviewed the Academy’s progress in public sector and private sector advocacy and in developing pragmatic tools for family physicians. That progress includes greater visibility on Capitol Hill, in corporate boardrooms and among health insurers. It also encompasses new knowledge garnered by TransforMED and Preparing the Personal Physician for Practice, or the P4 Initiative.

The keynote speaker, Eduardo Sanchez, M.D., talked about improving the health of our patients and our population and the need to deliver a message that is concise and can make a real difference.

NCSC was a great meeting and an encouragement about the strength of the future leadership of our Academy. It was very positive to see the diversity of our Academy and hear of the issues that impact not only our minority physician constituency but the issues that are important to other groups of NCSC. It is my conviction that NCSC will continue to find new ways to make the system better for our patients. Definitely mark your calendar for the 2008 NCSC—this is a must-attend conference.

Annual Leadership Forum

By Gil C. Grimes, M.D.

For anyone interested in a leadership position within the Texas Academy of Family Physicians, a trip to AAFP’s Annual Leadership Forum in Kansas City, Mo., should be on your schedule. This three-day conference held in conjunction with NCSC is a learning-rich environment. This year I was fortunate enough to receive a generous scholarship from TAFP to attend this conference to build and hone my skills as a leader, an opportunity for which I am very grateful to have been given.

The forum covered many skills that effective leaders need to deliver their best to their constituency and to the membership. The forum offered lectures on topics ranging from chapter functions such as revitalization, collaboration and financial stewardship, to primers on cultivating and influencing legislative contacts, framing questions for debate and interacting effectively with the media.

This leadership forum began with a keynote address from Terry Paulson, Ph.D. He spoke on the role and function of a leader to make change work. He focused on the importance of leadership to serve as the early detection system for change that will affect the members but may not necessarily be visible to everyone, to communicate these risks and opportunities, and mobilize the members to seize the opportunities and avoid the risks. In this role, the leader must communicate the WHY behind the change and focus the members on the opportunities that change opens for them. An additional role of an effective leader is to celebrate the successes of the Academy and its members. In celebrating the membership and their hard work, the leader is shining a spotlight on the work the Academy does—that is, the work of the members. A good leader is proud of the Academy he or she serves and, like a proud parent, is ready to show off the wonderful work of the members. Finally, Paulson focused on the importance of leaders confronting risks that face the organization, daring to stimulate change and fighting for the benefit of the Academy. In this role the leader must manifest the change he is seeking and serve the membership as an example of that change.

Finally, the forum offered an opportunity to celebrate several folks from Texas. Kathy McCarthy, director of member services and operations, was recognized for her completion of the certification association executive degree. We also had the first of many opportunities to recognize the generous and long-standing service of Jim White, executive director to the Texas Academy for the past 25 years.

It was an exciting week full of opportunities to learn and grow, as well as a chance to talk with and learn from key leaders in the Texas and National academies. I am profoundly grateful for the opportunity the Texas Academy provided and hope I provide a healthy return in service to the members who have made this possible.

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Family medicine residents and students awarded scholarships

Congratulations to the 2007 Family Medicine Residents and Students National Conference scholarship winners, 11 of whom are from Texas. Each student or resident will receive a $600 scholarship to attend the National Conference Aug. 1-4, 2007, in Kansas City, Mo. The scholarships were awarded in several categories, including the Minority Scholarship Program for Family Medicine Residents and Medical Students, First-time Student Attendee Award, Student Community Outreach Award, Tomorrow’s Leader Award, Tobacco Cessation Award and FMIG Leadership Award.

The Texas recipients are Matt Cope, Jessica Dalby, Winfred Frazier, Kristi Krenek, Nisha Varghese and Anne Whitney-Obousy for the First-time Student Attendee Award; Suhail Shaikh, M.D., and Eddie Turner, M.D., for the Minority Scholarship Program for Family Medicine Residents; Daniel Contreras and Jessica Sotelo for the Minority Scholarship Program for Medical Students; and Benjamin Stahl, M.D., for the Tomorrow’s Leader Award.

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TAFP bids farewell to its last charter member

TAFP charter member Perry Post, M.D., died June 4 at the age of 92. The San Antonio family physician practiced medicine in Boerne briefly before serving in the Army Medical Corps during WWII where he attained the rank of major. After his military service, Post returned to practice family medicine in the Jefferson area of San Antonio.

Post served on the faculty for the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio as a professor in the Department of Family Medicine and the

director of the Student Health Center. After retiring from the University faculty in 1983, he worked as clinic director for family planning clinics on the south and east sides of San Antonio until 1998.

He was awarded his medical degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston in 1938. Post was named Physician of the Year twice by the TAFP Alamo chapter, of which he was also a charter member. Post also served as President of the Bexar County Medical Society in 1972.

Dorothy, Post’s wife of nearly 66 years, died three days after him. Post is survived by his daughters, Martha Keating and her husband, Roderic, Marilyn Wright, and Nancy Hester and her husband, Stephen; six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

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TAFP inducts new officers