This month's recipe spotlight is Easy Crockpot Taco Soup by Dr. Kristy Edwards! With hearty ground beef, beans, corn, and tomatoes, this comforting meal comes together with minimal preparation and can easily be doubled for leftovers or frozen for another day.

Easy Taco Soup Slow Cooker Meal 

1lb. lean ground beef browned with 1 diced medium onion 

• Drain beef and onion mixture

Add 1 package of taco soup seasoning and water per instructions

• Meal prep tip: Buy fresh beef, prepare 5-10 lbs. at a time and freeze in quart size 1 lb. portions

Soup preparation in Crock Pot

1lb. taco seasoned beef (can be frozen)

1 15 oz. can corn undrained

1 15 oz. can of black or red beans

1 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes (can add rotel for more spice) undrained

1 package of ranch dressing seasoning

Recipe easily doubles or triples and can be frozen.

Top soup with cheese, sour cream, and avocado slices. Serve with cornbread or corn chips.

May drain and serve on top of a bed of lettuce for taco salad. 

Your well-being takeaway: You don't have to plan every meal perfectly. Even one small step toward preparing ahead can help make a busy week feel more manageable.

Give this easy recipe a try and make a little more room in your week for what matters to you!

This month, the TAFP Well-Being Task Force encourages you to identify one small action that supports your own health. It might be taking a real lunch break, reconnecting with a friend, stepping outside between appointments, or setting a boundary that protects your time away from work.

Well-being doesn't require a complete life overhaul. Small, intentional changes can create opportunities to recharge and reconnect with what makes medicine meaningful.

Your challenge: What is one thing you can do this week to care for yourself as intentionally as you care for your patients?

We’d love to hear what you did! Please share with us your responses to tafpwellbeing@gmail.com. We may share or feature you in our next newsletter posts! 

The updated site helps you quickly access information about:

• CPAN and PeriPAN,
• Upcoming trainings,
• Enduring CME opportunities,
• Evidence-based resources, and
• The full range of programs and services available through the consortium.

Whether you are a longtime user or visiting for the first time, we hope you will take a few minutes to explore the updated site. We encourage you to learn more about how CPAN and PeriPAN support pediatric and perinatal clinicians across Texas. Be sure to check out the enduring CMEs and the search functions to find specific topics and materials.

Call CPAN/PeriPAN with questions: (888) 901-2726.

AstraZeneca, one of TAFP’s Partners in Health, recently shared two resources that you can share with patients. Help your patients take an active role in managing their blood pressure with two easy-to-use resources. Know Your Numbers explains blood pressure categories and lifestyle changes that can help lower blood pressure, while How to Take Your Blood Pressure at Home provides six practical tips for getting accurate readings and tracking results between visits.

TAFP’s Partners in Health program connects family physicians with organizations committed to supporting family medicine and promoting the health of all Texans. Our Partners provide patient education and high-value tools designed to help family physicians and their care teams deliver well-coordinated, comprehensive primary care. Go to Partners in Health to learn more.

Kisha Davis, MD, MPH, was installed as president during the Congress of Delegates meeting in Nashville earlier this month. 

As a family physician and public health advocate, Dr. Davis brings a deep commitment to advancing health equity, strengthening care delivery and mentoring the next generation of family physicians. 

“I’ve always valued having a foot in both the policy and clinical worlds. They inform each other, and each makes the other stronger,” Davis said. “Everyone deserves a family physician — someone who knows about diabetes and depression, the medical history and the story behind it. Through that firsthand experience, we see what works, where barriers remain and what communities need to thrive. Family physicians can bring those perspectives to the policy table to build a health care system that works better for everyone.”

Read our full press release here.

 
Family physicians: HHS must remove barriers to treating congenital syphilis 

Earlier this month, Davis spoke at an HHS event focused on congenital syphilis. She emphasized that congenital syphilis is preventable, but prevention requires more than screening. Patients need timely treatment, follow-up, partner services, and coordinated care.

She also emphasized that family physicians often encounter patients before, during, and after pregnancy and can play a critical role in identifying infection and connecting patients to care.

HHS can help patients by supporting medication access, strengthening public health capacity and care coordination and addressing payment and coverage barriers that delay care.

AAFP to FCC: Improve telecommunications and telehealth services

Why it matters: 

Accessible telecommunications and telehealth services have become increasingly important as rural communities confront a shrinking primary care workforce. 

Family physicians have long advocated for reliable connectivity, which helps rural practices to access electronic health records, prescribe medications, exchange clinical information, coordinate care, provide telehealth services and support remote patient monitoring. Connectivity also enables family physicians to maintain continuity with established patients that may not otherwise be available locally. 

What we’re working on:

AAFP led a joint letter with the Council of Academic Family Medicine to the Federal Communications Commission urging them to support accessible telecommunications and telehealth services in rural settings. We recommend the FFC:

• Use existing federal definitions of rural areas to make the program simpler and more consistent;
• Make sure telecommunications funding meets the needs of the most remote and underserved rural, Tribal, frontier and isolated communities;
• Treat backup internet service as essential for patient safety, continuous care, telehealth and physician training;
• Do not place added compliance burdens on rural physicians if contract requirements change; and
• Keep enough data to measure access, participation and fairness before removing Healthcare Connect Fund reporting requirements.

Leading physicians: AI cannot replace us

Why it matters: 

As midterm elections approach, Congress is considering several bills that will improve access to primary care, including the Patients First Act, which is a concrete step toward modernizing a payment system that has historically undervalued primary care.

What we’re working on: 

AAFP submitted a statement for the record for a House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee legislative hearing to address Medicare payment challenges. 

Our letter expresses our support for long-overdue reforms to Medicare physician payment and highlighted four bills under consideration: the Patients First Act, the Provider Reimbursement Stability Act, Medicare Physician Data-driven Performance Payment System Act and the Rural Obstetrics Readiness Act. 

It also expresses our strong concerns with the Ensuring Community Access to Pharmacist Services Act.

AAFP supports legislation to improve access to obstetric care

AI should support, not replace the patient-physician relationship. AAFP joined the American Medical Association and other physician groups in rejecting claims that AI is broadly superior to physicians, or that physicians cannot be trusted to make clinical decisions without consulting it. These claims misrepresent the evidence and risk undermining patients' trust.

We will continue advocating to ensure AI never becomes another tool for denying care, increasing administrative burden or undermining physician judgment and the patient-physician relationship.

AAFP urges Senate to improve access, affordability

Why it matters: 

Health care reforms are needed to improve access and affordability for patients. This issue continues to be top of mind for family physicians and the communities, families, and individuals they care for all across the country. 

What we’re working on: 

AAFP provided the Senate Finance Committee with recommendations to improve coverage, access and affordability for patients.

Our letter highlighted the need for policymakers to:

• Establish a national standardized primary care benefit with either no or reduced cost-sharing;
• Increase investment in primary care; and
• Improve continuity of care across coverage transitions.

It also outlines recommendations to address prior authorization, claims denials, insurer transparency, corporate consolidation, vertical integration, and administrative burden while strengthening support for independent physician practices and direct primary care models.

Family physicians stress need for menopause care training

AAFP submitted a statement for the record in response to a recent Senate Aging Committee hearing on closing the menopause care gap. Our letter noted the evolving nature of menopause care guidelines and the urgent need to invest in training physicians to provide up-to-date menopause care. We also called for more research to expand access to evidence-based care and highlighted the ongoing role of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality in ensuring evidence-based menopause guidelines are implemented into practice.

Department of Homeland Security releases new H-1B proposed rule

Why it matters: 

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has proposed a $103,265 fee for cap-subject H-1B petitions, on top of existing filing fees. If finalized, the fee would represent one of the most significant increases in employment-based immigration filing costs in U.S. history. 

The proposal follows recent litigation that blocked the administration’s earlier effort to require a $100,000 payment for certain H-1B workers entering from abroad. The new proposal would apply broadly to cap-subject H-1B petitions regardless of where the worker is located.

Most internationally trained physicians on H-1B visas are cap-exempt, meaning this proposed fee generally would not apply. Cap-exempt employers typically include institutions of higher education, qualifying affiliated nonprofits, and certain government and nonprofit research organizations. For family physicians and practices, the key question is whether employers qualify as cap-exempt.

What we’re working on: 

AAFP led a sign-on letter to the Department of Homeland Security and urged the agency to:

• Recognize physicians, dentists and trainees as serving a permanent national medical interest warranting special consideration under H-1B policies; 
• Establish a permanent exemption for physicians and dentists from H-1B-related fees and restrictions, regardless of whether the petition is cap-subject or cap-exempt; 
• Continue efforts to improve visa processing efficiency and reduce administrative barriers affecting physicians, residents, fellows, researchers, and other medical professionals; and 
• Work with Congress to advance durable legislative solutions, including the H-1Bs for the Physicians and Healthcare Workforce Act (H.R. 7961).

AAFP asks FDA to ensure physicians lead on AI in medical devices

Why it matters: 

Clinical AI should support, not replace, physician judgment and should never be allowed to weaken the patient-physician relationship. Physicians need enough information, time, authority and practical ability to review, change, reject, or reverse an AI-influenced clinical action. 

What we’re working on: 

AAFP wrote to the FDA and urged the agency to keep physicians at the center of clinical AI oversight. We recommended that the FDA:

• Use a risk-based approach that protects patient safety, equity, privacy and trust — while ensuring physicians can review, change or reject AI-driven clinical actions;
• Test AI in real-world settings and judge risk by what a tool does, its potential harm and whether users can verify and correct its output; and
• Require strong evidence, ongoing monitoring and manufacturer accountability, with added safeguards for AI that can act independently. 

AAFP asks CMS to improve Medicaid interoperability

Why it matters: 

Better interoperability can reduce fragmented care and make it easier to share health information without adding administrative burden. AAFP has long advocated for regulations that foster successful Medicaid modernization. This requires consistent standards, input from key stakeholders and practical implementation for physician practices.

As CMS and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention consider potential updates to the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 regulations, AAFP is urging the agencies to modernize laboratory requirements in ways that support quality, patient safety and access to diagnostic services without creating unnecessary burdens for physician office laboratories.

What we’re working on:

AAFP wrote to CMS and urged the agency to: 

• Support flexible, standards-based interoperability;
• Prioritize real-world testing and implementation support; and
• Align Medicaid technology requirements with broader federal interoperability efforts to improve care coordination and patient outcomes.

What we're reading

AAFP EVP and CEO, Shawn Martin, and Dr. Kyu Rhee, CEO of the National Association of Community Health Centers, wrote an op-ed in Fierce Healthcare making the case for a Primary Care Triple Double. “We are applying those principles to healthcare: double investment in primary care, double the reach of primary care, starting with community health centers, and double the share of clinicians entering primary care. Our ask of lawmakers is to align policy, financing and recruitment efforts around what we know will help patients: better access to community-based primary care.”

Is AI coming to the Medicare Annual Wellness Visit? MedPage Today cites AAFP’s letter on the 2027 Medicare physician fee schedule proposed rule. 

AAFP’s SVP of external affairs and practice experience, Stephanie Quinn, wrote an op-ed on how direct contracting can put health care dollars back to work.

For the latest policy updates impacting family medicine, follow us at @aafp_advocacy.

Jason Ramm, MD, FAAFP, began his career as an employed family physician in Sulphur, Louisiana, before transitioning to private practice, where he spent more than a decade providing full-spectrum family medicine. His work spanned outpatient, inpatient, intensive care, nursing home, and endoscopy services, alongside leadership roles in hospital governance, including serving a term as medical staff president. This introduction to physician leadership paved the way for the future of his career.

In 2014, Ramm joined Baylor Scott & White Health, where his passion for physician leadership expanded. He served as a clinic medical director in both Temple and Killeen, then vice chair of the Department of Family Medicine at Baylor Scott & White in Temple, where he became chair in 2023. He is also currently an assistant professor of family and community medicine at the Temple campus of Baylor College of Medicine.

Throughout his career, Ramm has remained committed to the values that first drew him to family medicine including relationships, continuity, service, and comprehensive care. His leadership experience has expanded that commitment to developing clinical teams, improving health care systems, and advancing the future of primary care.

Who or what inspired you to become a family physician?
As the son of a coach, then school superintendent of small towns across East Texas, my model of a doctor was the local family physician. I was always intrigued with medical care and how people viewed and responded to the local physician. There were several physicians who were instrumental in my interest in family medicine over the years. Sometime in about the eighth grade, I began to feel the call to be a physician. I entered medical school and as I went through the rotations of third year, I realized that I liked many different aspects of medicine. I spent six weeks with a general practitioner in the south of England during my training. The ability to not only treat chronic disease, but to help prevent illness spoke to me. This really solidified my decision to enter family medicine.

What ultimately drew you to being a physician executive?
I never had the ambition to become a leader or executive. I entered medicine to serve people and reduce suffering. I believe that this has been a calling, as well as my love for family medicine. I have always been interested in problem solving (likely the main reason for medicine), and when I have been in clinics or in the hospital, I am constantly looking for better ways to serve patients and those who serve patients. I was very reluctant to accept the ask to serve as interim chair as I did not want to give up any of my practice. A wise person told me that by serving in a leadership role I could impact many more lives than I could by just practicing family medicine. I jumped in with both feet and have not looked back.

What unique challenges are represented in your patient community?
Being in the “new Golden Triangle of Texas,” we are in a rapidly growing population. Access to great primary care has become our biggest challenge. Although this is not unique to us in central Texas, it is problem that must be addressed for the good of our patients across the country. We have worked on ways to be able to utilize space, manpower, and resources in the most efficient ways. 

I am proud that we at Baylor Scott & White are leading the way for utilizing AI for documentation, response to patient messages, and interpretation of lab results, which relieves burnout on our physicians, improves turnaround time for patient messages, and increases access for patient care. We are also working on expanding virtual care such as video visits, phone visits, and asynchronous care to better serve more patients without expanding physical space. 

Changing payment, including the reduction in the exchange programs and the increase in self-pay patients, is the other great challenge. Moving from a fee-for-service to a value-based care system has required new thinking on how to work within a system where specialty and inpatient care have driven finances in the past.

Why do you choose to be a TAFP member?
TAFP brings the family physicians of the state together, allowing us to have a unified voice and share in finding solutions to an ever-evolving medical landscape. I love working with family physicians across the state to improve care for our patients. I believe that if we truly work together, we can figure out the best ways to give the best care to the most people.

What do you enjoy doing outside of medicine?
I love to spend time with my family and friends, fish, and serve in my church. Now that my children are grown, I look forward to traveling with my wife, Naomi.

TAFP’s Member of the Month program highlights Texas family physicians in TAFP News Now and on the TAFP website. We feature a biography and a Q&A with a different TAFP member each month and his or her unique approach to family medicine. If you know an outstanding family physician colleague who you think should be featured as a Member of the Month or if you’d like to tell your own story, nominate yourself or your colleague by contacting TAFP by email at tafp@tafp.org or by phone at (512) 329-8666. 

Sarah Ashitey, MD, practices at Southwest Family Medicine Associates in Dallas and is a member of TAFP’s Board of Directors. If you’re planning to attend ASPCS, don’t miss her talk on Sunday, “The prescription we never wrote ourselves.” 

In this Q&A with Ashitey, learn more about her background, her passion for supporting well-being, and the insights she’ll share to help family physicians prioritize personal and professional wellness. We look forward to highlighting her contributions and bringing greater awareness to the importance of well-being in our profession!

What does physician well-being mean to you, and how has your perspective changed throughout your career?
Well-being to me is a place of peace, comfort, and happiness across multiple areas of my life including my health (mental and physical), family, finances, and career. I used to think being financially secure led to a state of well-being; however, I soon found out after residency that that was not enough. 

What is a misconception about physician burnout or well-being that you wish more people understood?
Burnout is not something that happens to the weak. At least 40 percent of physicians have reported a symptom of burnout with rates above 60 percent during the pandemic. Knowing this common experience we share, I believe, can be a source of connection rather than isolation, and the beginning of the permission we need to seek help.

What is one thing that has helped you maintain your well-being in your day-to-day life?
Boundaries and getting honest about the cost of not keeping them with myself. Early on I thought boundaries were about saying no to other people but over time I’ve learned they're really about saying yes to what I've already committed to: my family, my health, and my patients when I'm in the room with them as my best self. 

When I let a boundary slide by staying late one more time, taking the call on my day off, or opening the inbox at 10 p.m., I always pay for it later somewhere in my life. It shows up as a skipped morning workout, fatigue, or not having enough time with my family which matters so much to me. 

So now when I'm tempted to bend, I consider the cost and who pays. It’s no longer about being selfish but how I’m taking care of my future self and those in my life. 

What gives you hope for the future of physician well-being?
There are two things that give me hope for our future. First, learning about the tools that have been proven to work. We have colleagues among us who have been successful at doing that. I will talk more about that in my upcoming lecture at ASPCS. 

Second, the work of the TAFP Physician Well-Being Task Force. I am excited about the upcoming collaboration and opportunity to learn from each other: what is working well in our different work environments and personal lives and how can we support each other. 

What is the one key message you hope members take away from your presentation during this year's TAFP Annual Session and Primary Care Summit?
You are not alone. Be kind to yourself. Counterintuitive as it sounds, the evidence is clear: self-compassion lowers burnout.

Ashitey's lecture at ASPCS is the first presentation to come out of the Dharma Wellness Initiative. We hope to see you there!

Thousands of family physicians and other health care professionals traveled from across the country to Nashville 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. Thank you to all TAFP members for attending, including this year’s Texas delegation: Clare Hawkins, MD, MSc; Emily Briggs, MD, MPH; Tricia Elliott, MD, MBA; and Janet Hurley, MD, MBA. Briggs was reappointed as chair of AAFP’s delegation to the American Medical Association.

For the first time ever, Texas also had four delegates representing the member constituencies. Astrud Villareal, MD, and Carmella DeSerto, MD, served as alternate delegates as the representatives for the women’s constituency and the LGBTQ+ constituency, respectively. Joaquin Villegas, MD, MPH, and Kenneth Barning, MD, served as delegates. Thank you all for representing Texas well!

AAFP also honored this year’s award winners during COD, including two residents from Texas who won the Award for Excellence in Graduate Medical Education. AAFP only honors 12 residents nationwide with this annual award, recognizing their exemplary patient care, leadership, and community involvement. 

Nayeli Fuentes, MD, is a third-year resident at the University of Texas at Tyler Family Medicine Residency program. She is the first physician in her family and considers this award to be a testament to her perseverance and commitment to breaking barriers for not only her patients, but also future generations of family physicians. 

Timothy Ihongbe, MD, MPH, PhD, is a third-year resident and chief resident at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center of the Permian Basin. He is particularly proud of his work teaching difficult concepts, helping colleagues, creating resources for clinical practice, and turning learning environment problems into opportunities to improve. Congratulations to Drs. Fuentes and Ihongbe!

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 gathered at City Winery in downtown Nashville for fellowship time with colleagues, refreshments, and a good time! Thank you to everyone who joined us.

Thank you again to everyone who traveled to Nashville to represent Texas at yet another great AAFP Congress of Delegates and FMX.

View more photos on TAFP's Instagram

AstraZeneca, one of TAFP’s Partners in Health, shared a concise resource highlighting key recommendations from the 2025 AHA/ACC hypertension guideline. It includes blood pressure treatment goals, risk-based thresholds for initiating therapy, and the use of the AHA PREVENT Calculator to help estimate 10-year cardiovascular risk. 

Designed as a quick reference for clinical practice, the guide also covers strategies to improve blood pressure control, follow-up recommendations for patients with uncontrolled hypertension, and common causes of secondary hypertension. 

TAFP’s Partners in Health program connects family physicians with organizations committed to supporting family medicine and promoting the health of all Texans. Our Partners provide patient education and high-value tools designed to help family physicians and their care teams deliver well-coordinated, comprehensive primary care. Go to Partners in Health to learn more.

The 2026 report, From Rescue to Moonshot, documents a rural maternity care system still under significant strain. Sixty percent of rural Texas counties are maternity care deserts — counties without maternity care services — and 65% of rural hospitals no longer provide maternity care. Among rural hospitals that continue to offer labor and delivery services, 20% are at risk of stopping. Statewide, inadequate maternity care access affects nearly 272,000 women and 18,000 births each year. 

The report also finds that 52% of Texas counties have no obstetric clinician, while another 7.9% have only one. Fifty-eight percent of rural counties lack sufficient primary care capacity, including one in five with no primary care physician — an important concern because primary care practices provide essential preventive and medical care before, during, and after pregnancy.  

“Research shows that when maternal care services close in a rural community, they practically never come back,” said Kia Parsi, MD, executive director of the Texas A&M Rural and Community Health Institute. “And we know pregnant moms in maternal care deserts have poorer outcomes, leading to increased morbidity and mortality. That is why the work of the Rural Texas Maternal Health Assembly is so important.”

The Rural Maternal Health Assembly first convened in 2024, bringing together more than 40 organizations representing rural health care clinicians, hospitals, academic institutions, consumer advocates, foundations, and other stakeholders. The group was created to develop a cohesive, consensus-driven set of state policy reforms aimed at improving rural maternal health access. 

The Assembly’s first Rural Texas Maternal Health Rescue Plan identified 12 policy priorities and placed the most urgent recommendations in a “Code Red” category. During the 89th Texas Legislature, lawmakers enacted three of the four Code Red priorities in whole or in part, including reforms involving rural hospital Medicaid payments, investments in the rural maternal health workforce, and funding for Texas women’s health programs. 

Those actions included passage of House Bill 18, the Rural Health Stabilization and Innovation Act, along with $150 million in enhanced biennial funding aimed at strengthening rural hospital financial stability. But the report notes that rural maternity care continued to contract: two additional rural Texas hospitals suspended labor and delivery services in 2025. 

“Rural OB nurses and physicians are incredibly resourceful, but resourcefulness should never be the healthcare system’s plan,” said Mandy Pugh, MSN, CNM, C-EFM, RNC-OB, rural representative for the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses. “Mothers and babies deserve safe maternity care close to home, and rural clinicians deserve the support to provide it.” 

Following the 2025 legislative session, the Assembly reconvened, with the Texas Association of Community Health Centers joining the original conveners — the Texas A&M Rural and Community Health Institute, Texas Academy of Family Physicians, Texas Organization of Rural and Community Hospitals, and Texas Health Institute. The resulting second edition builds on the progress of the previous session while identifying additional steps needed to preserve and expand access to care. 

At the center of the new report is a call for a Healthy Rural Texas Pregnancy Moonshot — a multi-year, coordinated, visible, and funded state strategy designed to safeguard and extend maternal health services to rural women and measurably improve rural maternal health outcomes within five years. 

The report identifies four new Code Red priorities for state policymakers:

1. Modernize Medicaid maternal health delivery models and payments to improve the availability and timeliness of care provided by rural maternal health professionals.
2. Strengthen the rural maternal health workforce by expanding training pipelines and incentive programs for clinical and nonclinical health professionals committed to rural practice.
3. Sustain investments in rural hospitals and community health centers to protect maternity care services and build greater maternal health capacity and innovation.
4. Launch Project Healthy Rural Texas Pregnancies, a coordinated campaign and resource center to help rural communities increase access to and coordination of preventive and maternal health services. 

The report emphasizes that access to maternity care involves more than preserving hospital labor and delivery units. Healthy pregnancies also depend on timely preventive, preconception, prenatal, and postpartum care. Yet 22.8% of Texas women receive inadequate or no prenatal care, a rate higher than the national average, and access is even more limited in rural counties. 

“East Texas spans a large, mostly rural service area where distance, limited maternity capacity, and workforce shortages can delay routine prenatal care as well as urgent obstetric evaluation and transfer,” said Stephen Patrick, MD, professor of medical education and clerkship director for obstetrics and gynecology at The University of Texas at Tyler School of Medicine. “By advancing the recommendations of the Rural Maternal Health Assembly, the Legislature can give local health systems greater capacity to provide timely, coordinated, and safer care for women and families across rural East Texas — and indeed, every rural county.” 

The Assembly argues that without deliberate intervention, market forces alone cannot sustain essential maternal health services across sparsely populated areas of the state. Once maternity services disappear from rural communities, the report warns, they rarely return. 

The complete 2026 Rural Texas Maternal Health Rescue Plan: From Rescue to Moonshot is available at https://architexas.org/programs/maternal-health/index.html.

About the Rural Texas Maternal Health Assembly

The Rural Texas Maternal Health Assembly is a multidisciplinary coalition convened to identify and advance consensus-driven policies that improve access to maternal health care in rural Texas. The Assembly is convened by the Texas A&M Rural and Community Health Institute, Texas Academy of Family Physicians, Texas Health Institute, Texas Organization of Rural and Community Hospitals, and Texas Association of Community Health Centers, with participation from organizations representing health care professionals, hospitals and health centers, academic institutions, advocates, foundations, and other stakeholders.

From growing up alongside her parents’ medical mission work to now caring for her own patients, Ana Oliveira Crew, DO, MPH, has built a career centered on service, connection, and comprehensive care. She provides full-spectrum primary care at Baylor Scott & White in Waco, with a focus on preventive medicine and chronic disease management, while also teaching and mentoring future family physicians at Baylor College of Medicine. Crew is deeply committed to accessible, culturally responsive, and relationship-centered care and says she has always been guided by serving communities.

Who or what inspired you to become a family physician?
I was inspired by my parents, who were Brazilian medical missionaries. Growing up, I traveled with them to underserved communities in Peru, Costa Rica, Mexico, and other countries where they provided free medical, dental, and educational services. From an early age, I witnessed the impact that compassionate, culturally sensitive healthcare can have on individuals and families. Family medicine felt like the perfect fit because it allows me to care for patients across all stages of life while building meaningful, long-term relationships.

What are your practice passions?
I am passionate about preventive care and empowering patients to take charge of their health before chronic diseases become more serious. I especially enjoy caring for patients with diabetes, obesity, and thyroid disorders, helping them achieve healthier lives through education and partnership. I also have a heart for reducing language and cultural barriers in healthcare and ensuring that every patient feels heard, understood, and respected.

You recently joined TAFP — welcome! What do you look forward to getting out of your membership?
I'm excited to connect with family physicians across Texas who share a commitment to providing excellent patient care. I look forward to learning from colleagues, staying current on advances in family medicine, advocating for our specialty, and finding opportunities to collaborate on improving the health of our communities. As both a practicing physician and educator, I also value the chance to grow professionally and bring new knowledge back to my patients and students.

What has surprised you most about family medicine?
What continues to surprise me is the incredible privilege of walking alongside patients through so many chapters of their lives. Family medicine is about much more than treating illnesses, it's about earning trust, celebrating milestones, navigating challenges together, and often caring for multiple generations within the same family. Those lasting relationships are one of the most rewarding aspects of our specialty and remind me every day why I chose family medicine.

What do you enjoy doing outside of medicine?
Outside of work, my greatest joy is spending time with my husband and our three young boys. I also enjoy watching my kids play competitive soccer, taking long walks with my husband, reading, and working on puzzles. I am also very involved with a local church in Waco and enjoy leading or co-leading women’s Bible studies and serving in the youth ministry. These activities help me recharge and remind me of the importance of balance and staying connected with God, family, and our local community.

TAFP’s Member of the Month program highlights Texas family physicians in TAFP News Now and on the TAFP website. We feature a biography and a Q&A with a different TAFP member each month and his or her unique approach to family medicine. If you know an outstanding family physician colleague who you think should be featured as a Member of the Month or if you’d like to tell your own story, nominate yourself or your colleague by contacting TAFP by email at tafp@tafp.org or by phone at (512) 329-8666. 

Why it matters:

Patients are hearing mixed messages about vaccines. To help cut through the confusion, AAFP released its fall immunization recommendations on COVID-19, influenza and RSV immunizations, in coordination with the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the American Medical Association, as part of the Vaccine Integrity Project. 

Read our full press release and for a complete list of recommendations and immunization resources, visit aafp.org/vaccines or familydoctor.org/immunizations. 

AAFP will always advocate for evidence-based and science-backed medicine. Respiratory immunizations should be widely available, easy to locate and affordable for everyone. Caring for our community means removing the barriers that patients run into when trying to protect themselves and their families.

What we’re working on: Our work to highlight the importance of immunizations and prevent policy changes that would reduce vaccine access remain a top priority. 

• AAFP’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Margot Savoy, wrote in the Dallas Morning News about the importance of staying up to date on childhood immunizations. 
• In response to the president’s executive order to change the childhood immunization schedule, AAFP remained firm: vaccines are essential to preventing serious illness and death. Read our full statement, and our joint statement with more than 210 medical groups opposing the order. 
• AAFP submitted a preliminary response to a Request for Information (RFI) from the Department of Health and Human Services that indicates HHS is considering changes to federal vaccine recommendation categories, timing and sequencing of vaccinations, and more. 
• AAFP and a coalition of 70 organizations called on the agency to extend the comment period to October 23 — a 60-day period instead of 27 — to allow for thoughtful and informed feedback from stakeholders. 
• AAFP also responded to the full RFI last week, urging HHS to protect transparent, evidence-based vaccine policymaking. Our response emphasized the need to meaningfully engage clinicians in developing and implementing vaccine recommendations, so they are scientifically sound, practical in real-world care and trusted by physicians and patients. 
• We also urged HHS to preserve established evidence review methods, clarify the shared clinical decision-making category and ensure any terminology changes do not create new barriers to vaccine access, coverage, or eligibility.

LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

Physician leaders tell lawmakers to protect primary care

Physician leaders from AAFP, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Physicians, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American Osteopathic Association and American Psychiatric Association recently went to Capitol Hill to advocate for policies that strengthen primary care and protect patients’ access to care.

Their advocacy focused on four critical priorities:

• Protecting access to community health centers and the National Health Service Corps: Community health centers serve 34 million patients each year, while the NHSC helps bring clinicians to communities with the greatest need. We urged Congress to extend funding before it lapses at the end of 2026.
• Protecting vaccine integrity: Leaders called on Congress to protect the integrity of evidence-based and science-backed immunization recommendations and ensure patients can continue to access life-saving vaccines without cost-sharing.
• Modernizing Medicare payment for primary care: We highlighted the Patients First Act as an important step toward a Medicare payment system that reflects the realities of primary care and supports physicians’ work to keep patients healthy.
• Protecting Medicaid coverage: We opposed Medicaid work requirements that will result in millions of Americans losing coverage and administrative burdens for patients and clinicians.

AAFP shares fall priorities with Congress

Why it matters: 

With the 119th Congress ending in December, family physicians are urging Congress to advance time-sensitive, bipartisan policies that will improve access to care for patients across the country. 

What we’re working on: 

Specifically, AAFP is advocating for passage of:

• Long-overdue reforms to the Medicare physician payment system, as proposed in the Patients First Act (H.R. 9693), that would alleviate the looming reduction to payment rates for 2027;
• Necessary reforms to the use of prior authorization processes by insurers — which take time away from patients and can result in care delays — including the Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act (H.R. 3514 / S. 1816)
• Longer-term, robust funding for both community health centers and the National Health Service Corps to keep physicians in high-need areas, as both face expiration on December 31; and
• The H-1Bs for Physicians and the Healthcare Workforce Act (H.R. 7961), which would protect patient access to primary care, especially in rural and underserved communities, by exempting foreign-born physicians from the new $100,000 employer fee.

You can read our full letter here.

Family physicians ask Congress to support payment reform

Why it matters: 

As midterm elections approach, Congress is considering several bills that will improve access to primary care, including the Patients First Act, which is a concrete step toward modernizing a payment system that has historically undervalued primary care.

What we’re working on: 

AAFP submitted a statement for the record for a House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee legislative hearing to address Medicare payment challenges. 

Our letter expresses our support for long-overdue reforms to Medicare physician payment and highlighted four bills under consideration: the Patients First Act, the Provider Reimbursement Stability Act, Medicare Physician Data-driven Performance Payment System Act and the Rural Obstetrics Readiness Act. 

It also expresses our strong concerns with the Ensuring Community Access to Pharmacist Services Act.

AAFP supports legislation to improve access to obstetric care

Why it matters: 

Over 35% of counties nationwide are maternity care deserts — and since 2021, nearly 140 rural hospitals have stopped providing obstetric services or announced that they will stop by the end of this year. This will force many pregnant patients to travel long distances when urgent care is needed. This can lead to adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes if the clinicians on staff are not trained in obstetric care or the facility lacks the necessary supplies and equipment to manage obstetric emergencies.

What we’re working on:

• AAFP backed new, bipartisan legislation from Senators Maggie Hassan and Susan Collins that would help provide critical care to pregnant and postpartum women in rural areas. 
• AAFP joined other health organizations in support of the Rural Obstetrics Readiness Act, which would help rural facilities better manage obstetric emergencies through clinician training, equipment grants, and teleconsultation support networks. 
• We also emphasized our support for the legislation in a letter to Congress ahead of a House Energy and Commerce hearing last week. 
• The Rural Obstetrics Readiness Act passed out of the Senate HELP Committee in July, and we are urging Senate leadership to bring this bill to the floor for full Senate passage.

REGULATORY ROUNDUP

AAFP submits Medicare Physician Fee Schedule comments

Why it matters: 

The 2027 Medicare physician fee schedule proposed rule is out, and AAFP welcomes several provisions. We are particularly encouraged that CMS is signaling better and continued support for primary care, and will:

• Expand the primary care exception, which would give teaching physicians more flexibility to supervise care, improve timely access and support the future primary care workforce.
• Continue to improve valuation of physician services by reexamining potentially misvalued codes and updating payment to better reflect today’s care and costs.
• Expand payment for primary care-oriented services such as advance care planning and shared medical appointments.
• Request information on redesigning primary care payment under the fee schedule to better support preventive, comprehensive care. 

What we’re working on: 

• AAFP submitted comments to CMS welcoming proposals that recognize what family physicians have long known: strong primary care depends on trusted relationships, continuity and long-term patient care.
• AAFP strongly opposes CMS’ proposal to reduce payment when a separately identifiable evaluation and management (E/M) service is provided on the same day as a procedure. Family physicians often address multiple patient concerns in one visit, and this policy would penalize that comprehensive care.
• AAFP warned that the policy could discourage same-day procedures, require extra visits, increase costs and undermine CMS’ broader efforts to strengthen primary care.
• As CMS considers payment reforms, AAFP urges the agency to strengthen — not fragment — the relationships, continuity and comprehensive care that are central to primary care.
• Read the full comment letter and our press statement on the proposed rule.

AAFP leadership participates in ACCESS model event

AAFP Board Chair Jen Brull, MD, a family physician in Fort Collins, Colorado, joined policymakers and national health leaders at a CMS event marking the launch of the ACCESS model. Dr. Brull underscored how the model can better meet patients where they are and support the critical role family physicians play in connecting the dots across a patient’s care. She also made clear that expanding support for patients must strengthen primary care relationships, not create more fragmentation in an already complicated health care system.

Department of Education proposes changes to higher education accreditation

Why it matters: 

The Department of Education has released a proposed rule that would make significant changes to accreditation and quality assurance requirements for postsecondary education programs participating in federal student aid programs.

What we’re working on: 

• AAFP submitted comments on the proposal which addressed new accreditation requirements related to intellectual diversity, student outcomes and earnings, and restrictions on certain relationships between programmatic accreditors and professional associations. 
• Our letter also emphasized that provisions could have implications for health professions education, including longstanding relationships between accreditors and professional organizations that provide expertise on workforce needs, competencies, and educational standards. 
• The proposal also includes expanded transfer credit protections, which AAFP supported throughout the rulemaking process.

AAFP asks Department of Education to revise grant regulations

Why it matters: 

The Department of Education’s Education Department General Administrative Regulations govern federal education grants. A new proposal would change how grants are selected and evaluated. While the AAFP supports efforts to modernize grant administration to ensure responsible distribution of funds, we are concerned this new rule will result in less transparency and certainty for educational institutions. 

What we’re working on: 

• AAFP wrote a letter to the Department of Education raising concerns that several provisions in the proposed rule could create funding uncertainty and disadvantage medical schools, rural-serving institutions and other programs that support physician education and workforce development.
• Our letter urged the department to preserve rigorous, merit-based evaluation; maintain transparent and predictable grant processes; and provide the stability needed for long-term efforts that strengthen the physician workforce and expand access to care. 

AAFP responds to RFI on clinical laboratory improvements

Why it matters: 

Family physicians provide comprehensive, longitudinal care across a diverse range of practice settings, including many physician-owned and physician-directed laboratories.

As CMS and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention consider potential updates to the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 regulations, AAFP is urging the agencies to modernize laboratory requirements in ways that support quality, patient safety and access to diagnostic services without creating unnecessary burdens for physician office laboratories.

What we’re working on:

• AAFP submitted comments encouraging CMS and CDC to ensure that any approach to CLIA modernization reflects the wide range of existing laboratories; preserves the role of physicians; and promotes laboratory quality, patient safety and access to diagnostic services.
• Our comments emphasized that AI tools can support laboratory medicine but should not replace physician judgment or established clinical decision-making.
• We also urged the agencies to strengthen cybersecurity protections while ensuring responsibility is shared appropriately across technology developers, vendors, laboratories and physicians.

AAFP urges CMS to reject Medicaid provider tax

Why it matters: 

As the government continues to implement H.R. 1, AAFP is advocating against a proposed CMS rule that would largely freeze existing provider tax financing arrangements and limit states’ ability to expand Medicaid financing. AAFP is concerned that the proposal could weaken state Medicaid funding, leading to less access to care for Medicaid patients, especially in rural and underserved communities.

What we’re working on: 

AAFP submitted comments urging CMS to protect state flexibility and avoid unnecessary financing restrictions that could destabilize Medicaid.

Specifically, AAFP urged CMS to:

• Keep the longstanding 75/75 statistical test to enable previously lawful provider tax arrangements to continue supporting the Medicaid program, and avoid implementing restrictions beyond those required by H.R.1;
• Revise the proposed “services of health insurers” tax class and clarify that non-Medicaid state insurer assessments are not subject to Medicaid provider tax rules;
• Align implementation timelines with state operational realities across H.R.1 implementation; and
• Limit state reporting and compliance requirements to only what is necessary to implement the statute.

What we're reading

AAFP SVP of external affairs and practice engagement, Stephanie Quinn, shared with Healio why the Patients First Act will put a modernized Medicare physician payment system that values primary care in reach. 

Medical Economics recapped a panel at PrimaryCare26 with AAFP CEO, Shawn Martin, and Joe Albanese, director of policy for Medicare and Abe Sutton, director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation. 

In STAT, the presidents of AAFP, American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Physicians highlighted the value of primary care, and how patients need both primary and specialty care to thrive. “Physicians across every specialty, along with payers and policymakers, must work together toward comprehensive payment reform that strengthens primary care, puts patients first and addresses the upstream factors that shape America’s health,” they wrote.

For the latest policy updates impacting family medicine, follow us at @aafp_advocacy.

Dallas family physician and TAFP member Chrisette Dharma, MD, has donated $25,000 to the TAFP Foundation to establish the Dharma Wellness Initiative, an endowment that will provide ongoing support for continuing medical education focused on physician health and well-being.

The initiative will fund educational programming at TAFP's major conferences, including Annual Session and Primary Care Summit, C. Frank Webber Lectureship and Interim Session, and Texas Family Medicine Symposium. Lectures, workshops, and other educational resources may address mental and physical health, professional fulfillment, financial health, and other aspects of physician well-being.

For Dharma, the gift represents an opportunity to support the organization that has helped her navigate the challenges of practicing family medicine while investing in the health and happiness of her colleagues.

"The only people who I feel like have been constantly there with me through all the ups and downs of our career as a family medicine doctor is TAFP," Dharma says.

As an independent physician and owner of Southwest Family Medicine Associates, Dharma understands the pressures of practicing medicine from two perspectives. She manages a practice employing 13 other providers while continuing to see patients herself. She recognizes that the financial and administrative demands of operating a practice can contribute to the same frustrations she experiences as a practicing physician.

Despite those challenges, Dharma says she continues to find tremendous satisfaction in family medicine.

"I still wake up with so much joy," she says.

She wants other physicians to rediscover and preserve that sense of fulfillment, even as they navigate the demands of their careers.

For Dharma, physician well-being begins with recognizing that a physician's identity and worth extend beyond the practice of medicine. She believes physicians need to prioritize their own needs, cultivate interests outside work, and recognize that caring for themselves is essential to sustaining a rewarding career.

"Medicine is a job. It is not your person," she says.

Investing in the physicians who care for Texans

The new initiative expands the philanthropic mission of the TAFP Foundation, which supports educational and scientific initiatives to advance family medicine and improve the health of all Texans.

Established in 1960, the Foundation supports medical student scholarships, family medicine interest groups, resident activities, and practice-based research. Contributions from TAFP members and other donors help strengthen the specialty by investing in the next generation of family physicians and supporting the physicians who serve Texas communities.

According to Kathy McCarthy, CAE, executive director of the TAFP Foundation, Dharma's interest in supporting physician wellness emerged following a previous TAFP Annual Session, just as the Academy's Task Force on Physician Well-Being was beginning to develop recommendations for educational programming.

Dharma wanted her contribution to support wellness education year after year, rather than fund a single presentation. The endowment is designed to preserve its principal while providing annual funding for educational activities, establishing a continuing source of support for physician well-being programming.

Dharma hopes her experience will also encourage other physicians to consider how they might contribute to the future of their specialty during their own lifetimes.

"Can I actually do good while I'm still alive?" was among the questions she considered when exploring the possibility of establishing an endowment.

First Dharma Wellness lecture scheduled for November 8

The Dharma Wellness Initiative will make its debut at TAFP's 2026 Annual Session and Primary Care Summit with a presentation by Sarah Ashitey, MD, titled "The Prescription We Never Wrote Ourselves."

Ashitey, a Dallas family physician with Southwest Family Medicine Associates and a member of the TAFP Board of Directors, will present the lecture on Sunday, November 8, from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m.

The inaugural presentation has particular significance for Dharma. Ashitey was once her medical student at UT Southwestern and later joined her practice. Today, Ashitey is a family physician and entrepreneur whose professional interests include coaching and physician well-being.

Having her former student and current colleague deliver the first lecture supported by the endowment brings Dharma's vision full circle.

"If I can help one person, that would be enough," she says.

For more information about Ashitey’s lecture and TAFP's Annual Session and Primary Care Summit, visit www.tafp.org/cme/aspcs.

To learn more about the TAFP Foundation and opportunities to support the future of family medicine, visit www.tafp.org/foundation.

Aiena, a family physician in Huntsville, told committee members that he sees the effects of rising health care costs every day in his practice, at the pharmacy, and in conversations with patients and local employers.

“Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial insurance payments have not kept pace with these practice costs,” Aiena said, adding that the costs of staffing, technology, supplies, and compliance continue to rise. “Prior authorization, documentation, and other administrative burdens keep taking more time and more money away from us, which takes time away from patients.”

Aiena practices in a five-physician independent primary care group serving more than 10,000 patients in Walker County and surrounding communities. He told lawmakers that independent practices face the same rising costs as larger health systems but do not have the same administrative infrastructure, scale, or bargaining power.

“For many independent physicians, selling your practice is not a fun decision,” he said. “It’s a financial survivability decision, and that’s not what’s good for the patients of Texas.”

At the center of TAFP’s testimony was a simple argument: independent physicians are not the cause of the affordability problem, but they can be part of the solution. Independent practices, he said, preserve patient choice, remain closely connected to their communities, and provide meaningful competition.

TAFP asked lawmakers to focus on six policy priorities.

• Make cost and quality information usable. Texas should make better use of the Texas All-Payer Claims Database and consider creating a Health Care Affordability Office within the Comptroller’s office to turn existing data into accessible cost-and-quality information for patients, employers, clinicians, and policymakers.
• Support and fund health care navigators. Patients need neutral assistance understanding provider networks, deductibles, copayments, coinsurance, prior authorization requirements, and other complexities of health coverage.
• Reduce and standardize administrative requirements. TAFP supports reforms including streamlined credentialing, less duplicative documentation, more standardized quality reporting, and reductions in low-value prior authorization.
• Adopt targeted site-neutral payment policies. Comparable routine outpatient services should not cost more simply because a hospital system owns the facility or practice providing them.
• Use Texas’ purchasing power. State employee and educator health plans could be used to test payment models that better support primary care, including predictable per-member, per-month payments tied to measurable results.
• Make primary care sustainable. Texas should recognize and support the work family physicians do between visits — managing chronic disease, coordinating care, following up with patients, and preventing avoidable emergency department visits and hospitalizations.

Aiena emphasized the final point with examples from his own practice.

“Primary care happens when I’m making sure diabetes doesn’t become an [hospital] admission, when I’m making sure hypertension doesn’t become a stroke,” he said. 

“Texas should pay primary care not only for those visits, but for the costly problems it helps avoid,” Aiena said.

He closed by reminding lawmakers that while Texas cannot control every factor driving health care costs, the state still has meaningful policy options available.

“Texas is not powerless,” Aiena said. “There are levers we can pull and there are smart ways we can spend this money to preserve patient choice, empower the patient, and make sure that primary care is strong.”

TAFP’s complete written testimony provides additional detail on each of the association’s recommendations.

AstraZeneca, one of TAFP’s Partners in Health, shared an infographic on the risks of uncontrolled hypertension and the role of aldosterone. Despite the availability of multiple antihypertensive therapies, approximately one in two U.S. adults taking antihypertensive medications may not have controlled blood pressure.

This resource explores the evolving understanding of aldosterone in hypertension, including its relationship with blood pressure and its potential contribution to vascular, cardiac, and renal end-organ damage.

TAFP’s Partners in Health program connects family physicians with organizations committed to supporting family medicine and promoting the health of all Texans. Our Partners provide patient education and high-value tools designed to help family physicians and their care teams deliver well-coordinated, comprehensive primary care. Go to Partners in Health to learn more.

Watch a summit recap

On Friday, August 21, around 75 people from across Texas met for the Family Medicine Leadership Collaborative, facilitated by the Faculty Development Center, and the Clerkship and Residency Coordinators Conference. Educational department chairs, residency program directors, administrators, faculty, coordinators, and other family medicine champions attended to share their experiences, brainstorm ideas, and chat about common challenges.

Friday evening, FMLC and CRCC attendees, as well as students and residents attending the summit, were invited to an opening happy hour. This year’s shirt theme, YEEHAW FAMILY MEDICINE, was a big hit! People loved it so much, we added it to the TAFP merch shop so that you can get your own if you feel so inclined. Thank you to Austin Regional Clinic for sponsoring the evening’s event and thank you to our shirt sponsors — Austin Regional Clinic, Concord Medical Group, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, TAFP, and the Texas Family Medicine Preceptorship Program.

Saturday’s summit was split into two tracks for students and residents with breaks mixed in for attendees to visit the Residency and Career Fair. Last year’s fair was so well-loved that we managed to make room for a few more exhibitors this year — 32 Texas family medicine residency programs and 11 hiring companies filled the room. This year’s fair also included free headshots once again, sponsored by Integris Assurance Company. 

Topics for students included a panel providing tips for every year of medical school, addressing health misinformation and building trust with patients, possible career paths in family medicine, and student loans. Students also had the opportunity to add a joint injection workshop to get some hands-on experience. Topics for residents included financial wellness, real-world lessons from new physicians, fellowships, and physician contracts. Everyone came together at the end of the day for the closing keynote. AAFP President Sarah Nosal, MD, gave an energetic and passionate talk on equity, access, and advocacy in family medicine. 

Thank you to the TAFP student and resident officers and other TAFP leaders for volunteering to help make the weekend’s events run smoothly. 

Between the large group in attendance and feedback received through a post-event survey, we’d say the third TAFP Student and Resident Summit was a huge success and we can’t wait to do it again in 2027! Thank you to everyone who attended.

For Eduardo Lindsay, MD, family medicine has always been about meeting patients where they are and serving communities with the greatest needs. His path to family medicine began in Panama, where he shadowed a physician who provided free weekend care to Indigenous communities and saw firsthand the impact of compassionate, accessible care. That experience, followed by work in rural mobile clinics and serving as the only physician in a remote rural community, shaped his commitment to comprehensive, patient-centered care. 

Today, Lindsay is a clinical leader with Suvida Healthcare in the Dallas area, where he provides direct patient care to older adults and patients with complex chronic conditions, particularly within underserved Latino communities. He also leads clinical operations and supports quality improvement, population health, and patient experience initiatives. 

Who or what inspired you to become a family physician?
My inspiration to become a family physician began in Panama, where I shadowed a physician who dedicated his weekends to providing free medical care to Indigenous communities. His compassion and commitment to serving those with the greatest need showed me that medicine is about more than treating illness — it is about building relationships, advocating for patients, and improving access to care.

During medical school, I participated in rural mobile clinics, where I witnessed how education, prevention, and coordinated care could transform patients' lives. After graduation, I served as the only physician in a remote rural community, caring for patients with limited resources and managing a wide range of medical conditions. Those experiences taught me the true breadth of family medicine and reinforced the important role family physicians play as clinicians, educators, advocates, and leaders within their communities.

These experiences inspired me to pursue family medicine because it allows me to provide comprehensive, continuous, and compassionate care while building lasting relationships with patients and addressing the broader social factors that influence health.

What unique challenges are represented in your patient community?
The patients I serve face a variety of challenges that extend beyond medical conditions alone. Many are older adults with multiple chronic diseases who also experience barriers related to language, health literacy, transportation, financial limitations, and access to specialty care. Social determinants of health often have a significant impact on their ability to manage chronic illnesses and maintain healthy lifestyles.

Serving a Hispanic community has reinforced the importance of culturally competent, patient-centered care. Building trust, communicating in patients' preferred language, and understanding their cultural values are essential to achieving better health outcomes. These challenges have strengthened my commitment to preventive care, patient education, care coordination, and advocacy to ensure every patient receives the high-quality care they deserve.

You graduated from TAFP’s Family Medicine Leadership Experience. What was your #1 takeaway from the program? 
My greatest takeaway from FMLE was that leadership is about influence, service, and empowering others — not simply holding a title. The program strengthened my communication, collaboration, and advocacy skills while demonstrating how physician leaders can drive meaningful changes for their patients, practices, and communities.

FMLE also reinforced the importance of building relationships with colleagues across Texas who share a common commitment to advancing health equity, supporting physician well-being, and strengthening the family medicine workforce. These connections have been invaluable, providing opportunities to learn from one another and collaborating on solutions to the challenges facing primary care.

The experience inspired me to become more actively involved in serving TAFP, continue growing as a physician leader, and advocating for policies that strengthen primary care, improve health outcomes, and ensure family physicians have the support they need to serve their communities. FMLE transformed my perspective on leadership, reinforcing that meaningful change begins when physicians step forward to serve both their profession and their communities.

Why do you choose to be a TAFP member?
I choose to be a TAFP member because it provides opportunities to learn, lead, and advocate alongside physicians who are passionate about advancing family medicine. TAFP has played a significant role in my professional growth by providing leadership development, mentorship, advocacy opportunities, and a strong network of colleagues committed to improving patient care.

As a physician serving an underserved Hispanic community, I value TAFP's commitment to strengthening primary care, supporting physicians, and promoting policies that improve access to high-quality, patient-centered healthcare. I am especially passionate about advancing health equity, supporting physician well-being, strengthening the family medicine workforce, and ensuring that value-based initiatives remain practical and focused on improving patient outcomes.

Being a member of TAFP allows me to contribute my clinical, operational, and leadership experience while collaborating with colleagues to shape policies and programs that strengthen family medicine and improve the health of the communities we serve.

What do you enjoy doing outside of medicine?
Outside of medicine, I enjoy spending quality time with my family, staying active through outdoor activities, and pursuing lifelong learning. One of the highlights of my week is our family's commitment to music. Every Sunday, I take my children to their private music lessons — my daughter is learning the violin, and my son and I are learning the cello together. It has become a meaningful way for us to learn, grow, and spend time together.

I also enjoy reading about leadership, quality improvement, and healthcare innovation. In addition, I volunteer with my Christian organization, where I support children's programs through health fairs, outdoor activities, camping, first aid instruction, and leadership development.

Maintaining a healthy balance between my professional and personal life keeps me energized, strengthens my commitment to lifelong learning and service, and ultimately helps me provide the best possible care for my patients.

TAFP’s Member of the Month program highlights Texas family physicians in TAFP News Now and on the TAFP website. We feature a biography and a Q&A with a different TAFP member each month and his or her unique approach to family medicine. If you know an outstanding family physician colleague who you think should be featured as a Member of the Month or if you’d like to tell your own story, nominate yourself or your colleague by contacting TAFP by email at tafp@tafp.org or by phone at (512) 329-8666. 

Before it was a vocation, it was a vow —
not the ledger's cold demand,
but the heart's insistent call:
a dual inheritance —
the mind trained to discern,
the heart made spacious enough
to hold the one who suffers,
not merely the suffering itself.

The Patient

It is not the disease that walks through the door —
it is a life, a history, a name
that once was someone's first whispered prayer.
Listen with more than the stethoscope;
listen where certainty ends and probability begins,
where medicine kneels before the singular human heart.

The Art of Medicine

You are the bridge between evidence and mystery,
between the science you command
and the unique soul before you.
Walk that span with grace —
knowing that to cure is the rarest gift,
to treat is your daily devotion,
and to comfort, always —
your unbreakable covenant.

The Physician’s Word

There will come a moment —
and you will recognize it by the stillness in the room —
when no test or treatment matters
as much as what you say next.
Speak with humble confidence.
Let your voice be the medicine
no pharmacy can compound.

The Stewardship of Medical Evidence

Guard the altar of inquiry with reason.
When denial dresses itself in certainty,
and premature conclusions crowd the evidence out,
public health suffers for every truth
bandoned to whim or anecdote.
For Methodology is mercy in another form.

Physician as Teacher

To teach is to extend the reach of healing
past the hour of the appointment. 
Send them home knowing more than when they came —
not diminished by dependence,
but empowered by understanding,
stewards of their own fragile, magnificent lives.

The Physician’s Legacy

Begin each morning in hope,
each evening remembering —
the ones who do not look like you,
speak like you, fear like you.
There is no care without curiosity,
no healing without the willingness
to be changed by those you change.

Your legacy is not written in journals.
It is written in the faces
of those who left your presence
believing that they were seen —
and heard.

For in every true act of healing,
medicine and humanity
are found dwelling together.

Charles Stern, MD, enjoyed a 36 year career in family medicine that included hospital and OB practice in the first half, ambulatory medicine, teaching medical students and residents, administrative leadership, quality and safety and primary care redesign, plus physician wellness. 

After retirement, he found his poetic voice that emerged beside his mother’s deathbed, where he felt the quiet transmission of words between two souls — an echo of her own award-winning life as a published poet. Inspired by nature, medicine, family, and our shared humanity, his writing explores the delicate threads that connect us all. Charles is also the author of a children’s book. “A Call From the Blue,” and an accomplished jazz trumpeter, performing with a big band in Woodway, Texas, where he lives.

"He enjoys spending time with his wife of 39 years, Sharon Stern, MD, a family physician herself, as well as their three grown daughters and their husbands, and four grandchildren."

Our first CME event of 2026, the C. Frank Webber Lectureship and Interim Session, was held in early April in Round Rock, as well as online for those who required a remote option. More than 325 attendees joined us for education, business meetings, leadership programs, and more. A new class of the Family Medicine Leadership Experience began their yearlong program, and the fourth cohort of the Resident Leadership Experience attended their last session and graduated. The RLE class of 20 were mentored all year by TAFP members Fozia Ali, MD, Jonnae Atkinson, MD, Kathy Nguyen, MD, Laura Nietfeld, MD, and Mary Shipman, DO. Additionally, attendees of the Member Assembly with Council Forums heard a TAFP update from President Ike Okwuwa, MD, MBA, a presentation from the Child Psychiatry Access Network and the Perinatal Psychiatry Access Network, and a discussion on downcoding from TAFP member Tina Philip, DO.

TAFP also supports and encourages family medicine involvement in the Texas Medical Association. At this spring’s TexMed conference we offered a 3-hour block of free clinical CME for attendees as well as a coffee break for networking. Three TAFP members were elected or remain in leadership positions with TMA — Dwane Broussard, MD, is now an alternate delegate to AMA; Greg Fuller, MD, retains his position on the TMA board as secretary and treasurer; and Rodney Young, MD, retains his position on the board as an at-large member. Family physicians are well suited to ensure that TMA policies stay focused on improving the health of patients and practices and TAFP is proud that the specialty has such great representation in TMA.

Also in April, Texas was represented well by TAFP members at AAFP’s National Conference of Constituency Leaders. Co-conveners Kenneth Barning, MD, and Joaquin Villegas, MD, MPH, planned and assisted in running the constituency caucuses throughout the meeting. They will also serve as member constituency delegates at AAFP’s Congress of Delegates meeting in October. Additionally, Astrud Villareal, MD, was elected as the women’s constituency co-convener and Carmella DeSerto, MD, was elected as the LGBTQ+ constituency co-convener. They will both serve as alternate delegates to AAFP’s Congress of Delegates.

Medical students are currently shadowing family docs around the state through the Texas Family Medicine Preceptorship Program, which TAFP has administered since 2011. The crucial workforce development initiative matches pre-clinical students with family physicians to expose them to the specialty. More than 200 students are matched this year. Thank you so much to our preceptors for volunteering their time this summer!

After receiving accreditation through the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians this year, for the first time ever TAFP offered CME approved by the American Osteopathic Association for AOA Category 1-A credits at the Texas Family Medicine Symposium. With three osteopathic medical schools in Texas, the percentage of TAFP members who are osteopaths continues to increase. Currently, 15% of active members and 33% of resident members trained at osteopathic medical schools. Like our other CME conferences, TFMS was offered in person as well as online, helping TAFP meet the needs of our members statewide.

Thank you for your continued membership — we couldn’t do what we do without your support. And be sure to follow TAFP on your favorite social media channel to stay up to date on all things Texas family medicine!

“The primary care shortage isn’t a future problem; it is a current crisis,” says Eric Lee, MD, who chairs TAFP’s Council on Workforce and Member Engagement. “The support that organized medicine groups like TAFP provide in supporting students and residents is significant. Although the culture of medical education is changing, at many medical schools, students are pushed toward higher-paying, procedure-heavy specialties. TAFP helps showcase the importance of family medicine to students as well as the profound impact, intellectual variety, and meaningful patient relationships a career in family medicine can provide.”

And while the news can make the future of family medicine and healthcare in general seem doom and gloom, there are certainly bright spots. “The future of family medicine is bright,” Lee says. “If you look at the headlines — the administrative burden of electronic health records, the insurance battles — it’s easy to feel anxious about the future. But when you work in academics and interact with actual people entering the field, it is impossible not to feel incredibly hopeful.”

The Academy works hard to help build the specialty’s workforce. Keep reading for some of our most notable student and resident efforts. 

Student and resident events

After years of holding specialized student and resident tracks at our C. Frank Webber Lectureship and Primary Care Summit, the timing was right in 2024 to launch an annual event for only the students and family medicine residents of Texas. The TAFP Student and Resident Summit is held every August with TAFP members and other professionals speaking on topics like financial wellness, contracts, family medicine career paths, tips from new physicians, building trust with patients, and more. There is also time for networking, a procedural workshop, and a Residency and Career Fair. 

TAFP staff attend AAFP’s National Conference for the Future of Family Medicine, also called FUTURE, to network with the state’s residency programs in attendance, as well as throw an evening social for all Texas attendees. Residency programs can also invite medical students they are trying to recruit as another opportunity to chat about family medicine in Texas.

The annual Research Poster Competition promotes scholarly activity, providing students and residents with a unique opportunity to share research with the wider TAFP membership. Participants are invited to attend Annual Session and Primary Care Summit each fall to display their work and get feedback in live time from CME attendees. Student winners receive plaques and resident winners receive cash prizes, with the top overall resident also receiving travel funding for a national research conference of their choosing. 

Funding

The TAFP Foundation supports funding for students and residents in a number of ways. Travel funding is provided for student and resident officers to attend a number of meetings and events, for poster competition participants to attend ASPCS, for three medical students per school and one resident per program to attend TAFP’s Student and Resident Summit, and for medical students to attend AAFP FUTURE. The foundation also offers scholarships, support for family medicine interest groups, and research grants. 

The TAFP Foundation also launched the Texas Family Medicine Scholars Program to recognize and further develop the leadership skills of Texas family medicine residents. Two scholars are chosen during their first year of residency, each receiving a total of $10,000 to be paid throughout their residency. They are paired with a mentor, receive travel funding to attend TAFP meetings, and develop a project or presentation during the program to further the goals of TAFP or the TAFP Foundation. The goal of the scholarship is to develop a series of leaders who will continue to give back to their specialty and community. Since its inception in 2020, the initiative has supported 12 residents throughout their training.

Other support and opportunities 

The Texas Family Medicine Preceptorship Program matches first- or second-year students enrolled in a Texas medical school with an experienced and skilled family physician for a two- to four-week period to help them gain real-life experience in a community setting. By participating in our preceptorship program, students will have the unique opportunity to explore what it means to be a family physician. “By connecting residents and students with practicing physicians, TAFP creates a professional community before careers even fully begin,” Lee says.

As a way to stay in touch with graduating residents, TAFP collects contact information from them throughout the summer through an emailed form. In August once they are settled in post-residency, we mail graduation gifts — a box of TAFP goodies and items for them to outwardly display their love of family medicine. “The graduation gift campaign has been quite successful, reaching hundreds of soon-to-be new physicians every year,” says TAFP Membership and Workforce Development Manager Juleah Williams. “Not only does it act as a connection between TAFP and graduating residents, but it allows us to celebrate with them as they transition to their family medicine careers.”

Students and residents are invited to participate in official TAFP business as officers and board members, but also through the Resident Leadership Experience. Loosely based on the curriculum of the Family Medicine Leadership Experience, RLE is a yearlong leadership development program designed to equip family medicine residents with the skills they need to thrive in their future practice. In today’s rapidly changing environment, healthcare enterprises need leaders who can anticipate what’s coming next, make solid decisions in the face of ambiguity, and deploy their talent effectively. TAFP believes these leaders should be well-trained family physicians and the RLE program helps to build those leaders up.

TAFP staff and leaders host a number of webinars aimed at students and residents each year — a welcome to Texas webinar for family medicine residents new to the state, a transition to practice webinar for recently graduated residents, an orientation webinar focused on efficiently planning for AAFP’s FUTURE conference, and others. 

New physician Madeline Hazle, MD, has been a very active TAFP member since medical school. She initially joined to learn more about the specialty, but stuck around because of the people. 

“What kept me involved was the opportunity to connect with physicians, residents, and students from across Texas who were passionate about patient care and advocacy,” she says. “I encourage students and residents to be active in TAFP because it offers opportunities that complement their medical training. TAFP helps ensure that future physicians are prepared not only clinically, but also as leaders who understand healthcare policy, physician wellness, practice management, and patient advocacy. By investing in students and residents, TAFP strengthens the future of family medicine and helps create a healthcare system that can better serve patients across Texas.”