Letter from the Board President

Doing the Most Good for the Most People

I’m pleased to introduce our Spring issue, which highlights some of the ways in which the AAFP Foundation champions innovation, education and research.

As the new president, I’m also happy to introduce myself to those who may not know me. I’m a Family Physician and Assistant Professor of Family Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. I’m also completing a fellowship in Preventive Medicine and an executive master’s degree in public health. After a decade of clinical focus, I’m venturing into health care leadership to address some of the systemic issues we see daily in primary care.

Family medicine provides an expansive lens through which we can look at health. A professor once told me something in medical school that’s stuck with me ever since. He said he chose family medicine because he wanted to do the most good for the most people. I adopted that as my mantra, too. While other specialties are extremely important, family medicine allows us to respond to the needs of the majority of individuals who seek health care.

Similarly, the AAFP Foundation serves a large and diverse group of family medicine physicians across our country. One of my goals as president is to engage more individuals to see themselves as philanthropists who can contribute to the future of family medicine. Every gift matters. Even physicians just beginning their careers can make a difference by donating a modest amount and getting involved.

There’s space for all of us who share a commitment to this specialty we’ve chosen and myriad ways to make improvements — for our fellow physicians, our patients and our communities. In this issue, you’ll read about:

• J. Mack Worthington, MD, who established a Family Medicine Leads endowed scholarship to send students in Tennessee to FUTURE (formerly National Conference).
• The Kansas Academy of Family Physicians’ membership retention initiative, funded by a Family Medicine Chapter Alliance grant.
• Jenna Georgiou, MD, was awarded a Sandra L. Panther Fellowship by the AAFP Foundation’s Center for the History of Family Medicine for her research project examining family medicine in ancient Greece.
• AAFP Foundation’s corporate donor, Sanofi, and its commitment to improving the lives of patients.

As you learn more about our programs, I hope you’ll draw inspiration from the creative ways our donors and volunteers are supporting family medicine. Your support of the AAFP Foundation, through a donation or by volunteering, is also needed and much appreciated.  

Warm regards,

Jay-Sheree Allen Akambase, MD, FAAFP
President, AAFP Foundation