By UAFP
This year’s Annual Member Meeting, typically held in May, was postponed until September and held virtually for the first time. Despite the delay and change in format, we knew it was important to have our meeting, hear from our leadership, and showcase our award winners and successes of the previous year. Now more than ever, we need to celebrate and honor the work of our UAFP members.
Outgoing Board President Dr. Kyle Jones spoke about his year in office and thanked the board and staff for their leadership and commitment to excellence. Dr. Isaac Noyes was sworn in as the new board president.
This year’s award for Utah Family Medicine Advocate of the Year was presented to Utah State Representative Suzanne Harrison, M.D. Representative Harrison is also a practicing anesthesiologist, giving her a true understanding of the health care issues from a physician’s perspective. She is a fierce advocate for both patients and physicians, and we are fortunate to have her working on our behalf at the legislature.
Utah Family Medicine Physician of the Year award was presented to Dr. Cami Collett, M.D., MPH, FAAFP. In addition to her stellar 34 years as a practicing family medicine physician, Dr. Collett has been an incredible teacher and mentor to countless residents through her many years with the St. Mark’s Family Medicine Residency program. She has contributed immeasurably to the practice of family medicine in the larger community as well as through her active role in the Utah Medical Association, encouraging and promoting women entering the field of medicine, and working with patients and providers to better understand advance directive options. Dr. Collett is also deeply loved and admired by current and former students, colleagues and patients.
As in past years, we’ve been fortunate to have a representative from AAFP speak. This year, we heard from president-elect Dr. Ada Stewart. Dr. Stewart gave an inspirational speech, lauding family physicians’ hard work and the importance of promoting the specialty of family medicine. She also spoke of the hope and confidence she has in a strong future. Dealing with COVID has been a challenge with family physicians on the front lines, and Dr. Stewart stressed the need for the national and local organizations to provide support and advocacy.
We have added a new student/resident poster session to our meeting format. It was another item planned for in person, but thanks to a little ingenuity, participants could make virtual presentations to our panel of judges. Submissions were impressive, and we awarded the following prizes.
First Place: Jason Chen
Second Place: Marcus Oliver, Eryn Reager, and Ben Robbins
Third Place: Andrew Stevens
Honorable Mentions: Raquel Reisenger, Karl Heward, and Winston Plunkett, M.D.
We look forward to meeting in person next year — a little older and wiser after this very challenging year, but celebrating the incredible members of the Utah Academy of Family Physicians.
UAFP
This story appears in Issue 2 2020 of the UAFP Journal.
