Michael Faircloth, M.D., associate professor in the UAB Department of Family and Community Medicine, won the American College Health Association (ACHA) Edward Hitchcock Award for Outstanding Contributions in College Health. According to AHCA, members who have sought to improve college student healthcare everywhere by completing exceptional work are highlighted with this 61-year-old, national award. 

Faircloth’s influence is especially seen through his leadership as medical and lab director at UAB Student Health Services (SHS). Assistant Vice President for Student Health and Wellbeing at UAB Rebecca Kennedy, Ph.D., explained in her nomination letter that Faircloth has worked on several programs to help students who have dietary issues, need radiology and more have access to the care that they need.

Faircloth also played a pivotal role in UAB’s COVID-19 response, both in SHS and on the Rapid Response Team at UAB. Within SHS, he helped to make sure that COVID tests would be accessible and utilized campus-wide and that students could use telehealth during a spike in COVID cases to continue receiving care.

The Rapid Response Team at UAB, which provides recommendations to UAB leadership on how to handle complicated situations associated with COVID, was established by Faircloth as well. According to nominator Irfan Asif, M.D., chair of the Department of Family and Community Medicine and associate dean for Primary Care and Rural Health, many other teams at UAB and elsewhere enlisted Faircloth’s expertise during the pandemic.

“Dr. Faircloth has dedicated his career to advancing medicine in both rural and urban areas while at UAB.” Asif explained. “He has been a tremendous asset to our university and state, and our department has benefitted firsthand from his work. His abilities transcend the work of others and is characterized by leading, inspiring, and developing those around him.”

His contributions before and during the pandemic make Faircloth revered by his colleagues.

“He makes everyone feel important and valued and he makes you want to come to work each day and serve others. He leads by modeling the way and encouraging and uplifting the team.” Kennedy wrote. “Under his leadership [during the pandemic] UAB SHS has transformed itself into a public health mecca worthy of duplication at any other institute of higher education.”

In addition to Faircloth’s award-winning work at UAB, he is also the director of the Alabama Statewide Area Health Education Centers (AHEC). Alabama Statewide AHEC conducts outreach across all 67 counties in the state with particular attention to locations that are rural or neglected, working to expand Alabama’s health care workforce and recruit medical providers from all backgrounds. In a previous article, Faircloth talked about how this meant that during the COVID pandemic he led AHEC to provide COVID testing and vaccine availability to places and people in Alabama that were underserved. To learn more about Faircloth’s work with UAB SHS and AHEC, click here.