UAB celebrated Primary Care Week across campus October 4-11. Along with spotlighting the pivotal role primary care plays in our health care system, I am also thrilled to celebrate the people who pour their passion into primary care every day at UAB. 

Our Primary Care Service Line has done amazing things to improve access and quality of care through initiatives like e-consults, our APP telehealth pilot programs, and our participation in the award-winning AMGA Colorectal Screening Collaborative. We hope to move even further ahead through our ongoing Primary Care Strategic Planning efforts with the UAB Health System.

Our team is truly amazing! I would like to highlight the 54 primary care providers who have been recognized for their exceptional care by the UAB Health System Office of Patient Experience & Engagement. Their extraordinary level of care underscores UAB's commitment to making high-quality primary care more accessible and convenient for our entire community.

• Sumaya Abed, MD – 95.1
• Stephen Bell, MD – 99.9
• Rebecca Bogert, CRNP – 97.6
• Shannon Box, CRNP – 98.2
• Marina Brainin, MD – 99.1
• Channing Brown, MD – 96.8
• Steven Brown, MD – 98.2
• William Brown, MD – 97.7
• Raymond Browne, MD – 99.8
• Kevin Bushey, MD – 95.7
• Adrienne Carter, MD – 98.1
• Lauren Clausing, PA – 99.6
• William Clifford, MD – 98.9
• Caroline Cohen, RD – 96.8
• Melissa Cooper, CRNP – 98.9
• Joseph Coppiano, MD – 95.1
• Victoria Cowan, DO – 97.5
• Sarah Cribbs, MD – 97.4
• Andrea Dial, CRNP – 99.8
• Anthony D’Onofrio, DO – 100.0
• Madeline Eckenrode, MD – 97.9
• Daniel Fijabi, MD – 98.2
• Joseph Tyler Fuqua, MD – 97.6
• Sharon Green, CRNP – 98.3
• Alan Gruman, MD – 98.2
• Laurie Tarbell Hall, MD – 96.5
• Raymond B. Hunt, MD – 98.4
• Steven Larry Hunt, MD – 98.0
• Lindsay Kolasa, PA – 95.8
• Andrew Land, MD – 99.1
• Jalesa Long, CRNP – 96.6
• Nicholas Ludvik, MD – 97.0
• Jill Marsh, MD – 96.9
• F. Stanford Massie Jr, MD – 100.0
• Shannon McElwee, CRNP – 97.3
• Natasha Mehra, MD – 99.3
• Ashley Pruitt, CRNP – 95.9
• Katherine Romp, MD – 100.0
• Stephen Russell, MD – 96.8
• Minakshi Shukla, MD – 96.0
• Monita Singh, MD – 98.4
• Erin D. Snyder, MD – 100.0
• Calvin Spellmon, MD – 99.8
• Mark Stafford, MD – 99.8
• Stephen Stair, MD – 97.1
• Carla Stefanescu, MD – 96.3
• Kari Thompson, CRNP – 96.5
• Lisha Thornton, MD – 97.9
• Thomas Tyner, MD – 95.6
• Carmela Ver, MD – 96.8
• Jennifer Vigil, MD – 98.4
• Allison Wilkin, MD – 98.8
• James Williams, MD – 97.1
• Hannah Wuisan, CRNP – 99.2

These providers achieved a remarkable 95% or higher top box rating (n ≥ 30) in patient satisfaction, as reflected in Medallia feedback. This places them among the top UAB Medicine providers in key areas such as listening carefully, demonstrating care and concern, providing clear explanations, involving patients in healthcare decisions, and overall care rating. Please join me in congratulating these providers, who represent nearly 60% of our primary care providers.

As UAB strives to be a world-class research university and academic health system, it is also critical to celebrate not just our best providers, but also those working each day to build the health care workforce across the state.

The Primary Care Training Tracks within our residency programs have been fundamental in developing residents who will excel in their future practices. The Dean’s Primary Care Scholars Program provides scholarships of $30,000 to students who intend to join the primary care workforce, with 47% of previous participants matching into primary care in Alabama. Our Alabama AHEC Network provides health professions students with increasing opportunities for community-based experiential training. These, along with many of our other workforce development training programs in Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, and Medicine-Pediatrics, contribute to the 38% of Heersink UAB School of Medicine graduates who matched into primary care. In fact, we were ranked No. 24th for Primary Care in the country by U.S. News & World Report.

I want to thank all of my colleagues for the inspirational care and work that you do. Thank you all for your continued support and partnership.

Sincerely,

Irfan M. Asif, MD
Director, UAB Primary Care Service Line
Professor and Chair, Department of Family and Community Medicine
Associate Dean for Primary Care and Rural Health
Heersink Endowed Professor of Sports and Exercise Medicine
University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine