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The following article is courtesy Family and Community Medicine Assistant Professor Sumayah Abed, M.D., UAB Biology Undergraduate Student Sura Ahmed, and UAB Biotechnology Doctoral Student and Research Scientist Ahmed Abdelgawad.

Ramadan is a sacred time of year when Muslims embark on a personal journey of self-discipline and spiritual reflection. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Muslim calendar. Unlike the solar Gregorian calendar, the Muslim calendar is lunar—11 to 12 days shorter. This year, Ramadan is March 10-April 9. 

Four years of work came to fruition on Match Day 2024 as aspiring physicians across the country got the news they had been waiting and hoping for, including 25 future residents who matched into the Cahaba-UAB Family Medicine Residency and the UAB Selma Family Medicine Residency.

The Department of Family and Community Medicine is proud to announce the promotion of Assistant Professor Steven Brown, M.D., to the position of Chief of Sports & Exercise Medicine, Family and Community Medicine. The promotion not only recognizes Brown's exceptional skills and dedication but also heralds a new era of opportunities and advancements for the Sports and Exercise Medicine service line within the department.

The UAB Department of Family and Community Medicine is now accepting submissions for the new MedInnovate: Primary Care creative awards program, recognizing our students’ creativity and thought leadership with up to $200,000 in stipends.

Pictured left to right: Chris Grijalba, D.O., Linzy Buffington, M.S., L.A.T., A.T.C., Mark Carrasco, M.D.,
Calvin Spellmon, M.D.

“I wish someone had told me about these opportunities when I was your age.”

The Cahaba-UAB Family Medicine Residency is joining the prestigious Advancing Innovation in Residency Education (AIRE) pilot project, a collaboration between the American Board of Family Medicine and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. Cahaba-UAB Family Medicine Residency is Alabama's first—and only—AIRE program participant.

At the 2024 Center for Engagement in Disability Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (CEDHARS) Symposium, two members of the Department of Family and Community Medicine presented posters offering fresh perspectives on addressing disability-related issues. According to CEDHARS, the symposium’s goal was to highlight the challenges posed by ableism and propel the conversation toward actionable change. The center strives to bridge gaps in understanding, encourage collaboration, and inspire a collective effort to create a more inclusive and equitable society.

The Department of Family and Community Medicine would like to welcome our newly matched fellows, Agatha Ambrozy, D.O., and Alex Hanna, M.D. These family medicine physicians will join our UAB-Cahaba Sports and Exercise Medicine Fellowship, starting in July.

The Alabama Statewide Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) are calling for final comments for strategy discussions aimed towards enhancing primary care delivery for the state. Over 70 attendees, representing 20 institutions from across Alabama, contributed to conversations about workforce shortages, rural and underserved care, and more, at the 2024 Primary Care Summit last Thursday.

Next month, Family and Community Medicine Department Chair Irfan Asif, M.D., will travel to the French Riviera to deliver the opening keynote for the 7th International Olympic Committee World Conference on Prevention of Injury and Illness in Sport. Asif will kick off the event alongside his colleague and mentor Jonathan Drezner, M.D., with the session, "From Marginalized to Centralized: The Future of Sport Illness and Injury Prevention Research.”

With new grant funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the UAB Department of Family and Community Medicine will launch a Center for Excellence in Primary Care. It will grow and build on existing programs to recruit, train, and retain medical students interested in pursuing primary care in underserved areas.

UAB Medicine is celebrating 47 primary care providers for their exceptional patient care this past fiscal year. Based on patient feedback collected from Medallia, a third-party experience management platform, these individuals scored an average of 95 percent or higher (n ≥ 30) in care satisfaction.

Sumayah Abed, M.D.Assistant Professor Sumayah Abed, M.D., has received a grant from the UAB Faculty Development Grant Program for a project focused on associations between breast cancer and alcohol consumption.

The UAB Department of Family and Community Medicine launches its Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) Initiative this semester, using $2 million in federal grant funds to give every student in the UAB Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine access to point-of-care ultrasound, or POCUS, units.

Taylor Lahasky, M.D., Courtney Conklin, M.D., Carmela Ver, M.D., and Daniel Fijabi, M.D.

On Aug. 1, five new faculty members joined the Department of Family and Community Medicine.

Dan Springer, MA-Ed., LAT, ATC, discovered his passion for athletic training when he was a young kid.

“I’ve always been around athletics. My dad was a radio sideline reporter and morning sports anchor and is now a beat reporter with the Cincinnati Enquirer,” Springer said. His mother also provided influence being a pharmacist, combining the sport and medicine aspects of the two professions.

With the 2023 fall sports season kicking off very soon, parents, guardians, coaches are likely thinking about the health risks their youth sports athletes may encounter during the season.

UAB Sports and Exercise Medicine and the CoachSafely Foundation are preparing coaches around the state and the Southeast to help prepare for and prevent youth sports injuries, particularly regarding head injuries and other long-term concerns.

The American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) has selected Professor and Department of Family and Community Medicine Chair, Irfan Asif, M.D., and Associate Professor and Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Vice Chair, Dale Colorado, D.O., to serve on the ABFM Sports Medicine Assessment Committee.

Gov. Kay Ivey signs the bill. Alabama AHEC Associate Director and UAB Family and Community Medicine Assistant Professor Becky Reamey looked on, third from left in the second row.

On Thursday, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed into law a new Preceptor Tax Incentive Program to provide tax credit incentives to increase medical student training in rural and underserved counties in Alabama.

Trushaw, left, with Salser at the ceremony.

At the UAB Heersink School of Medicine Class of 2023 Student Awards Banquet, the Department of Family and Community Medicine awarded its annual G. Gayle Stephens, M.D., Award for Excellence in Family Medicine to graduate Elizabeth “Betty” Trushaw, M.D.