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Department of Family and Community Medicine Assistant Professor and UAB Sports and Exercise Medicine physician Steven T. Brown, M.D., has created a new elective sports medicine course for UAB Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine third- and fourth-year students.

May is Mental Health Awareness month and a good time to take a closer look at the primary care services that treat both mind and body.

In particular, our UAB Family and Community Medicine clinics offer behavioral health consultations and treatment. Though behavioral health care encompasses mental health care, there are some important distinctions. Behavioral health care providers typically collaborate closely with a patient’s primary care provider to help address health issues, including mental health concerns, in a medical or clinical setting. Specialty mental health providers may or may not collaborate directly with the patient’s medical team and may be housed either in a hospital or medical setting or in community mental health centers or private practices.

USFL Director of Athletic Training and Rehabilitation, Kevin O'Neill, M.S., LAT, ATC, is our Summer 2023 MVP Spotlight!

Kevin started his professional Athletic Training career at the young age of 25 when he became Head AT for Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon. After 4 years with the Beavers, and one year with the University of Central Florida, Kevin became Head AT for the University of Miami where he earned a National Championship ring in 1987.

From early November to late March, UAB Sports and Exercise Medicine provided medical coverage to the UAB Men’s Basketball team, assisting in their overall performance of a 29-10 season record.

The UAB Sports Medicine team offers a variety of services to UAB Basketball student-athletes, aimed at keeping them in optimal health and helping them to perform at their best on the court.

The UAB Sports and Exercise Medicine team is an official medical provider of the United States Football League for their second consecutive season. The team will provide coverage to two teams this season, the Birmingham Stallions and the New Orleans Breakers, which are both playing in Birmingham at Protective Stadium.

Department Chair Irfan Asif, M.D, second from left, cuts the ribbon with Patricia Pritchett, senior Vice President for ambulatory and administrative services, Vice Chair for Clinical Affairs and Quality Erin DeLaney, M.D., nurse manager Felicia Boyd, R.N., and UAB Health System CEO Reid Jones.On Monday, the UAB Department of Family and Community Medicine officially opened its new clinic space at UAB Hospital-Highlands, moving from a previous clinic on the fourth floor to a newly renovated clinic on the third floor.

Over the course of two weeks, the UAB Sports and Exercise Medicine team, along with UAB Medicine providers and volunteers, performed pre-participation physicals for 1,300+ student-athletes, from 19 schools within the Birmingham metro area.

Faculty and students in the UAB Department of Family and Community Medicine's Comprehensive Urban Underserved and Rural Experience (CU²RE) program traveled to Tampa this week to present at the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM) Annual Meeting. 

Designed to focus on opportunities and challenges in family medicine education, the conference attracts more than 1,500 family medicine professionals annually and includes more than 500 educational and interactive seminars, lecture-discussions, papers, and poster presentations.

The UAB Sports and Exercise Medicine team will present at the 2023 American Medical Society for Sports Medicine Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona from April 28 to May 3, 2023.

The American Medical Society for Sports Medicine is a society formed and crafted specifically for primary care non-surgical sports medicine physicians. The AMSSM “provides a forum to foster professional relationships among sports medicine physicians to advance the discipline of sports medicine through education, research, advocacy and excellence in patient care.”

Attendees of the 2023 Primary Care Educational Summit at UAB

On Thursday and Friday, representatives from nine colleges and universities gathered at UAB for the first Primary Care Educational Summit, hosted by the UAB Department of Family and Community Medicine for recipients of a transformative HRSA grant.

The Department of Family and Community Medicine would like to welcome our newly matched fellows, Chris Grijalba, D.O., and Mark Carrasco, M.D. These family medicine physicians will join our UAB-Cahaba Sports and Exercise Medicine Fellowship, starting in May.

This year, nine Family and Community Medicine employees celebrate a combined 145 years of service to the University of Alabama at Birmingham. That includes three staff members with 20 years or more, respectively — Patient Encounter Specialist Annia Johnson O’Neal, Information Systems Specialist III Jeff James and Patient Services Coordinator Jerry Chamblish. They were all recognized recently at a service awards ceremony for their commitment to UAB. 

The UAB Sports & Exercise Medicine team, along with other UAB volunteers, performed pre-participation exams (PPEs) for the athletes of the USA National Wheelchair Rugby team. These exams were the first of their kind, offering a comprehensive approach to injury prevention on the same level that is offered to other professionals and elite-level athletic teams, gaining attention from the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) for the addition of two new tests adapted for Paralympic athletes. 

On Friday, March 17 – St. Patrick’s Day – aspiring physicians across the country got 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.

Both programs fully matched. The Cahaba-UAB program, a 20-20-20 program, added residents to each of its four tracks: Urban, Rural, Frontier – serving counties in the Alabama Black Belt – and Highlands –based in Birmingham out of UAB Hospital – Highlands. 

Speaking to students and faculty from several programs at UAB, Samford University and Cahaba Medical Care, Bob Lujano, MS, shared his experience as a someone with a disability, and focused on how primary care providers can make the medical world – and the world in general – more accessible and inclusive. 

Nearly 29 million Americans experience an eating disorder at some point in their lives. That is according to the leading nonprofit supporting those living with eating disorders and their families, the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA).

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, NEDA’s helpline has seen a 107 % increase in contacts. 

Patients with UAB Sports and Exercise Medicine and the UAB Highlands Family and Community Medicine clinic now have access to VO2 Max testing, which can give both patients and providers a more precise, detailed picture of someone's cardiorespiratory fitness. 

VO2 Max testing tracks the ratio of carbon dioxide to oxygen during exercise and is widely considered the most accurate marker of cardiovascular fitness and aerobic endurance. The test offered at UAB Highlands also provides information about carbohydrate and fat burn during the course of activity, as the patient progresses toward maximal effort. 

CU2RE students, faculty and staff during an icebreaker game at orientation.

With orientation last week, medical students of the third and largest cohort of the Comprehensive Urban Underserved and Rural Experience, or CU²RE, program have officially started their journey toward serving underserved areas of Alabama and beyond. 

On Monday evening, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered a major cardiac event after making a tackle during their game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

“Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest following a hit in our game versus the Bengals. His heartbeat was restored on the field and he was transferred to the UC Medical Center for further testing and treatment,” the Bills said in a statement released early Tuesday. “He is currently sedated and listed in critical condition.” 

It’s the last Ask a Provider recap of the year and the UAB Department of Family and Community Medicine is wishing you and your family a merry Christmas and Happy New Year! In this issue, our primary care providers offer tips to prevent holiday burnout and over-exercising.