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Media Advisory – Interviews Available

Contact: Ginnie Flynn, Illinois Academy of Family Physicians, 630-263-4613 [email protected]

FAMILY MEDICINE MIDWEST CELEBRATES DIVERSITY AND SEEKS TO BUILD THE FAMILY PHYSICIAN WORKFORCE FOR THE MIDWEST, PREVENTING PREDICTED SHORTAGES

[ROSEMONT, Ill.] Family physicians and medical students from the 12-state Midwest region will gather in Rosemont for the 2015 Family Medicine Midwest conference.  This annual regional event aims to reverse the trend towards a future family physician shortage by attracting the next generation of medical students to family medicine residency programs and eventually to practice in Midwest settings.  Data shows that Illinois will need over 4,700 family physicians by 2020 to meet the recommended ratio of 41.6 providers per 100,000 patients. Family physicians are the only specialists trained to care for both sexes and all ages, and therefore best positioned to care for our growing and aging population.  Media are invited to cover either or both plenary addresses and interviews can be arranged with the speakers or other Family Medicine Midwest leaders.

Event:      Family Medicine Midwest 2015: Celebrating Diversity – Our Patients, Our Communities and Ourselves
When:      Breakfast plenary presentations Saturday, Oct. 10 at 7:30am and Sunday Oct. 11 at 7:30am
Where:      Loews Chicago O’Hare Hotel, 5300 N. River Rd., Rosemont, IL – Avedon Ballroom
 
Who:  Wanda Filer, MD, MBA, President of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), The Renaissance of Family Medicine
Dr. Filer is a family physician in York, Pennsylvania, and a national leader in family medicine. She is the founder and president of the Strategic Health Institute in York, a health care consulting firm dedicated to building awareness of today’s health issues and the need for change. Filer served as the first Physician General of Pennsylvania, where she acted as public health advisor to then-Gov. Tom Ridge. She worked for 18 years as a health correspondent for WGAL-TV, the NBC affiliate in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Fred Richardson, MD, FAAFP Back to the Future:  Why the Old-Fashioned House Call is the Future for Family Medicine
Dr. Richardson is Founder and Medical Director of Dr. Richardson’s Neighborhood Family Practice in Oak Park, Illinois for the past 24 years. Dr. Richardson has taught on the national level co-lecturing with the former U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. David Satcher, on disparities in healthcare. He was recently featured on NBC’s Today show for his home visits to some of Chicago’s most dangerous neighborhoods, where he and his wife grew up.  He was also featured as a “Harvey’s Hero” on the Steve Harvey Show.  He is a recognized leader in recruiting and supporting underrepresented minorities in medical education.  His daughter, Jessica, is now an intern at UIC Family Medicine Residency.

Why:  The Family Medicine Midwest Foundation is a 501 (c) 3 organization, established in 2012 by the Illinois Academy of Family Physicians along with family medicine organizations in the Midwest, and dedicated to family medicine workforce development.  Learn more at www.iafp.com/fmm