LEAWOOD, Kan., Sept. 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Academy of Family Physicians announced the recipients of its most prestigious awards at its annual meeting this week. Three family physicians from across the nation were recognized for their outstanding contributions to family medicine and the health of the public. Each of these awards recognizes a family physician who has made exceptional advances in furthering the health of their communities through service and education.

- Laura Parajon, MD, was awarded the AAFP's Public Health Award. The Public Health Award recognizes the important contributions that family physicians make to advancing the health of the public at the national, state or local levels. Parajon is Deputy Cabinet Secretary of Health at the New Mexico Department of Health, assistant professor at the University of New Mexico Department of Family and Community Medicine as well as the executive director of the Office for Community Health.

- Evelyn Figueroa, MD, was awarded the AAFP's Humanitarian Award. The Humanitarian Award honors extraordinary and enduring humanitarian efforts by an AAFP member, both within and beyond the borders of the United States. Figueroa is the executive co-director of the Figueroa Wu Family Foundation, a non-profit organization that conducts anti-poverty work. In January 2018, the Foundation founded the University of Illinois-Chicago Health Pilsen Food Pantry. The Pantry services vulnerable communities and distributed over 500,000 pounds of food and household items last year.

- Linda Prine, MD, received the AAFP's Thomas W. Johnson Award. The award recognizes those who have profoundly impacted family medicine education in undergraduate, graduate, and continuing education spheres. Prine is the Director of Women's Health at the Institute for Family Health, co-founder and co-director of the Reproductive Health Care and Advocacy Fellowship, and Professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, New York. She is a national leader in reproductive health care advocacy.

- James Clower, MD, received the AAFP's Robert Graham Physician Executive Award. This award is reserved for an AAFP member whose executive skills in health care organizations have contributed to excellence in the provision of high-quality health care and the impact on improving the overall health of the nation. Clower is the chief medical officer at Baptist Primary Care, Inc. in Jacksonville, Florida. He serves on the board of Baptist Primary Care, chair of the QA/QI Committee, and is a member of the Finance, EHR and Practice Transformation Committees.

About the American Academy of Family Physicians
Founded in 1947, the AAFP represents 133,500 physicians and medical students nationwide. It is the largest medical society devoted solely to primary care. Family physicians conduct approximately one in five office visits -- that's 192 million visits annually or 48 percent more than the next most visited medical specialty. Today, family physicians provide more care for America's underserved and rural populations than any other medical specialty. Family medicine's cornerstone is an ongoing, personal patient-physician relationship focused on integrated care. To learn more about the specialty of family medicine, the AAFP's positions on issues and clinical care, and for downloadable multi-media highlighting family medicine, visit www.aafp.org/media. For information about health care, health conditions and wellness, please visit the AAFP's award-winning consumer website, www.familydoctor.org.

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SOURCE American Academy of Family Physicians