June 2019 Accolades

July 8, 2019

Dr. Jessica Powell, a resident of The University of Alabama Family Medicine Residency, presented a poster titled “The Impact of Family Medicine-Obstetric Care on Infant Mortality Rates in Rural Alabama” at the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine Annual Spring Conference in Toronto, Canada. The residency is operated by the College of Community Health Sciences. The results of Powell’s study show that access to local prenatal care and delivery services in Pickens County, Alabama, was associated with a more than 60% drop in the infant mortality rate for the rural county. The study also found that when the hospital in Pickens County closed its labor and delivery unit and patients had to find prenatal care and delivery services in neighboring cities and counties, infant mortality rates returned almost to baseline. Powell presented her poster with CCHS faculty Dr. Catherine Skinner, a family medicine obstetrician, and Dr. Drake Lavender, a family medicine physician.


Drs. Richard Giovane and Stephanie Kinsley, residents of The University of Alabama Family Medicine Residency, authored the textbook EKGs in a Nutshell: A Practical Companion. The residency is operated by the College of Community Health Sciences. Dr. Robert Sheppard, an associate professor of internal medicine for the College and director of its Hospitalist Medicine Services, is also an author. The textbook on EKG interpretation is written for the generalist and includes a broad array of clinical examples and detailed clinical applications. It provides readers with real-life EKG analysis taken from patients the authors have personally cared for, enabling them to provide clinical details most helpful to the interpreting and referring physicians.


Dr. Pamela Payne Foster, College of Community Health Sciences, was selected as a member of the next cohort of mid-career aspiring leaders for the second MSI Aspiring Leaders Forum by the Penn Center for Minority Serving Institutions in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania.


Dr. Jane Weida, interim chair of the College’s Department of Family, Internal, and Rural Medicine, was elected to the Medical Association of the State of Alabama Board of Censors representing District 7. The position also places Weida as a member of the Board of Medical Examiners and the Board of the State Committee of Public Health. Weida also serves as associate director of The University of Alabama Family Medicine Residency, which the College operates, and is director of clinical affairs for University Medical Center’s family medicine clinics. UMC is operated by the College. The Medical Association of the State of Alabama is the professional association for 7,000 physicians throughout Alabama.