The American Academy of Family Physicians Congress of Delegates (COD) selected Dr. Steven Furr, a family medicine physician from Jackson, Ala., as the organization’s president-elect. Furr, who was chosen Sept. 21 during a COD meeting in Washington, DC, has served as adjunct assistant professor with the CCHS Department of Family, Internal, and Rural Medicine. As…

Dr. Roland Ficken, longtime faculty member and dean of The University of Alabama College of Community Health Sciences from 1990 to 1996, died Aug. 2, 2022, at his home in Tuscaloosa. He was 86 years old. A native of Marshall, Okla., Ficken was born in 1936 and raised on a small farm. He received a…

Dr. Phillip Gregory Robbins, an alumnus of The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa Family Medicine Residency Program, died Aug. 13, 2022. He was 38 years old. The residency is operated by the UA College of Community Health Sciences. Robbins was born in 1984 in Gander, Newfoundland, Canada. His family later moved to Aliceville, Ala., in Pickens…

Dr. Lisa Gillespie, who has extensive practice and leadership experience in hospital medicine, was named medical director of the Capstone Hospitalist Group Aug. 1. She has served as interim medical director of the Tuscaloosa-based group since September 2021. Capstone Hospitalist Group was established in 2020 by University Medical Center in partnership with IN Compass Health…

University Medical Center, which is operated by the College of Community Health Sciences, opened a clinic in Livingston July 25 that will provide primary health care services to the Sumter County community. Dr. Richard Friend, dean of CCHs, said access to primary health care services is important, especially for rural communities in the state, where…

The practice of medicine isn’t only about illness and disease. It’s also about doctors connecting with patients, and with their peers. Sometimes the best way to build connections is through a study of the humanities, and that’s the idea behind The Art of Medicine Rounds. The monthly event at The University of Alabama College of…

Dr. Morgan Benefield joined CCHS as assistant professor in the Department of Family, Internal, and Rural Medicine. She will also care for patients at University Medical Center’s Dr. Bill deShazo Sports Medicine Center. UMC is operated by CCHS. Benefield received her medical degree, with honors, from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of…

Dr. Robert McKinney, assistant professor of Social Work with CCHS and director of the Office of Case Management and Social Services for University Medical Center, co-authored “When worlds collide: Socio-political conflict in patient care,” accepted for publication in the International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine. Daniela Monroy, a fourth-year medical student at CCHS, and Dr.…

  By Tehreem Khan For decades, reports have sounded the alarm about the looming shortage of primary care physicians in the United States. To mitigate the issue, the University of Alabama Marinex E. Heersink School of Medicine’s Primary Care Track aims to increase the number of students who pursue a medical career in primary care.…

CCHS Physician Creates an Exhibition about political cartoons on smoking. Dr. Alan Blum, founder and director of The University of Alabama Center for the Study of Tobacco and Society, has curated a new exhibition for the center that highlights the work of newspaper editorial cartoonists and the issue of smoking. Blum, also the Gerald Leon…