Alabama Family Practice Rural Health Board Supports USA's Success in Training Family Practice Physicians

From left: Drs. Allen Perkins, Jacquelyn Gaffney and Heather Cannon

Dr. Allen Perkins, professor and chair of family medicine at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine, has been awarded two grants by the Alabama Family Practice Rural Health Board to help encourage medical students to practice family medicine in rural areas of Alabama.

Dr. Perkins, who serves as president of the Alabama Rural Health Association, said the ongoing support to encourage students to choose family medicine and to practice in rural Alabama points to our institutional success in this area.

“Our efforts are to support a care system for people in rural areas, and we are ultimately looking at how to better deliver care using limited resources,” Dr. Perkins said. “We face a challenge because a large section of the state of Alabama has a small number of providers, and there are simply not enough primary care residency slots to meet the increased need. However, USA has a very good reputation for putting students in medically underserved areas.”

Funds provided in the first grant, totaling $30,000, will go toward preparing graduates for practice in rural Alabama by supporting remote conferencing for all resident physicians, particularly those on rural and community rotations.

The second grant, totaling $32,750, will also prepare graduates for rural practice. The funds will support professional development and allow for interaction with leaders in family medicine, as well as provide funding for practice management seminars and a family medicine interest group.

According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, the number of medical school students in the United States going into primary care has dropped nearly 50 percent in the last 10 years.

“A large number of medical students are avoiding primary care,” said Dr. Michael McBrearty, chairman of the Alabama Family Practice Rural Health Board. “Our goal is to encourage medical students to practice family medicine and to practice it in rural areas after they complete medical school.”

“It is important to further family medicine in the state because of the nationwide shortage of primary care physicians,” Dr. McBrearty said. “Family medicine is the main portal of entry for medical care for most people.”

The Alabama Family Practice Rural Health Board was created in 1990 as a result of a task force on rural health that began in 1989. The board’s mission is to help facilitate family medicine education in Alabama by encouraging high school and college students to pursue an education in rural family medicine.

Dr. Perkins has been a member of the USA College of Medicine faculty for approximately 17 years. During this time, he has been involved in many educational and clinical facets of the USA Health System, including serving as director of the family medicine residency program and as medical director for the USA Family Medical Center. He is a member of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, the Association of Family Practice Program Directors, American Academy of Family Physicians and the Alabama Academy of Family Physicians.

USA College of Medicine Welcomes Dr. Silvio W. de Melo Jr.

Dr. Silvio W. de Melo Jr. was recently appointed as assistant professor of internal medicine in the division of gastroenterology at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine.

He will be bringing two new services to the department – the endoscopic ultrasound and the endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR).

During an endoscopic ultrasound, physicians can obtain tissue confirmation and staging for a variety of cancers, including lung, esophagus, stomach, pancreas and rectal cancer. It is also used in benign conditions such as the evaluation of abdominal pain and pancreatitis.

In order to perform these new services, USA has purchased the most recent equipment for endoscopic ultrasound, called the Olympus radial and curvilinear echoendoscopes with the Aloka 10 processor.

Dr. de Melo will also be performing EMRs, procedures in which large polyps in the esophagus, stomach, duodenum, colon and rectum are removed. All of these techniques are performed through the use of a camera and are all outpatient procedures.

Dr. de Melo earned his medical degree from Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade Federal de Pernambuco in Recife, Brazil. He conducted his internal medicine residency at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

In addition, Dr. de Melo completed a fellowship in gastroenterology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, where he also served as chief fellow, and an advanced endoscopy fellowship at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla.

Dr. de Melo graduated cum laude and as top student in a class of 75 at the Universidade Federal de Pernambuco. He was also awarded the Otavio de Freitas medal for outstanding achievement during medical school, and he is a member of the Kaplan Medical Honor Society. Dr. de Melo is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine.

Dr. de Melo is now accepting gastroenterology referrals and appointments. To contact Dr. de Melo, call (251) 660-5555.

The Obagi special offer is available exclusively for USA faculty, staff and students.

http://www.southalabama.edu/usahealthsystem/womenshealth/JulyObagiSpecial.pdf

USA College of Medicine Welcomes Dr. Sidney Ball Brevard

Dr. Sidney Ball Brevard was recently appointed as associate professor of surgery at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine. He will serve as a trauma surgeon in the Level I Trauma Center at the USA Medical Center.

Dr. Brevard served in the United States Air Force for 27 years. He was deployed to Afghanistan twice, in 2002 and 2008. In 2008, he served as chief of trauma for all U.S. Forces in Afghanistan. During his service, Dr. Brevard received a Bronze Star and a Legion of Merit Medal.

Prior to his appointment at USA, Dr. Brevard was director of the Air Force Center for Sustainment of Trauma and Readiness Skills (CSTARS) in Baltimore.

Dr. Brevard earned his bachelor’s degree in biology from Birmingham-Southern College in Birmingham, Ala., and his medical degree from USA. In addition, he received his master of public health degree from the Louisiana State University Health Science Center in Shreveport, La.

Dr. Brevard started his general surgery residency at Wilford Hall USAF Medical Center at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, and completed his residency at the Louisiana State University Health Science Center in Shreveport, La. In addition, he completed a surgical critical care/trauma fellowship in trauma and critical care at the Louisiana State University Health Science Center in New Orleans.

He is a diplomat for the American Board of Surgery, a fellow of the American College of Surgeons, and a member of the Society of Critical Care Medicine, the Society of Air Force Clinical Surgeons and the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma.

Dr. Brevard is certified by the American Board of Surgery in general surgery and critical care.

USA College of Medicine Welcomes Dr. Robert A. Stauffer

Dr. Robert A. Stauffer was recently appointed as associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine.  He will practice in the division of maternal fetal medicine.

Prior to his appointment at USA, Dr. Stauffer was a perinatologist at the Medical Center in Columbus, Ga.

Dr. Stauffer earned his medical degree from the Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, Pa. He completed his internship in medicine and his residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, S.C.

In addition, he completed a fellowship in perinatology at the University of Louisville in Louisville, Ky.

Dr. Stauffer is board certified in obstetrics and gynecology and maternal fetal medicine. He is now accepting referrals. To contact Dr. Stauffer, call (251) 415-1496.

July Med School Café - "Handling the Stress Associated with the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill"

The July Med School Café lecture titled, “Handling the Stress Associated with the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill,” will be led by two faculty members in the University of South Alabama College of Medicine and will take place July 22, 2010, at the College of Nursing Lecture Hall (Room 1013) in the Health Sciences Building on the USA main campus. The lecture will begin at 6 p.m.

This month’s lecture will provide an interactive forum where participants can ask questions about mental health issues relating to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill that has damaged the Gulf Coast.

Dr. Ronald Franks, vice president for health sciences and professor of psychiatry at the USA College of Medicine, along with Dr. Sandra Parker, vice-chair of the department of psychiatry at USA and chief medical officer of AltaPointe Health Systems, will lead the interactive forum.

“Although some people have been impacted by the oil spill more significantly than others, the entire community has felt the impact of stress and loss in some way,” Dr. Franks said. “It is important to understand how to effectively cope with this type of disaster and identify ways to manage stress and anxiety.”

According to Dr. Parker, the lecture will offer a potential starting point for those impacted by the disaster and will provide participants with encouragement and resources to seek additional help if needed.

Prior to his appointment at USA in 2007, Dr. Franks was vice president for health affairs and professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at East Tennessee State University. He has also served as dean of medicine at East Tennessee State and at the University of Minnesota Duluth School of Medicine.

Dr. Parker has been a child psychiatrist with AltaPointe for 17 years. During the last 10 years, she has served as chief medical officer for the organization.

The Med School Café lecture is provided free of charge, but reservations are required. To make reservations or to submit questions for this lecture, please call Kim Barnes at (251) 460-7770 or e-mail kebarnes@usouthal.edu .