USA Health OB-GYN adds Whiddon COM alumnus Fesenmeier

Michael Fesenmeier, M.D.

To better meet the healthcare needs of patients and students, USA Health is expanding its women’s services division with the addition of Michael Fesenmeier, M.D.   

Fesenmeier, an OB-GYN and native of Mobile, spent two decades in private practice in the Cincinnati, Ohio, area before moving back to the Gulf Coast to join the University of South Alabama’s academic health system. He is now an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Whiddon College of Medicine and a practicing OB-GYN at USA Health. 

He treats the full spectrum of women’s obstetrics and gynecological healthcare needs and has performed numerous robotic hysterectomies. He is certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology and is a fellow with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.   

Fesenmeier received his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame, obtained his medical degree from the Whiddon College of Medicine in 2001, and completed his residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.  

The father of four said he is looking forward to providing his patients with the most comprehensive care available while helping to train new health care providers. “We know Mobile is a great place to raise your kids,” he said. “And it has been nice to come back to the place where it started. I had some excellent mentors, and hopefully I can be that for the next generation.”       

Besides his private practice, Fesenmeier served as the chief of staff at Mercy Hospital Anderson and was the OB-GYN department chair at Mercy Hospital Anderson, now Mercy Health – Anderson Hospital. From 2010 to 2021, he served as the medical director there.  

He is accepting new patients at USA Health OB-GYN, located on the fourth floor of USA Health Children’s & Women’s Hospital. To make an appointment, call 251-415-1496.  

Medical student presents research on social factors and gun violence at national public health conference

Ben Cockrell presents a poster at the American Public 

Health Association annual meeting. 

An interest in public policy and public health took Ben Cockrell, a medical student at the Whiddon College of Medicine, all the way to Minneapolis, Minnesota, for the American Public Health Association 2024 Annual Meeting and Expo.  

There, he presented a poster that analyzed factors that influence gun violence in Mobile County. He collaborated with Ashley Williams Hogue, M.D., a trauma surgeon and assistant professor of surgery, and the USA Health Department of Trauma Surgery.  

“My project was analyzing how social determinants of health impact gun violence risk among young people in Mobile County,” Cockrell said. “I was interested in this conference because I have an interest in how public policy can impact public health.”  

Cockrell said he enjoyed sharing his research with others, particularly those that focused on gun violence prevention.   

“I would like to thank Dr. Williams for letting me work on this project,” he said. “Her work as the new director of Center for Healthy Communities and in Project Inspire has shown me the impact physicians can have on public health, and I hope to have a similar positive impact on my community when I practice medicine in the future.”  

Project Inspire, founded by Williams Hogue, is USA Health's multi-week, hospital-based injury prevention program which combines trauma center exposure, mentorship and career development. Created for at-risk youth, it seeks to curb gun violence in the community while preparing teens for success after high school. 

Cockrell plans to pursue a career in pediatrics or internal medicine.   

“I hope to continue work in assessing public health concerns and how factors like social determinants of health impact overall community health,” he said.  

The American Public Health Association champions optimal, equitable health and well-being for all. Using its broad-based member community and 150-year perspective, the organization lobbies for public health issues and policies backed by science with the intent to influence federal policy to improve the public’s health.