The UTMB Health Department of Family Medicine is pleased to congratulate Victor Sierpina, MD and Barbara L. Thompson, MD for being named one of Texas' Super Doctors® for 2016. The listing of Texas' Super Doctors is featured in Texas Monthly magazine.

R. Russell Thomas Jr., DO, MPH presented a lecture on December 1, 2016 as part of the UTMB Health Department of Family Medicine's Grand Rounds. Dr. Thomas presented "Country Medicine Revisited: The Evolution of Rural Medicine Over the Past 30 Years" and shared his thoughts and experiences as a small-town primary care physician.

The UTMB Health Department of Family Medicine is pleased to share that its three departmental practices—Family Medicine Clinic - Dickinson, Family Medicine Clinic - Island East, and Family Medicine Clinic - Island West—have received renewed recognition from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) as Level 3 Patient-Centered Medical Homes.

The UTMB Health Department of Family Medicine regrets to announce that Linda Hubbell (67) passed away on Monday, November 14, 2016 after her battle with leukemia.

The UTMB Health Department of Family Medicine is proud to announce that Tricia Elliott, MD has accepted the position of Vice President for Academic Affairs, Designated Institutional Officer, and Chief Academic Officer with the the JPS Health Network in Forth Worth, Texas. While we are very sad that Dr. Elliott will be leaving her current position as Director of the UTMB Health Family Medicine Residency Program, we are happy for her and wish her very well in her new position. We are also happy to announce that Jamal Islam, MD has accepted the position of Director of the UTMB Health Family Medicine Residency Program, effective January 1, 2017.

On Saturday, October 8, 2016 the UTMB Health School of Medicine and the Area Health Education Center (AHEC) held a banquet and awarded 13 community-based physicians the 2016 UTMB Health Teachers of Distinction Award. Among the recipients were three family physicians who support students of the Department of Family Medicine: W. David Toronjo, MD, Bodo Brauer, MD, and Rogelio "Roger" Gonzalez, Jr, MD.

The UTMB Health Family Medicine Interest Group (FMIG) along Family Medicine faculty, residents and staff hosted the 6th Annual Primary Care Procedures at the Primary Care Pavilion (PCP2) Thursday evening, October 6th from 5:30 until 9pm.

UTMB Health Family Medicine residents collected funds and school supplies during the month of September for donation to Kidz Harbor.

Andrea Link, MD, a Clinical Assistant Professor with the Department of Family and Community Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, will be the guest lecturer during UTMB Health's Department of Family Medicine Grand Rounds on September 15, 2016. Dr. Link will discuss the identification of human trafficking victims in the primary care setting.

A team of UTMB Health Family Medicine residents and faculty members participated in a health fair sponsored by the First Baptist Church of Texas City on Saturday, May 21, 2016.

The Department of Family Medicine held its annual Research Day on Thursday, May 19, 2016. All UTMB Health Family Medicine Residents participated, as well as many faculty members.

The UTMB Health Family Medicine Interest Group has announced its 2016-2017 officers.

The Department of Family Medicine is pleased to announce that Petra Kelsey, Shawn Abreu, and Laurie Jansky are the winners of the 2016 Weldon G. Kolb, MD, Medical Student Scholarship.

UTMB Health's Dr. Julie McKee, Associate Professor of Family Medicine and Assistant Dean for Student Affairs will be speaking at the 2016 Celebrating Women - Mind | Body | Spirit 9th Annual Conference, hosted by the Galveston Chamber of Commerce on April 14, 2016. Dr. McKee will be talking about "Living from the Heart."

The UTMB Health Department of Family Medicine has published its 2015 Annual Report. The report summarizes the activities of the faculty, staff, and residents of the department from September 1, 2014 to August 31, 2015.

The 2016 Match is complete and the UTMB Health Department of Family Medicine is pleased to welcome our incoming resident Class of 2019.

The Department of Family Medicine is pleased to announce that Dimple Desai, MD and Nicole Merli, MD, will serve as Chief Residents for the 2016-2017 year.

We are proud to announce that UTMB Health family physician, associate professor and residency program director Tricia C. Elliott, MD was sworn in as the president-elect of the Texas Academy of Family Physicians (TAFP) at the 2015 Annual Session and Primary Care Summit this November.

This year's UTMB Health, School of Medicine Teachers of Distinction Awards banquet was held on Saturday, October 17th. This year, three family physician preceptors, Dr. Leslie Garb, Dr. Dennis Pangtay, and Dr. John Kirkwood, were among the 10 recipients of the "Top Doc" awards.

The UTMB Health Department of Family Medicine and the Family Medicine Interest Group (FMIG) hosted the 5th Annual Primary Care Procedures at the Primary Care Pavilion workshop (PCP2 ) for medical students on October 8, 2015 at the Primary Care Pavilion on the second floor from 5:30 pm - 8:30 pm.