• Education
• Outreach
• Research
• Patient Care
• People

AAFP chooses University of Arizona Residency Graduate as Family Physician of the Year for the Second Straight Year

The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) today named Adele O’Sullivan, M.D., the 2006 Family Physician of the Year at the opening ceremony of its Annual Scientific Assembly. The Family Physician of the Year award honors an outstanding American family physician who provides patients with compassionate and comprehensive care, and serves as a role model professionally and personally to his or her community, other health professionals, and residents and medical students. O’Sullivan has committed her life to providing medical care to the underserved populations in Arizona, especially the homeless. She has spent the last nine years as the medical director of the Maricopa County Health Care for the Homeless Program, providing primary health care to homeless individuals and families in Maricopa County, Ariz., the fourth most populous county in the United States. O’Sullivan practices the full spectrum of family medicine including pediatrics, obstetrics, general medicine, and emergency and urgent care. In addition to her clinical practice, O’Sullivan is a mentor and teacher, serving as a Clinical Lecturer at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, Department of Family and Community Medicine, and providing a unique rotation for medical residents and students on the health care needs of the homeless and underserved. “She is hopeful, positive and so respectful of her patients,” describes Jennifer Boyden, M.D., a family physician at the Mayo Clinic who worked alongside O’Sullivan during her residency training. In addition to receiving the Family Physician of the Year award from the AAFP, O’Sullivan was awarded the outstanding service award in 2003 from the National Health Care for the Homeless Clinician’s Network. O’Sullivan received her medical degree from the University of Arizona College Of Medicine in Tucson, Ariz.

The AAFP Congress of Delegates named Richard Paris, M.D, a practicing family physician from Hailey, Ida., the 2005 AAFP Family Physician of the Year. Dr. Paris is chief of the medical staff for Blaine County Hospital and has been caring for patients in his community for almost 25 years. In addition to his patients in Hailey, Dr. Paris provides care to residents in Challis, a mountain outpost 130 miles from Hailey, serving as medical director of their rural health clinic since 1999. He teaches two courses through the University of Washington School of Medicine for medical students advancing into their second year of training and a rural program for third-year students. Dr. Paris received his medical degree from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, N.Y., and completed a family practice residency at the University of Arizona in Tucson.