SOM Department of Family Medicine 50th Anniversary
The UVA School of Medicine Department of Family Medicine celebrated its 50th anniversary the weekend of October 1, 2022, one year late due to COVID. The department began as a joint division of internal medicine and pediatrics in 1971 with Richard Lindsay, MD, an internist who specialized in geriatrics, as the founding division head. The most significant change in the department’s history came in 1977 with the elevation of the division to department status and the appointment of B. Lewis Barnett, Jr., MD as the first department chair. Under Dr. Barnett’s leadership and lengthy tenure as chair, the department grew steadily and in 1980, it moved from the old Towers Office Building on West Main Street to the newly built Primary Care Center on Lee Street, occupying the main floor where the primary teaching practice is still located. Since that time, the department has continued to grow through the leadership of its chairs: Sim Galazka, MD, Norman Oliver, MD, Susan Pollart, MD, as interim chair, and Li Li, MD, current chair.
The celebratory gala on October 1 brought together a host of current and former faculty, residents, and staff and reminded all of the profound value of primary care to the communities we serve whether local, regional, national, or international. The Department of Family Medicine has impacted all of these communities through its high quality, evidence-based care, its commitment to caring for diverse patient populations, and its fully integrated behavioral medicine care model. The anniversary gala was a celebration of the Department of Family Medicine’s impact on the 300 residents and countless students it has trained, the deeply meaningful mentoring from its faculty, and the professional commitment of its staff.
Filed Under: Honors & Awards