UA’s Avery Receives Health Policy Leadership Award

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The University of Alabama’s Dr. Daniel Avery was nationally recognized for his work in the medical field and for the dedication he has shown to his students over the years.

Avery, professor and chair of the UA College of Community Health Sciences’ department of obstetrics and gynecology, is the 2014 recipient of the Louis W. Sullivan, MD, Health Policy Leadership Award, recently presented by the American Board of Physicians Specialists.

The award, named for Dr. Louis W. Sullivan, the former secretary of the U.S Department of Health and Human Services during the George H. W. Bush administration (1989-1993) and the founding dean of Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, is presented to a physician who has served as a champion of major health policy changes and an advocate for health policy improvements.

According to the American Board of Physicians Specialists, the award goes to someone who has made an outstanding contribution to improve the health status of an individual, a group of people or a population.

The award was established in 2012 and was first presented to Dr. Omofolasade Kosoko-Lasaki, associate vice president of health sciences and professor of surgery (ophthalmology), preventative medicine and public health at Creighton University School of Medicine in Omaha, Nebraska. She, in turn, nominated Avery for this year’s award.

Avery worked with Kosoko-Lasaki at the American Academy of Surgery, and she nominated Avery for his work as a family medicine physician who also provides obstetrical care in rural areas, including Winfield, where he has practiced since he completed his residency and provides obstetrical care for about 4,000 patients. Avery also provides obstetrical care to the Demopolis community after its Bryan Whitfield Memorial Hospital closed its labor and delivery unit earlier this year.

Kosoko-Lasaki also recognized Avery’s work with medical students who choose to practice family medicine in rural areas. The College serves as the Tuscaloosa Regional Campus for the University of Alabama School of Medicine, which is headquartered in Birmingham. Kosoko-Lasaki also cited his work with the Alabama Family Practice Rural Health Board.

“I am honored to have received this award,” Avery said. “The best part about it was that Dr. Sullivan came to the ABPS meeting and presented me with the award.”

Sullivan, who is now retired, remains, according to Avery, “a champion for the rural, underserved and minority populations.” He is a public member of the ABPS board of directors and chairman of the board of the National Health Museum in Atlanta.

According to the Alabama Department of Public Health, the lack of OB/GYN services in rural counties makes it challenging for rural residents to receive adequate prenatal care. In Alabama, 25.9 percent of the live births in 2012 occurred with less than adequate prenatal care, according to the ADPH and the Adequacy of Prenatal Care Utilization (Kotelchuck) Index.

The lack of adequate prenatal care can lead to problems and complications, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Babies of mothers who do not receive prenatal care are three times more likely to have a low birth weight and five times more likely to die than those born to mothers who do get care, according to the department.