John Meigs, Jr., MD, FAAFP, Assumes Role of President of the American Academy of Family Physicians

ORLANDO, Fla., Sept. 21, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- John Meigs, Jr., MD, FAAFP, a family physician in Centreville, Alabama, today assumes the role of president of the American Academy of Family Physicians. Previously, he served one year as president-elect, four years as speaker and three years as vice speaker of the AAFP's governing body, the Congress of Delegates. The AAFP represents 124,900 physicians and medical students nationwide.

As president of the AAFP, Meigs will advocate on behalf of family physicians and patients to inspire positive change in the U.S. health care system.

Meigs was in private practice in Centreville, Alabama, his hometown, from 1982 to 2013. In 2013, he merged with another practice to become a part of Bibb Medical Associates, which is housed in a clinic at Bibb Medical Center, a 25-bed rural hospital in Centreville. He also serves as chief of staff at Bibb Medical Center.

A member of the AAFP since 1979, Meigs has served on numerous commissions and committees, including the Scientific Assembly Resolutions Committee and the Committee on Rural Health. He also is a past member of the AAFP Commission on Health of the Public. Prior to his terms as speaker and vice speaker of the Congress of Delegates, he had served as Alabama's delegate or alternate delegate to the Congress since 1996.

Meigs is an active member of the Alabama Academy of Family Physicians. He served on its board of directors, including terms as president-elect, president and board chair. He also has served on the Alabama AFP's Executive Committee and chaired both the Public Relations Committee and Education Committee. Meigs also was vice president of the Alabama Academy of Family Physicians Foundation, the charitable arm of the organization, from 2003 to 2008.

A former speaker of the House of Delegates and College of Counselors for the Medical Association of the State of Alabama, Meigs currently serves as a member of its Board of Censors. In addition, he is a member of the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners and the chair of the State Committee on Public Health. He also serves on the Alabama Family Practice Rural Health Board and the Alabama Board of Medical Scholarships.

Meigs is a clinical associate professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, and a clinical professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Alabama School of Medicine, Birmingham. In 2003, he was awarded the University of Alabama School of Medicine Argus Award for Best Attending Physician in Family Medicine. Meigs also serves as adjunct clinical faculty for the Cahaba Family Medicine Residency Program in his home town of Centreville. In 2014, he was inducted into the Alabama Healthcare Hall of Fame.

An active member of his community, Meigs serves on the Board of Directors of Distinguished Young Women of Bibb County, a scholarship program for high school senior girls. He was President of that organization from 1995 to 2015. In 2004, he was named Bibb County Citizen of the Year by the Kiwanis Club of Centreville

Meigs earned his Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, and his medical degree from the University of South Alabama, Mobile. He completed his family medicine residency at the University of Alabama Birmingham Selma Family Practice Residency Program in Selma, Alabama, where he also served as chief resident.

Meigs is board certified by the American Board of Family Medicine. He has the AAFP Degree of Fellow, an earned degree awarded to family physicians for distinguished service and continuing medical education.

About the American Academy of Family Physicians

Founded in 1947, the AAFP represents 124,900 physicians and medical students nationwide. It is the only medical society devoted solely to primary care.

Family physicians conduct approximately one in five office visits -- that's 192 million visits annually or 48 percent more than to the next most visited medical specialty. Today, family physicians provide more care for America's underserved and rural populations than any other medical specialty. Family medicine's cornerstone is an ongoing, personal patient-physician relationship focused on integrated care.

To learn more about the specialty of family medicine, the AAFP's positions on issues and clinical care, and for downloadable multi-media highlighting family medicine, visit www.aafp.org/media. For information about health care, health conditions and wellness, please visit the AAFP's award-winning consumer website, www.FamilyDoctor.org.

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SOURCE American Academy of Family Physicians