Attention: You are using an outdated browser, device or you do not have the latest version of JavaScript downloaded and so this website may not work as expected. Please download the latest software or switch device to avoid further issues.
| 31 Oct 2025 | |
| IAFP Awards |
The Family Medicine Shining Star Award recognizes a physician who provides patients with compassionate, comprehensive and caring family medicine as a role model professionally and personally to other health professionals, and residents and medical students. That physician exemplifies and goes above and beyond in the family physician’s leadership role improving the health of our state. The Task Force selected Adam Houghton, MD, FAAFP of Bloomington Primary Care as the first ever IAFP Family Medicine Shining Star.
He’s from Havana, which is a small town about an hour from Bloomington. “I grew up in a small town and always thought of being a doctor from that lens. I love the scope of family medicine in both practice and patient population. I wanted to continue to build long-lasting relationships with my patients and their families.”
His wife, Marie, went to grad school at ISU. She's a speech-language pathologist. Bloomington landed as a good in-between point between his hometown and hers in Chicago’s suburbs.
Not sure where to start, Dr. Houghton called recruiters for the health systems for leads and one from Advocate Health Care, who knew a local primary care practice owner looking to hire and personally connected him to Bloomington Primary Care. He’s been there for 12 years now.
That practice owner, Dr. Stepen Pilcher may ring a bell with IAFP members, as he is the 2016 Family Physician of the Year and nominated Dr. Houghton for the Award. Bloomington Primary Care remains the last independent adult primary care practice in town.
2016 FP of Year article
Bloomington Primary Care’s independence also enabled him to purse and take on leadership positions in the gender-affirming community, and in the public sphere.
Says Houghton: “Dr. Pilcher's always said, if you have interest areas, then we're gonna be behind you in supporting that.”
How did you get started with gender-affirming care and the LGBTQ community?
Adam Houghton: “I started doing it a number of years ago. I remember the first person I treated. Most patients were traveling to St. Louis or Chicagoland for care, which triggered me to ask, why is no one doing this locally. So I did some self-directed learning and I went to a conference up at Howard Brown in Chicago.”
He then started providing, gender-affirming care, and that service spread mostly by word of mouth by patients that had a good experience with at the practice. Which led to even more proactive outreach and joining the Central Illinois Friends organization out of Peoria. CI Friends provides screening, prevention, and even have mobile units that provide a vital connection between other cities in Central Illinois. They now have a branch in Bloomington, also are and working on establishing a clinic in Galesburg. Since 2021, he is the volunteer Medical Director for Central Illinois Friends, Peoria-based LGBTQ care. He deeply believes in the power of patient autonomy and understands that each individual is the true expert in their own health journey.
“What truly sets Dr. Houghton apart is his commitment to the patient-centered model of care. He deeply believes in the power of patient autonomy and understands that each individual is the true expert in their own health journey. As a leader, he fosters a collaborative environment where patients are empowered to actively participate in their care plans. As an advocate, he fights for equitable access to healthcare for marginalized populations and underserved communities, especially the LGBTQIA+ community and those in need of reproductive health services.”
-Deric Kimler, Executive Director, Central Illinois Friends
For those patients, it changes not only their access to gender-affirming care, specifically hormone therapy or those options, and connecting them to other resources that are available and will meet any of their health care needs for anyone LGBTQ+ with holistic care across the board. “Our whole practice reflects that buy-in and education and affirming care. It’s also the front desk, it's the nurses, it's the rooming technicians, the lab, it's everybody. Patients know that this practice as a whole, is a safe place to be the confidence that we have their best interests in mind,” summarizes Houghton.
And unfortunately, I've had patients who had bad experiences at other facilities, and so they're often coming with a lot of reservations about healthcare in general, or concerns that they're going to be discounted or mistreated.
“As a leader, he fosters a collaborative environment where patients are empowered to actively participate in their care plans. As an advocate, he fights for equitable access to healthcare for marginalized populations and underserved communities, especially the LGBTQIA+ community and those in need of reproductive health services.
“He respects the individual and their right to agency and self-determination. Although this is throughout his entire practice, it is best seen with gender-affirming care. At a time when transgender patients are more scared than ever, he is their champion. He is shockingly courageous. He inspires us all, including me.” says Stephen Pilcher, MD, FAAFP.
Asked how does his current situation compare to the career he envisioned after residency 12 years ago, Houghton doesn’t hesitate. “I would say it’s better than I envisioned. I didn't necessarily have a lot of previous experience with the business aspects of medicine. I've learned so much over the last 10, 12 years. Navigating everything from, credentialing, practice supplies and staffing all the things that you do not really have to think about in employed situations. On the flip side, I think it can be very empowering to know that we're doing things for the right reason. We’ll make decisions as a whole practice. So we can choose to make decisions or policies in our office that are patient-forward, not solely based on economics.”
Summing up his career so far, Houghton says: “I'm in a supportive practice in an area close to where I grew up, that we can make a lot of changes and impact that way and I think that’s pretty cool.”
-Stephen Pilcher, MD – Bloomington Primary Care
More Q&A with Dr. Houghton
When you go to speak to some of the groups like the nursing school, and the high schools, and future health professionals, what's your message about family medicine and the work you do? What do you take out into the community with you?
"I would say the importance of having a primary care provider, because so many people, especially at younger ages, I think, sort of let that lapsed for a while, I know I did, when I was in my late teens and 20s. So I think that can be a big, important thing, and to encourage thinking of primary care as a career. That’s how I always envisioned being a doctor was a kind of all-encompassing family medicine practice. And so, it's nice to have that solidify in a practice and a career that reflects what I thought medicine was gonna be like."
He has precepted more than 30 MD, DO, APN, and PA students and residents while at Bloomington Primary Care.
What message do you have for the next generation of family physicians, who are finishing residency now, or in their first or second year of practice?
"I would say, one of the great things is that it’s obviously a very broad medicine field and for some people, that can be daunting or scary to think about how do I ever try to capture all of this that we're trying to take care of? But it's also great that because it's such a broad field, there are so many areas that you can kind of focus on. Full spectrum is awesome, but it's nice to have those little carve-out areas that you have special interest in. Hopefully any place that they're looking at in the future will really support that and encourage that, no matter what that is.
I hope the future family medicine providers continue to expand their scope of practice to enrich the lives of their own patients and their community at large. I think family medicine is specifically well-suited to focus on the health and wellness of underserved and underrepresented communities, and I envision the compassion and expertise of family medicine providers to continue making strides toward health equity for all people.”
Just the facts:
Community engagement: Speaking engagements, interviews, and panel discussions with Carle-BroMenn Family Medicine Residency Program, ISU Mennonite College of Nursing, Illinois Wesleyan University, Bloom Community School, Normal-West High School Pride Club, Multicultural Leadership Institute, Queerformative LGBTQ+ forum, Lake Run Club of Bloomington-Normal, Community Brain Health Program, Peoria PFLAG,
Family Medicine Leadership: He serves as committee chair on Clinical Integration network (Carle Health Physician Partners CHPP) leading other network physicians in superior care. Has also done media appearances with The Paul Garcia Show, The Bloomington Pantagraph, WGLT radio.
Dr. Houghton and his wife Marie have a boy Mason, 14 and a girl Lydia, 11.
What do enjoy doing outside of family medicine?
I enjoy reading. I read lots of fiction, sci-fi, and fantasy. I have a group of friends where we do a lot of, Dungeons & Dragons and other board games. I've been to a board game convention for several years with one of my college roommates and a bunch of other friends.
Something that would surprise us?
I have a twin brother who's a cold case detective, and they recently solved a 40-year-old cold case this summer in Elgin, Illinois that generated news and TV articles. The podcast called “Somebody Knows Something” led to the discovery of a vehicle on the Fox River with a missing person inside. My younger brother runs the tugboat business in Havana, as my dad did.
