Karen Broaders, MD, has been named to the Millikin University Board of Trustees. This alumni feature also highlights her dedication to family medicine and caring for people in Danville. “It’s something when you end up taking care of a baby that you delivered — and then later seeing them grow up,” she said. “There are students currently enrolled at Millikin that I delivered.”

IAFP member Tony Miksanek, MD, was featured on MedHum.org reflecting on his 30 years as a small-town family physician, long-distance runner, writer, and more. Dr. Miksanek is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Medical Humanities at the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine.

President-elect Santina Wheat, MD, continued her weekly Northwestern Medicine visits on the WGN Radio Wendy Snyder Show on June 14, talking about ChatGPT and asking AI for answers to their symptoms. Also, after listening, you will want to clean your earbuds!

Ari Epstein, MD, gave a live interview to ABC7 Chicago on June 10, providing guidance on summer workout safety and recognizing symptoms of heat-related illness.

IAFP past president Javette C. Orgain, MD, received an Alumni Achievement Award from the University of Illinois Chicago Alumni Association on May 14. Dr. Orgain received her BS, MD, and MPH degrees from UIC and has continued to contribute as a physician, educator, and mentor ever since.

IAFP president-elect Santina Wheat, MD, joined the WGN Radio Lisa Snyder Show on May 11 to talk about May’s mental health awareness month.

Lisa Green, DO, MPH, Chief Executive Officer at Family Christian Health Center, was named one of Crain's Notable Leaders in Health Care 2026.

IAFP member Rahmat Na’Allah, MD, was voted onto the Infant and Maternal Mortality Task Force of the Illinois Department of Public Health last week, serving as a representative of the IAFP. The task force created in 2019 includes representatives from various stakeholders who share a passion for reducing infant and maternal mortality in Illinois. They are especially tasked with looking at the racial disparity in these poor outcomes and identifying strategies to not only reduce the mortality rates, but specifically narrow this gap.  

Congratulations to an IAFP member whose advocacy and education work have had a profound impact on the community. Ruchi Fitzgerald, MD, is the recipient of the 2026 ISMS Physician of the Year award. As a family physician and addiction medicine specialist, she has expanded the scope of services for pregnant women experiencing substance use disorder across diverse settings. Dr. Fitzgerald was also a presenter at the IAFP’s first-ever Implicit Bias four-part workshop held online during the pandemic shutdown in 2021.

Kiran Joshi, MD, chief operating officer for the Cook County Department of Public Health, authored a commentary in the April 20 Chicago Sun-Times on the importance of everyone pre-bunking misleading health information, especially about vaccines.

IAFP First Vice President Mustafa Alavi, MD, appeared in a WBEZ-Illinois Public Radio and Chicago Sun-Times investigation of the impact of higher ACA premiums on Chicagoland patients. Dr. Alavi is the Chief Medical Officer at the FQHC clinic Erie Family Health Center in Evanston/Skokie.

Paul Luning, MD, and Mark Loafman, MD, were mentioned in an April 20 Austin Weekly News story chronicling the history of obstetrics services at West Suburban Medical Center and the impact of the hospital’s closing on the community. 

Drs. Joseph Ross and Mary Jo Ironside, who retired together on April 1. PGY-3 Reilly Wojciehowski, MD, shared their stories through a guest article in the Rockford Register Star and Freeport Journal Standard. Dr. Ross is also the IAFP 2022 Family Physician of the Year. Together, they laid the foundation for family medicine at the University of Illinois College of Medicine and the Family Medicine Residency, which continues to grow and thrive.

Our letter to the editor from IAFP President Corinne Kohler, MD, urging seasonal and vaccine use, especially the RSV vaccine, was published in the Chicago Sun-Times and the Champaign News-Gazette.       

Alyssa Vest Hart, DO, is the Senior Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs at Illinois College of Osteopathic Medicine at The Chicago School, which will begin its first class this fall. Dr. Hart is the 2020 IAFP Illinois Family Physician of the Year and previously served as Program Director of the Ascension Saint Joseph - Chicago Family Medicine Residency Program.