Linda A. Walsh, MD, Receives National Honor from American Academy of Family Physicians

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American Academy of Family Physicians

Oct 22, 2014, 12:39 ET

WASHINGTON, Oct. 22, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Linda A. Walsh, MD, a family physician at Jarrettsville Family Care in Jarrettsville, Maryland, was awarded the 2014 Humanitarian Award by the American Academy of Family Physicians at its annual meeting.

The Humanitarian Award honors extraordinary and enduring humanitarian efforts by AAFP members, both within and beyond the borders of the United States.

Walsh is the medical director and chair of the Steering Committee for the Dominican Republic Medical Mission. She has been leading annual medical missions to the Dominican Republic since 2003, when local Girl Scouts and members of her church joined forces to do service work in the Dominican Republic. Walsh was one of a group of 20 volunteers and was immediately struck by the immense medical needs of the community and the lack of access to basic health care. She returned the next year with basic medical supplies and a small team to help run medical clinics in churches and schools in the area. They treated 150 patients.

During the years, the team increased in size and scope. In 2014, Walsh's team held 13 clinics and treated more than 700 patients. They also initiated and oversaw the installation of a water purification system in Esperanza, a Haitian refugee village. Her hope is to reduce ongoing medial issues which stem from contaminated water.

With the help of generous donors, Walsh and her team sponsor a school lunch program and fund the education for several university students, including two medical students, in the Dominican Republic. She works closely with international charities, including MAP International, Kingsway Charities and Medical Missionaries of Manassas, that sponsor health care services for her Dominican Republic patients.

Walsh started at Jarrettsville Family Care in 1997 and purchased the practice in 2000. She also serves as its medical director.

Walsh has been a member of the AAFP since 1983. She serves as a board member of the Greater Baltimore Health Alliance and is a member of the Maryland State Medical Society.

A board certified family physician, Walsh received her undergraduate degree from Wagner College, Staten Island, New York; and her medical degree from the University of Buffalo, New York. She completed her family medicine residency at Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island.

About the American Academy of Family Physicians
Founded in 1947, the AAFP represents 115,900 physicians and medical students nationwide. It is the only medical society devoted solely to primary care.

Approximately one in four of all office visits are made to family physicians. That is nearly 214 million office visits each year — nearly 74 million more than the next largest 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