Robert L. Wergin, MD, FAAFP, Assumes Role of President of the American Academy of Family Physicians

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American Academy of Family Physicians

Oct 22, 2014, 12:23 ET

WASHINGTON, Oct. 22, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Robert L. Wergin, MD, FAAFP, a family physician in Milford, Nebraska, today assumes the role of president of the American Academy of Family Physicians. Previously, he served three years as a director on the AAFP Board and one year as president-elect. Wergin was chosen president-elect in September 2013 by the Congress of Delegates, the AAFP's governing body. The AAFP represents 115,900 physicians and medical students nationwide.

As president of the AAFP, Wergin will advocate on behalf of family physicians and patients nationwide to inspire positive change in the U.S. health care system. Outside the AAFP, he is a practicing family physician in the town where he was born and raised. He practices the full spectrum of family medicine at the Milford Family Practice Center, from obstetrics to geriatrics. He also serves as medical director of Crest View Care Center.

Growing up in a rural setting, Wergin learned the importance of community involvement. Wergin currently serves on the board of the Milford Public Schools Foundation, is medical director for the Milford volunteer fire department, team physician for Milford Public Schools and sideline physician for the Nebraska Shrine Bowl. He also serves as Milford city physician, and is an instructor of advanced cardiac and advanced trauma life support. In addition, Wergin is a volunteer faculty member at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, teaching medical students and residents on their rural rotations.

At the national level, Wergin has been an active member of the AAFP since 1982. He served as a delegate and alternate delegate to the AAFP's Congress of Delegates for 12 years and is a former member of the AAFP's Commission on Membership and Member Services, and the Website Advisory Committee.

At the state level, Wergin has been an active member of the Nebraska Academy of Family Physicians since 1989, where he has served in numerous leadership positions, including president and board member. He was instrumental in passing LB-396 in the Nebraska legislature, which established the state's first Medicaid medical home pilot project. He currently serves as a governor-appointed member of the project's design and implementation task force. Wergin is also an active member of the Nebraska Medical Association, where he currently serves as councilor for the 6th District.

Wergin was awarded the Nebraska Family Physician of the Year award in 2002, and Nebraska Nursing Home Medical Director of the Year in 2012.

He graduated summa cum laude from the University of Nebraska, Kearney, with a bachelor's degree in biology and chemistry. He earned his medical degree from the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, and he completed his family medicine residency at St. Mary's Hospital and Medical Center in Grand Junction, Colorado, where he served as an assistant director. Wergin also served as assistant director of the Lincoln Family Practice Residency, which is affiliated with the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

Wergin is board certified by the American Board of Family Medicine and 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 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