Awards

2011 IAFP Award Winners

Family Physician of the Year

The IAFP Family Physician of the Year Award is presented annually to a member who exemplifies the tradition of the family physician and contributes to the continuing good health of the citizens of Indiana.

We are pleased to honor Dr. Randall Suttor, of Bremen, IN, as the 2011 Family Physician of the Year. A graduate of the Indiana University School of Medicine, he was a resident at Memorial Hospital of South Bend and began practice in 1986.  He has served as Associate Director of the Family Practice Residency Program at Memorial Hospital in South Bend since 1999. He is involved in the prenatal and obstetrics curriculum and teaches procedures such as vasectomy and colonoscopy. His experience with private practice and continued active practice within the residency allow him to share a “real world” perspective of family medicine.  

Dr. Suttor has been passionate about providing medical care beyond the boundaries of his home community for as long as he has been a physician. He has served as a medical missionary in many underdeveloped countries, and spent 2 years in Papua New Guinea shortly after finishing residency. Through his stories of health care around the world, he provides motivation and inspiration for his students and residents. 

Described as kind, compassionate, a patient teacher and skilled clinician, Dr. Suttor is admired by patients, colleagues and students alike. We are fortunate to have him in Indiana and proud to call him our Family Physician of the Year.

The IAFP congratulates Dr. Suttor for being named 2011 IAFP Family Physician of the Year and our nominee for the AAFP Family Physician of the Year! 

The A. Alan Fischer Award is presented annually to recognize persons who have made outstanding contributions to education for family practice in the undergraduate, graduate and continuing education arenas.

A graduate of the University of Illinois and Rush College of Medicine, Amy LaHood, MD joined the St. Vincent Family Medicine Residency faculty in 2005, following a fellowship in Maternal & Child Health, and several years with the Indiana University Medical Group at Westside Health Center. In keeping with one of her passions - public health - Dr. LaHood earned a Masters in Public Health last year.

Serving as a volunteer clinical assistant professor at the Indiana University School of Medicine for more than ten years and as clinical faculty at St. Vincent since 2005, Dr. LaHood has ample opportunity to make an impression on students and residents both. Colleagues recognize her enthusiasm and innovative thinking - always looking for a better way to provide care and eliminate waste in education. She initiated the St. Vincent Primary Care Center Community Health Fair, which provides health screenings to underserved people in the community; she chairs the IAFP Research Day Committee, which highlights family medicine research conducted by family physicians in Indiana; and in response to the growing narcotic dependence and abuse problems, she created a multi-disciplinary team to safely and effectively care for this patient population and at the same time teach residents to do the same in their own practices. 

As a teacher and mentor, it has been said that Dr. LaHood has mastered the delicate balance of allowing students and residents to assume full responsibility for a patient’s care, while providing just the right amount of close, supportive supervision that allows a student or resident’s medical knowledge and confidence to grow. She is truly an inspiration.

The IAFP congratulates Dr. LaHood for being selected to receive the 2011 A. Alan Fischer Award, and we thank her for her passion for and commitment to the education of the newest members of our specialty.

Outstanding Resident Award 

The IAFP Outstanding Resident Award is presented annually to a family medicine resident who demonstrates exceptional interest and involvement in family medicine and exemplifies the qualities of a family physician.

Raymond Smith, MD completed his undergraduate and medical studies at Michigan State University and came to Indiana for his residency years at the St. Vincent Family Medicine Residency.  We are very excited that he will be staying in Indiana as he begins work at the Martindale-Brightwood Health Center in Indianapolis next month. 

Dr. Smith just completed his term on the IAFP Board of Directors, representing the Resident Region, and has been actively engaged in our Research Forum each year that he has been in Indiana. He was selected by his peers to serve as the Resident Liaison to the Graduate Medical Education Committee at St. Vincent Hospital and is a volunteer at the St. Vincent Primary Care Center Health Fair, among other activities. 

Patients, peers and faculty all recognize Dr. Smith’s maturity and calm demeanor in even those most difficult situations. He is is full of compassion, and provides a comfortable environment in which his patients are able to develop trusting relationships with him. A sports fan, Dr. Smith has also taken his talents to the field, serving as Assistant Team Physician at Lawrence North High School, and no doubt serving as an outstanding role model for the students to look up to.    

The IAFP congratulates Dr. Smith on being named the 2011 Outstanding Resident, and looks forward to his continued contributions to family medicine in Indiana in the coming years.