TAFP member awarded
AAFP Public Health Award

Tamra Deuser, M.D., of Flower Mound, a private practice physician and owner of MaxHealth Family Medicine, was awarded the 2010 AAFP Public Health Award during the 2010 AAFP Congress of Delegates in Denver, Colo. She received TAFP’s Public Health Award in 2009. Both awards recognize individuals who are making extraordinary contributions to the American public’s health.

In a congratulatory letter, AAFP recognized her long record of service and dedication to the specialty and her patients. “Among your many accomplishments, the board noted that you are a wonderful role model to family physicians through your professional and personal life by promoting public health and wellness. You are a proponent and participant in many important public health programs.”

In addition to her years of service on TAFP’s Commission on Public Health, Deuser represents the specialty of family medicine on the Texas Immunization Stakeholder Working Group, a coalition of public and private stakeholders that meets quarterly to discuss the current state of immunizations in Texas, identify shortages and disparities among different populations, and propose strategies to increase immunization education, awareness and implementation across the state. Through this group she facilitated TAFP’s participation in a project to educate physicians and patients on pertussis vaccinations.

Deuser has also hosted multiple Hard Hats for Little Heads events in and around her community. Hard Hats for Little Heads is a public safety initiative led by the Texas Medical Association that provides physician volunteers with the materials to present safety courses and hand out bicycle helmets to local children to promote helmet use during biking, skating, and other wheeled activities.

She is on the Board of Directors for Christian Community Action, an organization that provides services to the poor in southern Denton County to help stabilize and transform their lives. Deuser has served as medical director and currently serves on CCA’s Adult Health Center Advisory Committee.

At the awards ceremony, Deuser said that much of her commitment to public health comes from her desire to serve others, her choice to get involved with several worthy groups, and the natural leadership of her profession. “As family physicians we are the leaders of public heath for our local communities, our state and our country,” Deuser told the audience. “We are the only doctors that take care of everyone. You’re never too old or too young, too well or too sick to be cared for by a family physician. No one else is in the position to care for everyone, so we are the leaders of public health and we are the leaders of health care change.”

Deuser received her medical degree from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine in Memphis, Tenn. and her undergraduate degree from the University of Texas at Austin. She completed her residency in family medicine at San Jacinto Family Practice Residency in Baytown, Texas.