2015 Recipients of South Carolina AHEC Family Medicine Awards

Halford Award for Leadership in Humane Education

Presented to Patricia Witherspoon, MD

Dr. David Garr, South Carolina AHEC Executive Director;
Dr. Patricia Witherspoon, Halford Award Recipient;
Dr. Chuck Carter, Palmetto Health Family Medicine Residency Training
Program Director

The South Carolina AHEC is pleased to announce that Patricia Wilson Witherspoon, MD, FAAFP, is this year’s recipient of the Halford Award.  Since 1998, Dr. Witherspoon has been an integral part of the Palmetto Health Family Medicine Residency Program. She is currently serving as the Co-Medical Director and Associate Professor for the USC School of Medicine Department of Family and Preventive Medicine. In these roles she has committed herself to serving her community and providing excellent medical student teaching and resident mentoring. Her experience as a leader and role model are acknowledged in the many other recognitions she has received, including the USC Social Justice Award (2011), USC Women’s Health Award (2011), and DHEC Diabetes Champion of the Year (2010).

The Halford Award is presented to a Family Medicine residency training program faculty member in recognition of outstanding leadership in providing humane education. The award is named for Dr. James Halford, who was the founding director of the AnMed Health Family Medicine Residency Program. Award winners demonstrate a caring attitude and respect for patients, residents and students; value human dignity; and demonstrate a passion and joy for teaching, learning and working with others and participating in community service activities.

South Carolina AHEC Excellence in Family Medicine Education Award 

Presented to Scott Bragg, PharmD

The Sixth Annual South Carolina AHEC Excellence in Family Medicine Education Award was presented to Scott Bragg, PharmD, BCSP, with the Trident Health/MUSC Family Medicine Residency Program. Since 2013, Dr. Bragg served as assistant professor for the South Carolina College of Pharmacy Clinical Pharmacy and Outcomes Sciences as well as the MUSC Department of Family Medicine. Dr. Bragg is involved with the I3 Collaborative, a collaboration of residency programs across South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Florida. In his role as assistant professor, he has taught applied health systems and clinical assessment labs to pharmacy students, interprofessional courses on transforming healthcare to interprofessional groups of students at MUSC, and diabetes management workshops as part of the MUSC Family Medicine clerkship. He has been an integral part of the development and participation in a quality improvement and research curriculum for the residency program and implemented a longitudinal pharmacotherapy curriculum in addition to specific pharmacotherapy-related objectives for each rotation. Residents who have worked with Dr. Bragg speak highly of the significant effect he has had on the program during his two years there, including his consistent dedication to family medicine, enthusiasm for teaching and the impact he has made on pharmacy students, medical students and residents.

This award was established to honor a non-physician teacher for excellence in resident education, with demonstrated skills in teaching, curriculum development, mentoring, research, and leadership in education.