FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 28, 2025
Media Contact:
Celia Searles
Csearles@aafp.org
Leawood, KS—The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) Foundation is excited to share that Alexis Ramos, MD, is the 2024 recipient of the Center for the History of Family Medicine Oral History Grant for her project Healing Beyond Crisis: The Lasting Legacy of a Pandemic on the Health Community in an Underserved Population.
Ramos is a family physician in San Antonio, Texas.
Her passion for community engagement and underserved communities led her to pursue a career educating the next generation of physicians about patient-centered health care.
Ramos’s project will shed light on the long-term strain the COVID-19 pandemic had on the health care system in Bexar County, Texas. Through interviews with family physicians and other health care professionals, Ramos and her team will identify how the pandemic shaped health care in underserved communities.
“The Foundation believes in the power of documenting our history as it unfolds, both as a testament to the specialty of family medicine and to collect lessons learned from major events,” said Dr. Jay-Sheree Allen Akambase, M.D., FAAFP, President of the AAFP Foundation Board of Trustees. “The work by Dr. Ramos is a reminder that family medicine is constantly evolving, and we must document where we came from and where we’re going to continue giving our patients the best care possible.”
The Center for the History of Family Medicine Oral History Grant provides one recipient with up to $3,000 to support the creation of oral history interviews focused on family medicine. The foundation works to expand the oral history collection on family medicine by supporting research that centers oral history as a principal source and offers fresh perspectives on a subject area within the field.
“The findings will be essential for informing future health care policies and practices, ensuring that the lessons learned from the crisis can be applied to improve health care delivery in underserved communities,” said Sheri DeSpain, Executive Director of the University of Texas Foundation.
To learn more about the Oral History Grant program, visit the AAFP Foundation website.
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The Foundation serves as the philanthropic arm of the American Academy of Family Physicians. Its mission is to advance family medicine through philanthropy using humanitarian, educational, and scientific programming to improve health. For more information visit aafpfoundation.org.