October 1, 2003 – Eric M. Ossowski, M.D., a practicing family physician from Phoenix, Ariz., has
been named the 2004 Family Physician of the Year by the American Academy of Family Physicians
(AAFP). He was selected by his peers and celebrated by all attending the AAFP Scientific
Assembly this week in New Orleans.
Ossowski has been a member of the family practice department at Phoenix Indian Medical
Center (PIMC) for the past 22 years, and chief of family and primary care medicine for the
past 13 years. PIMC serves over 39 tribes in the southwest. Ossowski helped develop PIMC's
geriatrics program and smoking cessation program. He has been active in the Arizona Academy
of Family Physicians' Tar Wars program, a tobacco-free education program, in Phoenix metro
public and parochial schools. Ossowski is also involved in tobacco control issues in Arizona
as a member of Arizonans Concerned about Smoking & Chewing Inc.
Ossowski has been described as a family physician that takes a personal interest in the
health, lives and families of his patients. He practices both the art and science of medicine,
consciously basing his medical decisions on all aspects of a patient’s life including
history, culture, desires and medical needs.
A captain with the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) Commissioned Corps, Ossowski has been
recognized by his career achievements by receiving the USPHS Commendation Medal in 1987 and
1993 and the Achievement Medal in 1995. In 2002, Ossowski was named the Phoenix Area Clinical
Employee of the Year.
Ossowski attended college at the University of Minnesota Duluth majoring in Psychology and
Pre-Med. He earned his medical degree from the University of Minnesota Medical Schools in
Duluth and Minneapolis. He completed his residency at Duluth Family Practice Residency.
[This article was reproduced by permission of the Arizona Academy of Family
Physicians.]
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