Pontiac, Michigan. November 23, 2021 – The Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) has chosen Dr. Nikhil Hemady, MD, FAAFP, as a recipient of the 2022 Parker J. Palmer Courage to Teach Award. Hemady, the director of the family medicine residency program at Pontiac General Hospital, is one of just eight physicians nationwide to receive the honor.
“I was pleasantly surprised and honored by the recognition,” Hemady said. “These are the formative years for these residents. This is where you can truly mold them into being outstanding family physicians.”
The Parker J. Palmer Courage to Teach Award honors program directors who find innovative ways to teach residents and to provide quality health care while remaining connected to the initial impulse to care for others in this environment.
“These esteemed honorees personify the resolution of the GME community to provide quality, equitable health care and education,” said ACGME President and Chief Executive Officer Thomas J. Nasca, MD, MACP. “Now more than ever, it is important to recognize those who serve, and those who work every day to ensure the American public that physician education is in the most capable of hands.”
Dr. Hemady and his fellow award winners will be featured in the Awards Hall during the ACGME’s Annual Education Conference, which will be held virtually on March 30-April 1, 2022. The ACGME Awards honor the best in graduate medical education.
Having served as the family medicine residency program director at Pontiac General Hospital for the past 14 years, Hemady is also the Chief Medical Officer for Honor Community Health, which works in conjunction with PGH’s family medicine rotation. Dr. Hemady has been in practice for more than 20 years.
“Dr. Hemady has the rare ability to be both a gifted teacher and a health care leader that leads from the heart,” said Honor Community Health CEO Deb Brinson. “The next generation of physicians, our patients and the community Honor serves are far better off because of his commitment to high quality care, innovations in the delivery of health care, commitment and passion to teaching along with his genuine compassion to serving others.”
About Honor Community Health
Honor Community Health was incorporated in 2011 by committed community partners to increase access to care in Oakland County. Since inception, Honor has grown to 20 locations, including seven primary care sites, a dental center and mobile dental unit, and 11 school-based health centers, serving more than 50,000 individuals since inception. Honor Community Health’s mission is to provide for the health and wellness needs of the underserved of Oakland County through the provision of comprehensive and integrated primary, behavioral health and dental care.