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| Jeff Cain |
Jeff Cain, MD, a member of the Amputee Coalition’s Board of Directors, has been chosen as president-elect of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). In his new role, Cain will advocate on behalf of family physicians and patients nationwide to inspire positive change in the US health care system. Cain was elected to the position by the Congress of Delegates, the AAFP’s governing body, during the organization’s annual meeting in Orlando last month.
“On behalf of the Amputee Coalition and the Board of Directors, we congratulate Jeff on his appointment as president of the only medical society devoted solely to primary care,” said Amputee Coalition Board chairman Marshall J. Cohen. “As an amputee and a physician, he has a unique understanding of the doctor-patient relationship, responsibilities and continuum of care. He is a tireless advocate for those with limb loss. We look forward to Jeff’s continuing role with the Amputee Coalition.”
Because of the requirements of the AAFP, Cain cannot hold any other board position during his term of office. His term on the Amputee Coalition’s Board of Directors will expire at the end of this year. Cain was the driving force behind the establishment of the fair insurance initiative for prosthetic devices. During his leadership, advocacy efforts have resulted in the passage of prosthetic fairness laws in 20 states as well as introduction of bipartisan federal prosthetic insurance legislation.
Previously, Cain served 3 years as a member of the AAFP Board of Directors. The AAFP represents 100,300 physicians and medical students nationwide. In addition to his duties as AAFP president-elect, Cain serves as the chief of family medicine at Children’s Hospital Colorado. He has been in this role since 2001. He also practices the full scope of family medicine, which includes obstetrics, at the A.F. Williams Family Medicine Center in Denver. Additionally, Cain serves as an associate professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. Throughout his 25 years of practice and teaching, Cain has been instrumental in creating a unique environment reflecting family medicine’s role in providing patient-centered care and a medical home to Colorado residents of all ages.
“We will miss Jeff’s voice and wisdom on the board,” said Kendra Calhoun, president & CEO of the Amputee Coalition. “We are already exploring opportunities for collaboration between the Amputee Coalition and the AAFP.”
An amputee himself, Cain has competed and taught nationally in adaptive sports. He holds the first gold medal in adaptive slalom snowboarding from the US National Snowboarding Championships and introduced a new adaptive ski device — the ski-bike — to North America.
At the national level, Cain has demonstrated his dedication to public health through his co-founding of the Tar Wars tobacco-free education program that has reached more than 8.5 million children in 50 states and 16 countries. What began as an inspiration during his family medicine residency is now one of the AAFP’s most respected outreach programs.
Cain graduated magna cum laude from Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and chemistry. He earned his medical degree from the Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Oregon, and completed his family medicine residency at the Mercy Family Medicine Residency program in Denver, Colorado, where he was chief resident.
Cain is board-certified by the American Board of Family Medicine. He also has the AAFP Degree of Fellow, an earned degree awarded to family physicians for distinguished service and continuing medical education.
