Roland A. Goertz, M.D., M.B.A., FAAFP, medical school class of 1981 and a family physician in Waco, was appointed board chair of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). The AAFP represents 100,300 physicians and medical students nationwide. As board chair of the AAFP, Goertz will advocate on behalf of family physicians and patients nationwide to inspire positive change in the U.S. health care system.
After graduating from medical school in 1981, he completed a residency in family medicine at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth. He subsequently completed a clinical teaching fellowship in family medicine in 1986 and received a master’s degree in business administration from Baylor University in 2003. In his 27-year medical career, he has served as a physician in rural private practice, a family medicine residency program director at two Texas residencies, and chair of the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Texas Medical School – Houston. For the past 15 years, Goertz has served as chief executive officer of the three foundations that oversee all operations of the Waco Family Health Center, which operates one of the oldest family medicine residency programs west of the Mississippi River.