Physician of the Year
Recognizing excellence in medical practice and patient care.
Physician of the Year:
Dr. David B. Smith
Dr. Smith began his family medicine residency faculty career 32 years ago at Mayo program in Lacrosse, Wisconsin. Tasked with establishing programs in rural areas to increase the number of rural physicians, he eventually landed in Northern Colorado, teaching since the late 1990s and at the Greeley program since 2001.
Passionate about training family physicians for rural locations, he’s proud that 70 of his graduates practice in Larimer or Weld County. He loves teaching and hopes to continue for many more years in Northern Colorado.
Nominate an outstanding physician for NCMS Physician of the Year
Do you know a northern Colorado physician who goes above and beyond? Who provides our community with compassionate and caring medical service in practice, education or research; enhances the quality of his or her community; and/or serves as a credible role model to others?
The NCMS Board of Directors seeks nominations for the Northern Colorado Medical Society Physician of the Year, the society’s highest honor. Deadline: December 31st. The award will be presented at the NCMS Annual Meeting in February.
CRITERIA: The nominee must be a member in good standing of the Northern Colorado Medical Society (graduate, active or emeritus). Unsure of membership? Contact us.
HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR NOMINATION: Nominate an outstanding physician by December 31st.
Nominate Now
Nominate a deserving physician for the prestigious Physician of the Year award.
Previous Awardees
- 2014: Roger Bermingham, MD, a geriatrician and educator with the Fort Collins Family Medicine Residency Program
- 2015: Patricia Powell, MD, physician and the chief medical officer for Sunrise Community Health (posthumously)
- 2016: Joseph Gregory, MD, a family physician in Johnstown and the regional medical director for primary care for Banner Medical Group Front Range
- 2017: Lesley Brooks, MD, a family physician in Greeley and addiction specialist
- 2018: Edward Norman, MD, a retired internal medicine physician with Banner Health
- 2019: Aaron Hoover, MD, a dermatologist in Greeley
- 2020: Bernard Birnbaum, MD, a family physician and faculty member for the Fort Collins Family Medicine Residency Program
- 2021: Christie Reimer, MD, an internal medicine physician and Assistant Dean of the University of Colorado School of Medicine
- 2022: Jan Gillespie, MD owner of Northern Colorado Pain Management in Greeley, private practice anesthesiologist & pain specialist
- 2023: David Smith, MD Banner North Colorado Family Medical Center residency program faculty director
Legacy Scholars
The NCMS Legacy Scholarship benefits students in both Larimer and Weld counties, and honors NCMS members who have passed away.
Allysa graduated from Poudre High School in 2015, and is now a third-year medical student at Harvard Medical School (HMS) in Boston, Mass. She is dedicated to improving women’s health and has engaged in research on infertility, helped lead efforts to include more women’s health content in the school’s preclinical curriculum, volunteered at the student-run free clinic, and spearheaded advocacy events as a board member of the HMS chapter of Medical Students for Choice. She hopes to pursue a residency in OB/GYN and return home to provide medical care for women and girls throughout northern Colorado. Outside of medicine, she enjoys running, biking, skiing, and cooking with friends.
Morgan is a Dartmouth College graduate, where she studied neuroscience and public policy. Interested in making health care systems more equitable, she attended Cornell University and received a master’s in health administration. Morgan spent seven years in the Pacific Northwest working as an FQHC director. Morgan developed innovative primary care programs to address social determinants of health for vulnerable patients. She also did consulting work with a rural hospital in Oregon, Oregon Medicaid, and Tend Health. Inspired by these experiences, Morgan pusued a medical degree at CUSOM where she founded the Primary Care Interest Group at the Fort Collins Branch. Beyond medicine, Morgan loves to play pickleball, go camping, and explore Fort Collins with her wife Carrissa and daughter Davey.
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