WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical Center Family Medicine physician Tracy Hendershot, MD, has been elected to serve on the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). (Photo Provided)

PARKERSBURG — WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical Center Family Medicine physician Tracy Hendershot, MD, has been elected to serve on the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP).

Hendershot is a Parkersburg native and has practiced primary care at WVU Medicine Camden Clark in south Parkersburg for the past eight years.

Hendershot was among 10 national candidates seeking election during the AAFP Congress of Delegates, held in Anaheim, Calif., on Oct. 6. The AAFP represents nearly 130,000 family physicians, residents and medical students across the United States.

“I am humbled beyond measure, or even understanding, by my election to our American Academy of Family Physicians board. Family physicians are the bedrock of our health care system and to be asked to help safeguard family medicine’s future is something I could not have seen myself achieving 20 years ago,” Hendershot said. “The Academy has embraced the mission of transforming health care and optimizing the health of everyone. I am happy to work to this end. I’m thankful to have an amazing team and organization to support our work, our members and our patients.”

As a newly elected board member, Hendershot will help guide the AAFP’s national policy and strategic initiatives focused on improving access to care, advancing preventive medicine and supporting family physicians in every practice setting. His leadership theme, “Unity in Uncertainty,” reflects a commitment to fostering collaboration, resilience and innovation within the profession during a time of rapid change in healthcare delivery.

“Dr. Hendershot’s election to the AAFP Board is an incredible achievement that brings pride to West Virginia and our entire state’s family medicine community,” said Matthew A. Davis, DO, MBA, FAAFP, President & CEO of the West Virginia Academy of Family Physicians (WVAFP). “His dedication to patient care, medical education and advocacy embodies the highest ideals of our profession. We are confident he will represent both our state and the AAFP membership with distinction.”

Hendershot earned his medical degree from the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine at Marshall University, where he also served as the school’s first Paul Ambrose Health Policy Fellow. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians and has received numerous awards for his clinical excellence, teaching and leadership, including recognition for his work in opioid stewardship, workforce sustainability and long-term care innovation.