FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact Person:
Beth Embry, Executive Director
Mississippi Academy of Family Physicians
133 Executive Drive, Suite E
Madison, MS 39110
601-853-3302

Mississippi Academy of Family Physicians Elect Dr. Michael L. O’Dell as President

Michael L. O’Dell, MD, MSHA, is the director of the Family Medicine Residency Program at North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo and also serves as the system Chief Quality Officer. Dr. O'Dell joined North Mississippi Medical Center in 2002. He was installed as president of the Mississippi Academy of Family Physicians during its recent Annual Meeting in Destin, Florida. Dr. O’Dell served as president-elect this past year, and takes the reins from outgoing president Dewitt G. Crawford, MD from Louisville, Mississippi. Dr. O’Dell has been an active member of the Mississippi Academy of Family Physicians since 1983. He has served on numerous committees and board offices with both the MAFP and the MAFP Foundation.

A board-certified family physician, Dr. O’Dell received his bachelor's degree from Kansas State University in Manhattan and his medical degree from the University of Kansas School of Medicine in Kansas City. He also completed his family medicine internship and residency at the University of Kansas School of Medicine. He received his masters degree in Healthcare Administration from University of Alabama - Birmingham in 2005. Dr. O'Dell is a Diplomate of the American Board of Family Medicine.

He is a member of the Mississippi Academy of Family Physicians, American Medical Association, Mississippi State Medical Association, American Academy of Family Physicians, Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, Association of Family Practice Program Directors and American College of Physician Executives. He currently Chair's the AAFP Commission on Quality and Practice. He is also a Governor's appointee to the Mississippi Hospital Equipment and Facilities Authority and serves as the Chair for Mississippi Medicaid program's Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee.

Before joining the NMMC Family Medicine Residency Center, Dr. O'Dell served as Division Director and associate professor with the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Alabama School of Medicine in Huntsville. He was also on the medical staff at Huntsville Hospital and Crestwood Medical Center in Huntsville.