Laura E. Griffin, D.O., FAAO, associate professor and chair of the osteopathic principles and practices department at the University of Pikeville-Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine (KYCOM), was re-elected to the office of Trustee at the annual business meeting of the American Academy of Osteopathy (AAO) during the AAO Convocation in Louisville, Ky. She will serve a three-year term.

Griffin graduated from the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine in 1996 and is board-certified in Family Practice (FP) and Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine/Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM/NMM). She is also the Student American Academy of Osteopathy chapter advisor and director of the Integrated FP/NMM Residency Program at KYCOM. Griffin serves on the American Osteopathic Board of Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine and is a member of the AAO’s Postdoctoral Standards & Evaluation Committee and the C-NMM/OMM Committee.

Medicine in the Mountains … Keeping the Promise: Since its inception in 1997, the University of Pikeville-Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine has played an important role in preparing physicians to serve the healthcare needs of underserved populations in Kentucky and other Appalachian Regions. Of the nearly 700 graduates since the first class of physicians in 2001, 60 percent are serving in the Appalachian regions of Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, North Carolina and Georgia, as well as rural areas of eastern Ohio, western Pennsylvania and New York. Currently, 69 percent of these physicians are serving in primary care.