Wergin installed as AAFP president

Leadership changes took effect Wednesday for the American Academy of Family Physicians during the 115,900-member organization's Congress of Delegates meeting in Washington.

Dr. Robert Wergin has been installed as president of the AAFP; immediate Past President Dr. Reid Blackwelder, 56, has taken over as AAFP board chairman; and Dr. Wanda Filer was chosen as president-elect.

Wergin, 60, maintains an “obstetrics-to-geriatrics” family medicine practice in Milford, Neb., and is the medical director of the Crest View Care Center skilled-nursing center in Milford. Supporters announced his installation on Twitter using the hashtag #ReleaseTheBob.

Filer, 55, is a family physician in York, Pa., and is the founding president of the Strategic Health Institute of York consulting firm. She bested Dr. Daniel Spogen, 62, of Reno, Nev., in a contested election for the post of president-elect. According to a tweet from Dr. Anne Montgomery, wife of former AAFP President Dr. Glen Stream, Filer is the third woman to serve as AAFP president and the first mother to hold that position.

Montgomery also directed a tweet to Filer's husband.

“From a former presidential spouse, congrats and best wishes to new 'first gentleman,' Bob Filer,” Montgomery wrote.

With the conclusion of its policy-setting meeting, the AAFP moves onto its educational assembly. HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell is scheduled to address the AAFP at 4 p.m. ET Oct. 23.

Follow Andis Robeznieks on Twitter: @MHARobeznieks