Location: 11400 Tomahawk Creek Parkway, Leawood, KS 66211-2672
Contact: (800) 274-2237, ext. 4420 or 4422, chfm@aafp.org
Access: By appointment
Website: https://www.aafpfoundation.org/our-programs/center-history-family-medicine.html
The History Center is the only institution dedicated exclusively to preserving and sharing the history of family medicine in the United States. It documents a profession actively involved in education, leadership development, advocacy, and the continuing care of patients from birth until death. The Center celebrates family medicine’s distinguished past and looks forward to its promising future. Collections in the Center for the History of Family Medicine (CHFM) include: Artifacts; Audio and videotapes; Books; Electronic media (CDs, DVDs, diskettes, etc.); Film; Oral histories; Personal and professional papers of family physicians and family medicine educators; and Photographs. Records of family medicine organizations include: American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP); American Academy of Family Physicians Foundation (AAFP/F); American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM); Association of Departments of Family Medicine (ADFM); Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors (AFMRD); North American Primary Care Research Group (NAPCRG); and Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM). The collections include a wide variety of materials, ranging from 18th and 19th Century medical books, diaries, and daybooks to 21st century institutional records.
At present, the CHFM holds more than 150 oral histories in both audio and video formats. As part of our oral history project, we have also developed a list of subjects (8-page PDF file) throughout the seven family medicine organizations (AAFP, AAFP Foundation, ABFM, ADFM, AFMRD, NAPCRG and STFM) that we have targeted for interviews. Subjects can be viewed here.
The Center also offers the Fellowship in the History of Family Medicine.
The Center also offers online exhibits.
The exhibits include Adam G.N. Moore, MD Collection in the History of Family Medicine; ADFM: A History of the Association of Departments of Family Medicine; AFMRD: A History of the Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors; The Distinguished Dozen: Twelve Books That Shaped the Face of Family Medicine; History of the Scientific Assembly; Lynn Carmichael, MD: A Tribute; “A Mind That Startled Us”: A Tribute to G. Gayle Stephens, MD (1928-2014); Physician, Teacher, Mentor, Friend: A Tribute to W. Jack Stelmach, MD (1926-2012); and Physicians With Heart: A Tribute.