Minnesota Physician Chosen American Academy of Family Physicians Family Physician of the Year

October 14, 2002

SAN DIEGO — Darrell L. Carter, M.D., a practicing family physician at the Affiliated Community Medical Center in Granite Falls, Minn., has been named the 2003 American Academy of Family Physicians Family Physician of the Year. He was selected by his peers and celebrated by all attending the AAFP Congress of Delegates and Scientific Assembly this week in San Diego. Dr. Darrell, as he is known in the community, has been delivering quality and compassionate care to the people of Granite Falls for more than 30 years. He serves as a role model for the profession of family medicine and his community. Since 1996, Carter has assisted in the development and teaching of Comprehensive Advanced Life Support courses (CALS). The CALS program trains rural providers to manage crisis health situations with limited resources. His program has been credited with improving rural health care delivery and saving countless lives.

Carter serves as volunteer medical director for Project Turnabout, a non-profit chemical dependency-compulsive gambling program, and for the Granite Falls ambulance service. He is actively involved in his community, serving on the Health Care Committee of Granite Falls since 1974, and in his church, serving as a member of the Pastor Parish committee and the choir.In 2001, Carter was named the Minnesota Rural Health Hero for his innovative work, leadership skills and his efforts to establish Comprehensive Advanced Life Support programs in the state. He has received the Granite Falls Community Service Award and was recognized by the American Medical Association with the Physicians Recognition Award.

Carter received his undergraduate degree at the University of Minnesota and earned his medical degree at the University of Minnesota Medical School where he graduated in the top 10 percent of his class. He completed his residency at the Department of Family Practice and Community Health at the University of Minnesota.

“Dr. Darrell works long hours yet consistently exhibits great stamina and infectious cheerfulness,” one patient wrote in a letter nominating Dr. Carter for the Family Physician of the Year award. “He is the doctor of my lifetime, not just the doctor of the year.”

Dr. Carter is the first Minnesota family physician to win this honor since Chester Anderson, M.D., of Hector, Minn., received the prestigious award in 1983.

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 Founded in 1947, the American Academy of Family Physicians represents more than 93,500 physicians and medical students nationwide. It is the only medical specialty organization devoted solely to primary care.