O. Marion Burton, MD, FAAP, will serve as the 2010-2011 president of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) beginning Monday, Oct. 4, at the AAP National Conference and Exhibition at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. The AAP is the nation's largest pediatric organization with a membership of 60,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists.

Dr. Burton, a community pediatrician, is associate dean for clinical affairs and director of community pediatrics at the University of South Carolina (USC) School of Medicine.

A graduate of Clemson University and Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), he trained at MUSC and Medical College of Georgia. For two decades he practiced pediatrics in Anderson, S.C., and taught in a local primary care residency program. In 1991, he joined the USC School of Medicine to establish a division of community pediatrics. He oversees the 210-physician, multi-specialty group, and is senior medical consultant to the state's public health and Medicaid agencies. He helped establish 75 partnerships placing public health professionals with practicing physicians to create medical homes for children.

During his time as AAP president, Dr. Burton will focus on these major issues:

- Continue to lead the charge on the unfinished business of health care reform and improve on the gains already made for children.

- Promote youth violence prevention and minimize the effects of poverty on children while improving health equity and health literacy.

- Care for children with special health care needs such as those in foster care, and the international child.

- Improve the general practice of pediatrics, including the medical home, maintenance of certification and immunizations. Address the concerns of medical and surgical subspecialists.

- Expand and improve on the role of the AAP in nurturing and promoting pediatricians as the clinicians of choice to care for the world's children.

"I am profoundly honored and humbled to have the opportunity to serve children, my pediatric colleagues and the Academy in this broader role, Dr. Burton said. This year we will have an opportunity to build on an incredible sequence of successes in child health and support for pediatric practice. While we are within reach of accomplishing our long-sought goal of all children having health insurance coverage, we still face many daunting challenges. We must continue to work together and join with other child advocacy organizations to meet all of these objectives."

Dr. Burton and his wife, Debbie, live in Columbia, S.C., and keep busy with six children and seven grandchildren.

Source:
American Academy of Pediatrics