Guttenberg Municipal Hospital & Clinics is proud to announce that two of its physicians, Dr. Andrew Smith and Dr. Jeffrey Hoffmann, were honored by the Iowa Academy of Family Physicians last Friday, October 28, 2022, at the IAFP Awards Banquet in Des Moines.
DR. ANDREW SMITH, MD
Dr. Andrew Smith, MD, was recognized with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Iowa Academy of Family Physicians (IAFP)
The Lifetime Achievement Award is given annually to a family physician(s) who has been a member of the Academy in good standing for at least 10 years, who is a resident of Iowa, who has been involved in significant community service and civic activities, and is a role model for other family physicians, residents and /or medical students.
The Lifetime Achievement Award is unique in that all awardees are nominated by another member of the Iowa Academy of Family Physicians.
“After Dr. Smith finished his Family Practice Residency in Waterloo, he settled in Guttenberg. He provided full-spectrum family practice care, seeing patients of all ages, providing obstetrics care, caring for inpatients, and covering the Emergency Room. Throughout his 39 years in Guttenberg, he was highly respected not only for his excellent medical care, but for his compassion, dedication to service and humility. He not only was GMHC’s Chief of Medical Staff for numerous terms, but was on many hospital committees, served as Clayton County’s Deputy Medical Examiner and a preceptor for medical students for the University of Iowa’s Carver College of Medicine,” commented a colleague of Dr. Smith’s.
“Dr. Smith is also very active in the community. He is an active member of St. John’s Lutheran Church and director of the hand bell choir, has been on a number of philanthropic foundations and has donated many hours to the Guttenberg German- Fest committee. He truly is admired by many and certainly deserves the IAFP Lifetime Achievement Award.”
DR. JEFFREY HOFFMANN, DO
Dr. Jeffrey Hoffmann, DO, was awarded the Family Physician of the Year by the Iowa Academy of Family Physicians (IAFP).
The Family Physician of the Year is a special award because the nominations must come from patients. The prestigious award is presented to one outstanding physician in the state who best exemplifies the tradition of the family doctor and who epitomizes the finest standards of family health care. As the Iowa Family Physician of the Year, Dr. Hoffmann will become Iowa’s nominee to the American Academy of Family Physicians for the 2023 National Family Physician of the Year.
As family physicians, Dr. Hoffmann and his colleagues are trained in many areas of medicine including pediatrics, geriatrics, internal medicine, psychiatry, surgery, obstetrics, gynecology, and community medicine. This gives them capability to treat more than 85 percent of all illnesses found in children and adults.
“Bedside manner, wit and ability to empathize are Dr. Hoffmann’s qualities that put his patients at ease. His ability to communicate and his approachable demeanor are qualities that set him apart. Many physicians can be considered experts in their field, however Dr. Hoffmann couples expertise with the ability to communicate complicated diagnoses on a level his patients can understand,” shared one patient.
Another patient shared this heartfelt comment, “Dr. Hoffmann has not just been a physician to us, but a true blessing in every way. He has saved my family in more ways than one, given us a shoulder to cry on, words of faith and wisdom to hold on to when we felt like we had nothing to grasp, and most importantly, shown us actual love. He loves his community and the gifts and career he was blessed with. He loves his patients and staff. I believe if there is any physician out there who deserves this award, it is him. His career as a doctor is not just something he does for a living, but something he does with pure and unending love to help others. This award is for a Family Physician of the Year, and Dr. Hoffmann is everything this entails, starting with the word Family. He makes his patients more than a case or people to heal, he makes them his family.”
The Iowa Academy of Family Physicians has 1800 members and is a constituent chapter of the American Academy of Family Physicians, which is one of the largest medical specialty societies in the United States with a membership of more than 127,000 family physicians, family medicine residents and medical students.