As highlighted at the 2025 ADFM Annual Conference and subsequent Annals commentary, external political factors have major effects on our institutions and departments as we advance our work on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Since 2023, the ADFM DEI Committee has recognized and explored mounting DEI pushback across the country while reviewing and clarifying the committee’s scope, activities, and language. Once federal government changes became apparent, the foundation for a new path forward for DEI work was already underway.
Using a quality improvement mindset, the committee sought to clarify the linkage of DEI work to the fundamental purposes of family medicine in language that people outside of academic medicine could readily understand. A new name and charge resulted: the REACH Committee (Representation, Engagement, Access, Community, and Health). This name formalized our broad aim to reach all patients regardless of their personal background or health condition.
This is not the first time this committee has changed its name. First introduced in 2020 as the Diversity, Inclusion, and Health Equity (DIHE) Committee, a year later it became the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee to recognize an expanded scope and in keeping with the national parlance. A continuously evolving landscape necessitates our recognition and adaptation of both the work and terms to describe it. This responsiveness reflects an understanding of the importance of clarity of purpose and communication about how diversity, equity, and inclusion work is integral to family medicine.
The new ADFM REACH Committee charge offers an example of this.
The ADFM REACH Committee (Representation, Engagement, Access, Community, and Health) Charge
Background
Family medicine (FM) departments promote the health of individuals, families, and communities, and provide optimal learning and working environments for trainees, faculty, and staff. Family medicine is charged to care for people of all backgrounds, situations, or health statuses. FM physicians see patients with a variety of health conditions longitudinally throughout the course of their lives.
This comprehensive outlook provides the opportunity to engage with our communities and provide access across all representations to maximize health outcomes and quality of life. FM departments seek physician and staff talent plus representation of the communities they serve.
Purpose of the Committee
The Committee acts on behalf of member departments as they seek to engage all department members, patients, and learners from all backgrounds and situations through the following:
Builds a shared framework of goals, action items, lived experience, and literature for family medicine departments to use—no matter who, in what circumstances, demographic, or other group they identify with.
Optimizes health outcomes and quality of life for every patient and provides every learner with the opportunity to develop interest and be successful at pursuing family medicine.
Helps prepare peer consultation or “hot topic” sessions for department leaders and is available to help plan and facilitate sessions at the ADFM meeting.
Recognizes that engaging all patients and learners regardless of background and situation cuts “horizontally” across all the work that departments do—including clinical care, education, advocacy, and research/scholarship.
Key Committee Relationships
The Committee maintains connections within ADFM and affiliated FM organizations sharing similar goals for reaching all patients and learners. Connections can also be maintained with professional and community organizations engaged in similar purposes outside FM. The committee’s strategic connections may shift over time and be longitudinal or project-specific.
Although they recognize they’re entering a period of active experimentation as they clarify their stride and mission, the ADFM REACH Committee is excited to uphold this purpose and embark on a new strategic plan with the ADFM Board in 2026.
References
- 1.Douglas M, Zweig S, Elwood S, et al. Returning to our values: how to continue DEIA efforts in an ever-changing landscape. Ann Fam Med. 2025;23(1): 85-86. doi: 10.1370/afm.240596 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 2.Nair S, Rodríguez JE, Elwood S, et al. Departmental metrics to guide equity, diversity, and inclusion for academic family medicine departments. Fam Med. 2024;56(6):362-366. doi: 10.22454/FamMed.2024.865619 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 3.Rodríguez J, Schickedanz H, Piggott C, Wilson E, Stulberg D, Elwood S, Weidner A. Everything old is new again. Ann Fam Med. 2025;23(4):380-381. doi: 10.1370/afm.250372 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 4.Johnson M, Douglas M, Grumbach K, Muramoto M, Ramanathan A, Wilson B, Zazove P, Davis A. Advancing diversity, inclusion, and health equity to the next level. Ann Fam Med. 2019;17(1):89. doi: 10.1370/afm.2348 [DOI] [Google Scholar]