Weiser’s Dr. Lore Wootton named Family Physician of the Year

The Idaho Academy of Family Physicians (IAFP) named Dr. Lore Wootton of Weiser as the 2020 Idaho Family Physician of the Year.  
 A tribute was planned for Dr. Wootton, but because of the stay-at-home order by Gov. Brad Little last month, the IAFP executive director made the presentation at her clinic in Weiser.  
 Dr. Wootton was recognized for her generous contributions to her profession, to medical education and her service and dedication to her community and the state of Idaho. She was nominated for this award by her colleagues, Drs. Suzanna Hubele and Mary Barinaga.
 Dr. Wootton has practiced family medicine at Two Rivers Medical Clinic since she and her husband relocated to Weiser in 1997.
 She received her medical degree from the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore and completed her residency training at North Colorado Family Medicine in Greeley, Colo.
 She is a board certified family physician and holds the designation of fellow with the American Academy of Family Physicians. She is a true rural generalist, providing full-scope care to her community, including operative obstetrics.
 Dr. Wootton often goes beyond the call of duty, providing house calls and wound care for homebound patients, triaging, calling and managing patients after hours and during her time off.  
 Dr. Wootton is a shining example of what it means to be a family physician, caring for her family, patients, and community. She is well-known and loved within the community.
 Every Thanksgiving she helps cook and serve Thanksgiving dinner at the Senior Center. She attends most high school sporting events, cheering on the students. She helps to lead her church’s community youth group every Wednesday night.
 She also provides care to the citizens of nearby Cambridge and does home visits to patients who are homebound. Every other summer she goes on a mission trip, usually to Honduras, to help build homes, share the gospel and provide hundreds of people free medical care.
 In addition to her medical practice, she has a passion for training the next generation of Idaho physicians and is a committed rural mentor and preceptor for WWAMI students and other learners.  Recently, she took on the role of medical director for the Hope Pregnancy Resource Center in Ontario.  
 Wootton is an avid bike rider and can often be found riding for a cause. This past summer, she rode 125 miles over two days in Coeur d’Alene, raising over $1,500 for multiple sclerosis research.
 The Idaho Academy of Family Physicians represents more than 800 family physicians and medical students in Idaho and is the only medical society in Idaho devoted solely to family medicine.           
 Family physicians provide comprehensive, evidence-based and cost-effective care dedicated to improving the health of patients, families and communities. Family medicine’s cornerstone is an ongoing and personal patient-physician relationship when the family physician serves as the hub of each patient’s integrated care team.