#FamilyPhysician
#Veteran
#Ally

What is a quirky fun fact about yourself?
On the empty office days at DFM you may catch me singing or dancing down the hallways. I apologize in advance.

I've been practicing Family Medicine for the last 25 years. I've worked in a variety of settings including military clinics , residency teaching programs, and suburban Family Medicine clinics. I'm currently seeing patients at Lone Tree Primary Care which is located by Park Meadows Mall. 

Why is diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism (DEIA) important to you?
I waa very active in the AAFP and was the Chair of the AAFP's Commission on Education in 2018. During my time on the commission, we worked nationally on issues surrounding residency education including the need to make residency education spaces more inclusive for all residents. We put together an informational paper on the bias that international medical graduates were sometimes experiencing, and compiled educational videos illustrating the plight of medical residents who were victims of bias because of their Muslim faith. We also discussed strategies that could work against the tactics many were using that demonized immigrants by ascribing sickness or an infectious disease risk to people in an effort to limit their immigration into the US. 

Lately, I've worked with our team around issues related to health equity and diversity and inclusion. Until recently, I was a medical director for UC Health's Patient Line centralized appointing and triage service center. It's a large group of 600 employees. I helped champion and found a Patient Line DEIA committee which meets regularly. We conducted needs assessments, dialogued about the experiences of our agents and nurses and how those experiences impacted their feelings of satisfaction and safety at work, and started internal training. We created a charter and incorporated standard UCHealth DEI training such as upstander training as a way to involve employees beyond the group, and currently the group continues to meet regularly in partnership with more formal UCHealth DEI activities. 

As a military veteran with service in Afghanistan, I have an ongoing interest in providing a safe space for veterans to receive medical care and support. I feel that sometimes veterans are a segment of our patient population that may be overlooked, and my current patient panel has a high number of military combat veterans that I care for. 

How can people contact you?
Email: brian.bacak@cuanschutz.edu