Tennessee Governor's Newsletter February 2026
In this Issue:
- Notes from the Governor
- 2025 Highlights & Honors
- Nominate a Colleague
- 2025 Chapter Award Winners
- Look Ahead: Key 2026 Dates
- Governor's Advisory Council Election
Daniel S. Ely, MD, FACP, ACP Governor
Notes from the Governor
Hello Tennessee ACP Members,
Happy New Year! I am looking forward to an exciting year ahead with the American College of Physicians at both the state and national levels. While we face various challenges in modern medicine, there is also much to celebrate and many opportunities to grow together.
Thank you for all you do for your patients and the profession.
Sincerely,
Dan Ely, MD, FACP
Governor, ACP Tennessee Chapter
2025 Highlights & Honors
First, a recap Of the Tennessee ACP chapter meeting in Franklin this past October. It was a wonderful scientific program with excellent presentations from speakers from around the state. This included a presentation from National ACP representative, Michael J Tan, MD MACP, Treasurer.
ACP members from across the state were recognized for their contributions. We celebrated the awarding of Mastership to Dr. Catherine Womack, recent past-Governor of our chapter. Mastership is an incredible honor, signifying the highest level of recognition given by the national ACP. We also recognized several other award winners for their outstanding contributions to our medical community.
Nominate a Colleague
We are currently seeking nominations for our 2026 Awards. Please take a moment to consider and nominate colleagues who deserve recognition for their excellence. Click here to make an award nomination.
2025 Chapter Award Winners
Laureate of the TN Chapter The Laureate Award – The Laureate Award is the highest honor bestowed by a Chapter of the American College of Physicians. The Laureate Award honors a fellow or Master of the College who has demonstrated, by example and conduct, an abiding commitment to excellence in medical care, education, and research, service to their community, the Tennessee Chapter, and the American College of Physicians.
2025 Laureate: Michael Douglas Leahy, MD, MACP
Volunteerism and Community Service This award honors Chapter members who have distinguished themselves in voluntary service, in the area of medicine. Volunteerism and community service are established traditions for the College and for internists.
2025 Awardees: Janet Purkey, MD, FACP & Chinelo Animalu, MD, MPH, FACP, FIDSA
Joseph Frederick Ralston, Jr. MD, MACP, FRCP Medical Student Scholarship Award In memory of “Fred” Ralston Jr., the former Governor of the Tennessee Chapter and National American College of Physicians President, who spent his career supporting and advocating for primary care internal medicine. This award recognizes an outstanding 3rd or 4th year medical student from a Tennessee Medical School, who plans to practice internal medicine with a primary care career focus.
Awardee: Vitrag S. Patel
Chapter Service Award This award honors a member or fellow of the Chapter who has gone above and beyond in service to the Chapter over many years. Their efforts and accomplishments are noted to help sustain the Chapter in its many endeavors.
2025 Awardee: Bob Vegors, MD, FACP
Resident Recognition Award for Leadership This award recognizes a resident whose work and personal characteristics exemplify the College's mission to enhance the quality and effectiveness of health care by fostering excellence and professionalism in the practice of medicine and who has made exemplary contributions to the College's mission on a local or national level.
2025 Awardees: Ashley Sundin, MD & Liana Mosley, MD
Woman Physician of the Year This award honors a Chapter member who is a female physician with a distinguished career in areas of exceptional patient care, medical education, and/or research.
Awardee: Sandra “Sandi” A. Moutsios, MD, FACP
Distinguished Teacher/Mentor Award This award honors a Chapter member or fellow who has demonstrated outstanding mentorship of students, residents, or colleagues, as exemplified by a sustained commitment to providing personal and professional guidance to other health care professionals.
Awardees: T. J. Mitchell, MD & Rachel Apple, MD, MPH
Early Career Physician Award The award recognizes outstanding achievement by a physician member who is within 16 years of graduation from medical school and who is not an ACP Medical Student Member or Resident/Fellow Member. Criteria: The nominee has significant contributions to the areas of medicine and/or academics, including publishing, teaching, and mentoring, and or volunteerism. The nominee's achievements merits local, state, national, or international recognition.
2025 Awardee: Harsha Vedantam, MD
Look Ahead: Key 2026 Dates
Please mark your calendars for these important advocacy and educational events:
Tennessee Medical Association's “Day on the Hill”: Tuesday, March 3, 2026.
Tennessee Medical Association's House of Delegates: May 1–2, 2026 in Franklin, TN.
ACP Leadership Day: May 12–13, 2026 in Washington, D.C.
ACP Internal Medicine Meeting: April 16–18, 2026 in San Francisco, CA.
Tennessee Chapter Meeting: October 9-10, 2026 in Franklin, TN.
I urge you to plan to attend these events. If you are interested in representing the ACP at the House of Delegates or Leadership Day, please reach out. Participation from members across our state is what makes our chapter great.
Governor's Advisory Council Election
The ballot is officially open! Please take a moment to participate in the Governor's Advisory Council Members Election by casting your vote: COUNCILOR BALLOT
Voting will close on February 13, 2026
Candidates
I am pleased to share the names of three candidates who have been nominated to serve on the Governor's Advisory Council. If elected, each will serve a three-year term:
Blake Lowe DO FACP FAAP | EAST TN
Dr. Blake Lowe is a Med-Peds trained physician board certified in Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, and Obesity Medicine. He serves as a primary care physician in rural East Tennessee, where he is dedicated to improving access to comprehensive care for underserved communities. In addition to his primary care practice, Dr. Lowe is an Associate Program Director and hospitalist with the University of Tennessee Health Science Center's Internal Medicine Residency Program in Knoxville, and also works as a PRN pediatric hospitalist at East Tennessee Children's Hospital.
TJ Mitchell MD FACP | EAST TN
I am originally from Morristown, TN, and attended undergraduate and medical school at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City. Following graduation, I moved to Knoxville and completed a residency in internal medicine at the University of Tennessee Medical Center, serving as chief resident during my third year of training. Since then, I have practiced general internal medicine in both outpatient and inpatient settings and currently serve as Assistant Professor and Clerkship Director for the Department of Internal Medicine at ETSU. My clinical practice blends both outpatient medicine at the ETSU Health Internal Medicine Clinic and inpatient medicine at Johnson City Medical Center. In my role as Clerkship Director, I help to lead the third-year internal medicine clerkship, advise and mentor medical students, and also provide oversight for our Department's fourth-year clinical courses.
Heather McKee MD | WEST TN
I went to high school and college in Oklahoma. I graduated from the University of Oklahoma Medical School in 1996. I then went to UTHSC in Memphis for residency. After residency I stayed in West Tennessee and have practiced mostly in Jackson and Lexington. I have worked with a group of internists doing both inpatient and outpatient care, in a primary care group with family practice physicians, as sole provider in a primary care clinic owned by cardiologists. I have worked in the MED ER and a rural ER in Lexington. Currently I am with the Jackson Clinic which is a large multispecialty group.
I am married to Scott Sadler, a family practice physician with UTFP in Jackson. We have 2 children, Nicholas and Melanie. They are both in college now. I enjoy reading, traveling, teaching Sunday School, hanging at the beach and spending time with family and friends.
So now that we have an empty nest, I have more time available. I would like to get more involved with ACP. I have a wide range of experience in primary care and I think I can contribute to our organization. The longer I practice medicine, the more I see the importance of a group that speaks for physicians. We are all busy and it is difficult to make a difference individually. I would like to be a part of helping ACP reach internists and address the issues that are important to them.