Past PAEA President Wins Rural Health Award

Steven Shelton, MBA, PA-C, who served as PAEA (then APAP) president from 1989 to 1990, will receive the Louis Gorin Award for Outstanding Achievement in Rural Health Care from the National Rural Health Association (NRHA). The Louis Gorin Award recipient is selected based on their creativity, unselfishness, compassion, and cooperative attitude in seeking ways to make lasting contributions to rural health care.

Shelton’s 40-year career in rural health has included nationally recognized work in primary care workforce development, health literacy, and health disparities. He is the executive director of the Texas Area Health Education Center-East in Galveston. Shelton is also a longtime faculty member of the University of Texas Medical Branch where he recently served as interim chair and currently serves as course director for four courses in the School of Medicine.

Shelton has helped mobilize community response during events including the Columbia space shuttle accident, the West Fertilizer plant explosion, and Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Ike.

Shelton will receive the award on April 16 during NRHA’s 38th Annual Rural Health Conference in Philadelphia.