Helping African Americans adjust to healthful lifestyles has driven the clinical practice of Dr. Donald B. Parks, a graduate of Jefferson Medical College and currently professor of community medicine at Temple University School of Medicine. Dr. Parks also is medical director for Parkstone Medical Associates, a multidisciplinary private practice in an underserved area of North Philadelphia. He has provided expert services for many health care service providers, including Aetna, Highmark and Independent Blue Cross. While working with these insurers, he has approached the practice of medicine in a cooperative sense to improve lifestyle changes for his patients.
He has been honored by President Jimmy Carter and the NAACP, and has been named Practitioner of the Year by the Philadelphia County Medical Society for his medical leadership and community achievements. His commitment to the underserved is exemplified by the fact that he and his wife used personal funds to rehabilitate a condemned building in North Philadelphia to provide a safe haven and shelter for the homeless, HIV and nonviolent early-prison-released clients to facilitate their re-entry into society -- a perfect metaphor for helping African Americans to reclaim healthy bodies and establishing healthful lifestyles.
