USA Health family medicine adds new physician with obstetrics training
“It is important to share your knowledge and training with the next generation so they can continue in the practice of caring for others and advancing the field of medicine. That way with every generation it gets better and better.”
By Michelle Ryan
mryan@health.southalabama.edu
Danielle Turnquest, M.D., a native of the Bahamas, brings an interest in women’s health and caring for underserved communities to her new role at USA Health as a family medicine physician.
Turnquest, an assistant professor of family medicine in the Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine, also combined these passions during a family medicine obstetrics fellowship.
“I have always found it important to help my patients through all stages of life, from newborns, to becoming a teenager, family planning, aging and for some, their end-of-life care,” she said. “As physicians we treat our patients’ physical diseases, but also provide spiritual, social and mental support for each stage of life and its transitions.”
Turnquest, who is board-certified by the American Academy of Family Physicians, graduated magna cum laude from Florida Memorial University in Miami Gardens, Florida, with a bachelor’s degree in biology. She completed medical school at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee.
Her next stop was Kent Hospital at Brown University in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, where she finished her family medicine residency. She continued her studies in family medicine with additional training in obstetrics during a fellowship at Christ Community Health Services in Memphis, Tennessee.
Family medicine obstetrics fellowships are an emerging program in medical training, and are available at select institutions in 29 states, according to the American Board of Physician Specialties. Many point to this type of training as a way to provide much-needed obstetric care to pregnant women in rural areas.
“My training at both Meharry and Brown University prepared me to work with patients from low socioeconomic backgrounds,” she said. “This included assessing and treating their chief complaints, social determinants of health, and working with interdisciplinary teams to provide the best support and framework for treatment.”
Turnquest will join the USA Health Department of Family Medicine, which recently formed a partnership with Accordia Health, the primary care division of AltaPointe Health, that is a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC).
In the United States, FQHCs play a crucial role in increasing access to quality healthcare services for underserved populations, improving health outcomes and reducing healthcare disparities. As an FQHC, Accordia accepts all patients, regardless of their insurance status or ability to pay.
Providing exceptional care to patients of all ages drew her to family practice, but the opportunity to teach future providers also drew her to the academic health system.
“It is important to share your knowledge and training to the next generation so they can continue in the practice of caring for others and advancing the field of medicine,” she said. “That way with every generation it gets better and better.”
Turnquest is available to treat conditions like allergies, anxiety, depression, cold and flu, diabetes, hypertension, urinary tract infections and more. She also provides prenatal care and will deliver babies at USA Health Children’s & Women’s Hospital.
She is accepting new patients at the Family Medicine Center located at 2419 Gordon Smith Drive in Mobile. To schedule an appointment, call 251-434-3475.
