Better together than alone

D.O./P.A. team, PA students honored

The Arizona State Association of Physician Assistants (ASAPA) conferred its first annual Physician/ PA Partnership Award to Marc Kaplan, D.O., ’81, and Thomas A. Harris, PA-C. The award honors the physician-physician assistant team that best exemplifies healthcare collaboration in treating patients.

The Kaplan-Harris team practices in Sierra Vista, located near the Mexican border in the southeast corner of Arizona, approximately 80 miles from Tucson. The small, rural community boasts a population just over 43,000.

“Dr. Kaplan and Mr. Harris, as a team, deserve this award,” says Chris Peltonen, office manager at the Cochise Health Alliance Medical Group. “They have worked together for almost 13 years and truly exemplify the relationship of trust, collegiality, and mutual respect. They depend on each other to provide quality care to their patients. As a team, they promote exceptional patient care and quality of a fair and honest work place for all.”

Dr. Kaplan, a Phoenix native, moved back to his home state of Arizona after graduation from ATSU-KCOM, where he became a general medical officer and flight surgeon for the U.S. Army at Fort Huachuca outside of Sierra Vista. He began the Cochise Health Alliance Medical Group in Sierra Vista, a family practice group that provides care to the military stationed at Fort Huachuca and the Sierra Vista community.

The Arizona State Association of Physician Assistants also conferred a student scholarship to ATSU PA student Katie Conway and honored ATSU PA student Brooke Menzie as one of its PA Students of the Year.