CAMDEN, NJ – Emmanuel Frederick Ashong, MD, MPH, FAAP, a pediatrician at Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center, was recently named the medical director of the Osborn Family Health Center, Lourdes' primary care center for the indigent and underserved of Camden. In this role, Ashong will be responsible for facilitating relationships between physicians and senior leadership in an effort to improve the delivery of high-quality patient care.

In practice at Lourdes since 1991, Ashong is also the director of Medical Education at Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center. In addition, he was recently named the 2010 recipient of the March of Dimes' Born to Shine award, which honors local top physicians in the fields of maternal and child health.

"We are delighted to announce that Dr. Ashong has been appointed Medical Director of the Osborn Family Center," says Dr. Alan R. Pope, chief medical officer at Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center. "Dr. Ashong is an outstanding clinician and leader who will focus on ensuring the Center provides the best possible care for the community. He exemplifies the qualities of providing compassionate, state-of-the-art care to all. He also brings his skills as director of Medical Education to incorporate a culture of ongoing learning to advance the use of best practices and new technology among the medical staff."

Located in a state-of-the-art facility across the street from Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center, Osborn offers many services in a quality, comfortable private-practice model setting, with a particular focus on providing optimal prenatal care to women and their families. Osborn serves more than 45,000 patients a year. Over the past three decades, Osborn has provided more than one million primary and specialty care visits to the poor and underserved of Camden. Its primary services include Family Practice, High-Risk Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pediatrics, and Outpatient Lab Testing.

Ashong is a staunch advocate of ensuring healthcare access to all. He collaborates with parents on how to provide guidance to young children. "I truly believe that children are our most important resource," says Ashong. "In my role, I aim to advocate on behalf of all children and partner with parents to empower them to provide a better future for their children."

Serving on statewide medical education committees and the recipient of numerous teaching awards, Ashong has a master's degree in Public Health from Harvard University. He graduated with distinction from the University of Ghana Medical School and completed his residencies at Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Ghana and Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn. He completed a clinical fellowship in ambulatory care pediatrics at Kings County.

Ashong, who became a U.S. citizen in 1999, says "I hope to better the health and lives of children each and every day."