James Plumb, MD, MPH

Biographical Sketch

A 1969 Honors graduate of the University of Virginia, and a 1974 AOA graduate of Jefferson Medical College, Dr. Plumb joined the Thomas Jefferson University Family Medicine Residency Program in 1974, then served as Residency Coordinator from 1977-1982. He initiated the Urban Home Visit Program, a program that has now been visiting homebound elderly patients in the most underserved parts of Philadelphia for 30 years, having made 30,000 home visits to date. 

Since 1992, he has served as the Faculty Advisor for a student-run Urban Health Initiative (Jeff HOPE) addressing the health care needs of the homeless and otherwise disenfranchised populations at four shelters and a needle exchange in the city in which 80% of Jefferson’s students participate as caregivers in five weekly clinic sites. In 1998, Dr. Plumb was named the Associate Vice-President for Community Health at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. He has partnered with five diverse neighborhoods in Philadelphia and created the Center for Urban Health that has received over seven million dollars in grants and contracts to date. He currently serves on the Board of the Section of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at the Philadelphia College of Physicians, the Philadelphia Chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility, and was on the Board of the National Physicians for Social Responsibility, serving as Co-Chair of the Social Justice Committee. He is Chair of the Active Living Group of the Philadelphia Urban Food and Fitness Alliance (PUFFA).

He has provided testimony and radio interviews on several aspects of the Environment, including mercury toxicity, particulate matter, extreme weather events, and the Clean Air Act. He has published over 50 articles related to aspects of community work and palliative care. In 2003, he received his Masters in Public Health Degree from the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University. He currently directs a longitudinal curricular initiative in Jefferson Medical College- College Within the College – Population Health and teaches two core courses in Jefferson’s MPH Program. Dr Plumb maintains a clinical practice at St Elizabeth’s Health and Healing Center in Lower North Philadelphia, in partnership with Project H.O.M.E.

He has received many honors for his work, including the Liberty Bell award from the Philadelphia Bar Association, the IMPACT Award with Jeff HOPE from Smith-Kline Beecham, and the AAMC Humanism in Medicine Award from Pfizer. In 2004, he was selected by Jefferson students for the Exemplar in Humanism Award, and by the Philadelphia County Medical Society as Practitioner of the Year. In 2010, he received the Community Service Deans Award form Jefferson Medical College.

To request Dr. Plumb as a speaker, please email psrnatl@psr.org or call 202-667-4260.