Beginning in July, Santa Maria’s Marian Regional Medical Center will have a family medicine residency program, thanks to a $75,000 donation from the William Randolph Hearst Foundation.
The three-year postgraduate program is designed for physicians interested in specializing in family medicine. It will include six residents per year for a total of 18 residents and is on schedule to have the first class next month.
According to hospital officials, the program is expected bring more permanent family medicine practitioners to the area, where there is already a critical shortage and a high need for such doctors, particularly in the low-income and immigrant communities.
“This generous donation from the Hearst Foundation will support the needs for training the next generation of family practitioners,” Charles J. Cova, Marian Regional Medical Center president and CEO, said in a press release. “The family residency program is a tremendous addition to Marian Regional Medical Center, and we truly appreciate the support and generosity of the Hearst Foundation.”
The program is affiliated with the USC Keck School of Medicine, one of the nation’s top 10 private research universities, and the Western University Osteopathic Medical School. Unlike other medical centers where family practice is just one of many residency programs, residents at Marian will receive primary access to training and focused attention from faculty.
“The Hearst Foundation is pleased to support this important service for the future of medicine in the Santa Maria Valley,” Hearst Foundation Western Director Paul Dinovitz said in the press release. “In previous years, the foundation lent support to another Dignity Health facility, the Hearst Cancer Resource Center in San Luis Obispo County. We are delighted to continue to support important health-care services like this on the Central Coast.”
For more information about the program, visit marianmedicalcenter.org/Residency_Program/index.htm.
Managing Editor Amy Asman compiled this week’s Community Corner. Information should be sent to the Sun via mail, email, or fax.
