Listen below for a brief recap of Tuesday’s runoff election, including the outcome of the race for the District 2 seat on the Dougherty County Commission.
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(Photo by Walter L. Johnson II)
Listen as new Marine Corps Logistics Base (MCLB) Albany Commanding Officer Alphonso Trimble, and Albany Area Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Barbara Rivera Holmes discuss the Military Appreciation Rise N’ Shine Breakfast that was held at the Merry Acres Inn and Event Center in Albany on Wednesday morning.
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Left Photo: Phoebe Putney Health System Family Medicine Residency Program Director George Fredrick, M.D (left).
Right Photo: Tarah Henderson, D.O. (left)
(Photos by Walter L. Johnson II)
At its monthly board of directors meeting at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany Wednesday, Family Medicine Residency Program Director George Fredrick addressed members regarding the state of the program. He says that he and his team have made significant strides towards recruiting new physicians to Southwest Georgia.
“It shows progress, it shows that we’re growing, and how important developing medical education is to developing good healthcare in an area such as Southwest Georgia, which is a difficult area to recruit physicians into,” Fredrick said. “By getting them here to train, and by increasing our numbers, I think that it shows that there is growth, and I think it shows that there is interest in the younger physicians, in coming to (rural) areas instead of just staying in municipal areas or big cities.”
As a member of the largest class to be enrolled in the 25-year history of the program, Tarah Henderson agreed with Fredrick on the progress the program has made in recruiting new residents during that span.
“It was great just to see the ins and outs of the hospital, and seeing of Phoebe Putney,” Henderson said, adding that being a part of eight member Class of 2021 has been a tremendous learning experience thus far.
“It’s been really great, everyone has been helpful,” she said. “The attendees have really been attentive, and they’re really trying to teach you.”
Many factors and strategies go into the selection of residents to the Family Medicine Residency program, including ties to Georgia, whether it comes via family or non-family, Fredrick explained.
“Probably the most effective (strategy to recruit potential residents) is students who have done their training in Georgia,” he said, “because they have some connection with Georgia. We then look at people that have some connection to Georgia, it may that they were born here, it may be that they be that spent some time in Georgia, it may be that they have a spouse or significant other that will be moving to Georgia and getting a job. So we look for those factors through the application process, to try to concentrate on those individuals.”
But sometimes there are students with little or no ties to Georgia who find their way into the residency program, dependent upon what’s found in their background information, as well as expressing a strong interest in practicing medicine in rural areas like Southwest Georgia, Fredrick added.
“Then, you look at people who may have no connection with Georgia, and you look at their personal statement,” Fredrick explained, “and I’ll see that perhaps they have a high interest in rural medicine, or serving different demographics of the population. I think those are the kind of people (that) we want to key on.”
“People that have had that kind of activity will find an interest in (rural medicine) and stay.”
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Left Photo: State Senator Renee Unterman
Right Photo (L-R): Jeffrey Nasworthy, M.D., Christopher Thaver, M.D., Amanda An, M.D., Nguyet Nguyen-To, M.D., Tarah Henderson, M.D., Keylon Glawson, M.D., Kyle Libbey, M.D., Travisha Vaughns, M.D.
(Photos courtesy of Phoebe Putney Health System)
Listen to the full audio recap of the Phoebe Putney Health System Family Medicine Residency Welcome Ceremony, which was held at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany on Wednesday, June 27, 2018. State Senator Renee Unterman was the keynote speaker for this year’s ceremony.
The Family Medicine Residency program welcomed its largest class of residents in its 25-year history, with eight doctors earning their white doctor’s coats, as well as their pagers. The eight residents admitted into the Class of 2021, in alphabetical order, were as follows:
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Photo: Phoebe Family Medicine Graduates (L-R) Antwuan Allen, M.D., Shayla Curtis, M.D., Kristen Krakovec, M.D., Daniel Smith, M.D., and Kim Ann Dang, M.D. Not pictured: Gary Clay, Jr., M.D.
(Photo courtesy of Phoebe Putney Health System)
Press Release courtesy of Phoebe Putney Health System
Albany, Ga. – The Phoebe Family Medicine Residency Program (PFMR) celebrated the graduation of the Class of 2018 on Saturday evening during a ceremony at Doublegate Country Club in Albany. This year’s graduates are: Antwuan Allen, MD, Shayla Curtis, MD, Daniel Smith, MD, Gary Clay, Jr., MD, Kristen Krakovec, MD, and Kim Ann Dang, MD.
“The graduation ceremony celebrates the successes of these graduates and the hard work they have put in over the last three years. I am proud of each one of them and all they have accomplished. Whether they are staying in Georgia or going to a neighboring state, they will greatly benefit their community by providing the highest quality of care to their patients,” said Dr. George Fredrick, program director, Phoebe Family Medicine Residency Program.
Three of the graduates will practice in Georgia. Right away, Dr. Clay is staying in Albany and will be practicing as a hospitalist for Phoebe starting this month. Dr. Allen will be practicing in Columbus, Ga., and Dr. Curtis in Fitzgerald, Ga. Dr. Smith will also be returning to Albany to practice next year following a sports medicine fellowship.
Dr. Krakovec will be practicing in Crawfordville, Fl., and Dr. Dang is beginning a palliative care fellowship in Macon, Ga.
Several awards were given at the ceremony. Shayla Curtis, MD, was named Resident of the Year and Peggy Bergrab, MD, was named Residency Teacher of the Year. Clay Hartley, MD, was named Intern of the Year and Sharmon Osae, PharmaD, was honored with the Community Faculty of the Year. Muffadal Kheda, MD, was awarded the In-Patient Faculty of the Year, and the Advance Practice Provider of the Year of awarded to Gregory Steele, FNP.
The PFMR’s primary mission is to train family physicians to practice in rural Southwest Georgia. This year’s class brings the total number of PFMR graduates to 120 since the program began in 1993. Seventy-two percent of those graduates are currently practicing in Georgia, and the majority of those remain in southwest Georgia.
To learn more about the Family Medicine Residency Program, please visit fmresidency.com/index.html.
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