Greater Lawrence Family Health Center, sponsor of the Lawrence Family Medicine Residency, was matched with 10 physicians during the annual “Match Day” earlier this month through the National Resident Matching Program.
Of the 10, three are local—from Salem, N.H., and Peabody and Westford—with the remaining seven from across the United States. All begin their residencies in July.
“Our future residents come from across the United States and with diverse backgrounds and experiences. They are all outstanding students and people who will be excellent additions to our health center and the Lawrence community,” said Dr. Wendy Barr, vice president of Clinical Education, and Residency program director at Greater Lawrence Family Health Center.
The residents are Ina Bodinaku of Peabody; Jesse Feierabend-Peters of Martinez, Calif.; Julie Gibson of Rocklin, Calif.; Juliette Kassas of Salem, N.H.; Margot Mellette of Williamsburg, Va.; Alma Onate Munoz of Cincinnati, Ohio; Hannah Pearson, Hopkins, Minn.; Tala Radejko, Washington, D.C.; Rachel Weinstock of Westford; and Jessica Williams of Amarillo, Texas.
While most family medicine residency programs are three years in length, the Lawrence Family Medicine Residency is a four-year training program that is part of a national pilot looking at training innovation. Residents spend an extra year of training to further expand their scope of practice, particularly in an area of concentration, and to develop further expertise in population health, health systems management and leadership and integrating that care into communities. The goal of the training program is to train family physicians who provide comprehensive primary care to vulnerable populations and can improve the health and health equity of these communities.
“Greater Lawrence Family Health Center and the nationally recognized Lawrence Family Medicine Residency program continue to be the gold standard in primary care and family medicine training,” said President and CEO John M. Silva. “There continues to be a shortage in the primary care workforce and GLFHC is proud to be one of the Teaching Health Centers training culturally competent family physicians of the future.”
Started in 1994, the Lawrence Family Medicine Residency is unique because it is the first in the country for which the accrediting institution is a community health center. The residency is accredited through GLFHC and is affiliated with Lawrence General Hospital.