On July 1, three new physician residents will be the first to train with both Phoebe Family Medicine Residency and Colquitt Regional Medical Center in a collaborative effort to fulfill a critical need to bring more physicians to Southwest Georgia.

Last year, with guidance of George Fredrick, MD, director of Phoebe Family Medicine Residency program, Colquitt Regional Medical Center was approved for a rural residency track. Residents will train their first year at Phoebe and finish their last two years in Moultrie at Colquitt Regional Medical Center.

“We are definitely on the right road for increasing the number of physicians in Southwest Georgia,” Dr. Fredrick said. “Between building the Southwest Georgia Medical Student Housing Complex, the collaboration with Colquitt Regional and approval from The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education to expand Phoebe Family Medicine Residency, we will have an impact.”

Since the beginning, Phoebe Family Medicine Residency’s goal has been clear – provide an outstanding residency experience while also meeting the medical needs of Southwest Georgia through deliberate attraction and retention of quality healthcare providers. Twenty-three years later, the program continues that mission and has proven to be a tremendous economic and healthcare quality asset to our region and state.

Phoebe’s program has the second highest board pass rate among the nine other family medicine residency programs in Georgia and can now graduate eight physicians in each class versus five, up to 24 per year. This not only signals an increase in improving access to care for citizens of this region, but also a significant boost to the local economy.

According to state economic development officials, the economic impact a doctor has on their community is roughly $1 million. While numerous studies have shown that most physicians continue to practice in or near the community where their residency is completed, Phoebe is proud that seventy percent of those who graduate from its program remain in Georgia, with more than half practicing in Southwest Georgia.

Additionally, Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital will introduce six new resident physicians to the Phoebe Family Medicine Residency program at an annual welcoming ceremony, scheduled this Wednesday, June 22 at 2 p.m. in the Wetherbee Lobby of the hospital’s main campus.

Each year, the ceremony features a notable guest speaker to welcome the incoming class to the prestigious program. The keynote speaker for this year’s ceremony is Senator Jack Hill of Reidsville. Senator Hill is chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and also serves on the Natural Resources and the Environment, Regulated Industries and Utilities and Rules committees as well as ex-officio for the Finance Committee.

During the ceremony the residents will be introduced to the community, presented with the traditional white lab coat and pager, and welcomed with gifts from local businesses by Albany’s Chamber of Commerce.

The Class of 2019 includes Stephen Daniel, MD; Laura De Simone, MD; Theresa Kowalski, MD; Maria Kyriacou, MD; Joseph Mariano, MD; and Serena Miller, MD. The residents train with Phoebe Family Medicine for three years to become eligible for board certification in family medicine. While in the residency program, all resident physicians will work in multiple clinical areas at the hospital and around Albany.