Beebe residents receive white coats
Members of the first class of Beebe Healthcare’s Family Medicine Residency Program were the stars of the show during a welcome reception and traditional white coat ceremony July 13 at the Margaret H. Rollins School of Nursing in Lewes.
The residents are Harrison Eckert, DO, of Orefield, Pa., Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine; Monica Javadian, MD, of Aarhus, Denmark, and Northern Virginia, American University of the Caribbean; Sofia Perez Delgado, DO, of Santo Domingo and Tampa, Fla., Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine; and Jacob Valvis, DO, of Hockessin, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.
They will take part in a three-year academic program while seeing patients at Beebe Medical Practice in Long Neck, and gain hands-on experience in emergency medicine, general surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, cardiology, pulmonary, pediatrics, intensive care, palliative care, orthopaedics, ophthalmology, urology and sports medicine.
Beebe had 500 applicants, conducted 70 interviews and selected four residents on Match Day March 17.
Director of Medical Education Dr. Jeffrey Hawtof, who has been at Beebe for more than 25 years, said the white coat ceremony was a rite of passage and a transition from medical school to a specific field of medicine. “It symbolizes professionalism and the trust patients place on us as physicians and to treat others with dignity and respect,” he said. “It also symbolizes our commitment to teach you. The most important skill is to learn to love being a family physician.”
“We are focused on more healthcare providers. It's not always about buildings, it's to make sure we have doctors, physician's assistants and nurses,” said Bebee Healthcare President and CEO Dr. David Tam. “We will grow our own.”
He said the residency program would have not been possible without support from the community, Beebe's board of directors and Beebe's doctors. “We are an independent hospital and we can't do it on our own. And you can't run a residency if you don't have the doctors willing to teach what being a doctor means,” Tam added.
Beebe Medical Foundation President Tom Protak said people ask him what Beebe needs when considering financial support. “We need primary care and family doctors because healthcare starts with them,” he said. “The best thing we can do is invest in our residency program and medical education.”
The program got off the ground with a donation from the Rollins family. The residency program is housed in the upgraded and converted Shaw Building (the first hospital) and is named the R. Randall Rollins Center for Medical Education. Beebe's nursing program takes place in the Margaret H. Rollins School of Nursing.
Tanya Ray, administrative director of Beebe Graduate Medical Education, announced the new Sherman Townsend Memorial and that the residency lounge has been named in Townsend's honor. “He loved Beebe, and our love for him was deep,” Ray said. “We want to honor his legacy and his wonderful family.”
Among others taking part in the ceremony were Beebe Health Chief Medical Officer Dr. Paul Sierzenski, Director of Undergraduate Medical Education Dr. Katie Johnson and Dr. Joyce Robert, founding residency program director.
In addition to Beebe's residency program, there are five Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine students taking part in a core subjects of medicine program. They are Michaelyn Cornish of the Poconos, Pa.; Nicole Blatt of Voorhees, N.J.; Erin Shenouski of Lanoka Harbor, N.J.; Daniel Taylor of North East, Pa.; and Brooke Turnbaugh of New Cumberland, Pa.
