Family Medicine Residency Program Graduation Set for June 25

RAPID CITY, SD - Five physicians will graduate from the Rapid City Regional Hospital Family Medicine Residency Program, on Friday, June 25.

Graduation festivities will take place at 3:30 p.m. at the Rushmore Plaza Holiday Inn, 505 North 5th Street. Patricia Brooks, M.D.; Ross Pieper, D.O.; Ana-Maria Suroiu, M.D.; Christopher Wangsness, M.D.; and Saba Awan, M.D. will receive diplomas for having completed the three-year residency program. Drs. Pieper and Wangsness were the Chief Residents.

“These graduates have been an asset to this program,” said Doug Bright, M.D., Family Medicine Residency Program Director. “I believe they will be a credit to the communities where they will practice medicine.”

In 1994, Rapid City Regional Hospital developed the Residency Program to meet the region's need for Family Medicine physicians. It is the mission of the Residency Program to recruit and train medical school graduates to specialize in family medicine. The Residency Program also enables Regional Hospital to help rural communities gain access to well-trained family medicine physicians to care for citizens in their respective communities.

Tim Sughrue, CEO of Rapid City Regional Hospital, said the Residency Program's 14th graduation represents the culmination of many years of effort and collaboration between the Medical Staff, the Sanford School of Medicine of the University of South Dakota, and Rapid City Regional Hospital.

"I greatly appreciate everyone who has worked so diligently in making the Family Medicine Residency Program successful, enabling Rapid City Regional Hospital to help meet the need for family medicine physicians in our community and region," Sughrue said.

Residents continuing their training are: Krista Birkelo, D.O.; Tony Castillo, M.D.; Robert Corprew, M.D.; Sarah Durney, M.D; Sarah Fatland, D.O.; John Horner, M.D.; Thuc Huynh, M.D; Andrew Liaw, M.D.; Brian Michaud, D.O.; Gregory Precht, M.D.; Sunee Snyder, M.D.; and Matthew Told, D.O.

The new first-year residents, and the schools from which they have received their medical degrees, are as follows: Nathan Allen, D.O. of Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine in Kirksville, MO; Scott Balson, M.D. of University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA; Gary MacDonald, D.O. of the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Philadelphia, PA; Kristine Nelson, D.O. of the Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine, Ft. Lauderdale-Davie, FL; Meghan O’Connell, M.D. of the University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA; Lacey Olson, M.D. of the Sanford School of Medicine-University of South Dakota, Vermillion, SD; Christopher Robbins, M.D. of the University of Texas Medical School at Houston, Houston, TX; and Heith Waddell, M.D. of the Flinders University of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia.

The Family Medicine Residency Program provides residents an opportunity to care for patients at the Family Medicine Residency Clinic, perform hospital rotations with physician mentors, and attend educational conferences. It models a traditional family medicine clinic by assigning each patient to a resident. The resident serves as the patient's primary caregiver during their three years of residency training. Each resident is under the supervision of a board-certified physician.

The program utilizes the talents of a full-time faculty consisting of board-certified family medicine physicians. The faculty includes: Douglas Bright, M.D.; Brian Smith, M.D.; Patricia Stephenson, M.D.; Kurt Stone, M.D.; and Ruth Thatcher, M.D. The program is also supported by local volunteer physician faculty.

“The Residency Program will continue to train medical school graduates willing to serve underserved populations,” Dr. Bright said. “We look forward to honoring many more graduates in the future.”

For more information about the Family Medicine Residency Program and Clinic, or to visit the clinic, call (605) 719-4060.

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