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Physician residency programs return to Keesler Medical Center

  • Published
KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss --  Keesler Medical Center achieves a major step in its return to pre-Katrina operations July 1 as medical and surgical residents return. This follows an almost two-year period without physician residency programs. 

Twenty-three first-year residents arrived in mid-June for a two-week orientation program. This included .in-processing into the Air Force system, being issued ID cards, enrollment into the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System, upgrade training in advanced cardiac life support, receiving training in military equal opportunity, use of medical computers and other general subjects to prepare them for their next three to five years of residency as Air Force physicians. 

Following Hurricane Katrina, all Keesler residents were sent either to military or civilian hospitals accredited for training, to continue their residency programs at Air Force expense. 

According to Dr. Alvin Cotlar, director of graduate medical education for the 81st Medical Group, members of the American Medical Association's Residency Review Committee (RRC) visited in November 2006 for a site survey to determine whether Keesler Medical Center could return its residency programs as planned on July 1, 2007. 

"Two of the programs, internal medicine and general surgery, received full accreditation," Dr. Cotlar observed. "Surgery is accredited for a five-year program and internal medicine for a three-year program." 

However, the population demographics changed considerably post Katrina, due to an initial surge of younger, unmarried service members, leading to an insufficient number of children and expectant mothers among the beneficiary population to sustain independent pediatric and obstetrics/gynecology residency programs. As a result, Keesler Medical Center (KMC) and the RRC delayed the restart of KMC's three-year pediatric and four-year obstetrics/gynecology programs until the populations of children and expectant mothers return to sufficient numbers to sustain those residencies.  

In the interim, the Air Force has established an affiliation with the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) in Jackson allowing Keesler Medical Center to place military residents in those specialties, to do part of their training at the UMMC facility. 

"OB/GYN residents will spend six months in Jackson and six months at Keesler Medical Center," Dr Cotlar said. "Pediatric residents will also be assigned to the UMMC but will complete two-month rotations at Keesler each academic year." One pediatric resident will attend the pediatric residency program at the University of Louisiana Medical School in New Orleans. 

The current group of doctors - mostly recent graduates of medical schools from throughout the U.S. - includes six general surgery and seven internal medicine first-year residents assigned to Keesler. There also is a Keesler surgeon in a thoracic surgery fellowship at the Biloxi Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Three OB and six pediatric first-year residents will start at the University of Mississippi Medical Center at Jackson this August. 

Another factor affecting the residency program is the number and type of medical specialists assigned to Keesler Medical Center who would provide valuable training in their respective fields. 

"The Air Force Medical Service is committed to replacing all the specialties Keesler Medical Center had prior to Katrina," Dr. Cotlar said. They are returning as the Medical Center rebuilds, several arriving this summer and fall including vascular and cardiovascular surgeons and a pediatric oncologist, among others. 

Commenting on the incoming class, Dr. Cotlar said, "This is the sharpest, most professional-looking group of first-year residents I've seen in the 12 years I've been here. They meet or exceed all Air Force standards in every way. All are eager to go to work!" 

The new first-year residents are: Capts. (Drs.) Mark Burbridge, Raetasha Dabney, Keith Kramer, William Pomeroy, Ryan Stoner, Jonathan Hechanova and Clint Hoangquocgia, internal medicine; William Harris, Mark Lytle, Andrew Matthies, Charles Woodham, Joseph Lotterhos, and Chad Edwards, general surgery; Elizabeth Guida, James Small and Florence Villa, OB; and Starrina Desmond (LSU), Jeremy Harwood, Christeen Hodge, Kathryn Taylor, Robert Weatherwax and Maj. (Dr.) Gina Vitiello , pediatrics. Maj (Dr.) Miechia Esco is the thoracic surgery Fellow. 

Directors of the four Keesler Medical Center residency programs are: Lt. Cols. (Drs.) James Dolan, surgery; Todd Boleman, pediatrics; William Moore, OB/GYN, and Maj. (Dr.) William Hannah, internal medicine. Retired Col. (Dr.) Letch Kline, chief of surgery at the Biloxi VA medical center, is the program director for the thoracic fellowship.