UPMC represents the future the community needs
I am a family medicine physician and serve as the program director for the Family Medicine Residency Program at Washington Hospital. This might come as a surprise to some, but Washington Health System has a long-standing history of academic excellence, with both a school of nursing and the Family Medicine Residency Program.
The Family Medicine Residency Program, which was founded in 1971, is the oldest family medicine training program in Pennsylvania, and among the oldest in the country. This program has served as a pipeline for delivering high quality primary care physicians into our community, with more than 20% of our 317 graduates practicing in Washington County after graduation. In a time where there is an extreme shortage of primary care physicians across the country, it is vital that we keep open this direct pipeline of physicians into our communities.
Our residency clinic cares for a disproportionate number of underserved individuals; those who are uninsured and underinsured, patients with disabilities, and many others from socioeconomically disadvantaged groups. If the hospital and our training program close, those patients who desperately need us will lose their doctors and their access to health care close to home.
UPMC together with WHS is the future that our community needs. It will keep WHS doing what it does best, providing high quality health care to our community members.
Lauren O’Brien
Washington