Family HealthCare Network has joined forces with A.T. Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine at Arizona to recruit top students from the Central Valley who wish to pursue a career in medicine.  As part of the unique “Hometown” program, Family Healthcare Network will encourage local students to “dare to dream” of becoming physicians. The physician shortage in our nation hits areas like the Central Valley particularly hard.  It is difficult to recruit physicians to medically underserved areas and it is also a challenge to retain them.  The perfect solution is to find community residents who want to go to medical school and return to their hometown community to practice medicine.

Many of our local young people don’t think college is a possibility, and have never imagined they could go to medical school. We at Family HealthCare Network are able to help through a unique partnership with ATSU. The new medical school model will have students on the ATSU campus in Arizona for one year.  The second, third, and fourth years of medical school will be spent in small groups located at a community health center like Family Healthcare Network.  Now, as we begin our third year of experience with the medical school program, we are excitedly seeing the emergence of future community physicians,

Gary Cloud, Ph.D., director of Advancement at A.T. Still University, who oversees the Hometown program for ATSU, says, “We dare local children to dream of becoming a physician.  We give all community members the advantage of a health center advocate in pursuing their dreams.”

People interested in finding out more about the Hometown program should contact Dr. Steven Palmer at (559) 737-4766 or via email at spalmer@fhcn.org or visit www.atsu.edu.