Visalia, CA – Family HealthCare Network (FHCN) recently welcomed 10 new medical school students to its A.T. Still University medical school campus in Visalia, CA. The new group of students marks the organization’s eighth class of medical school students to join this unique medical school program. Since 2008, FHCN has served as one of 11 community campuses in the nation, and the only one in California for A.T. Still University’s School of Osteopathic Medicine based out of Mesa, AZ.
Now in their second year, the 10 students join FHCN for their second, third, and fourth years of medical school as part of their Community Health Center-based training program. Students spent their first year on the Arizona campus learning together in large and small groups, using simulated clinical interactions. Now based at FHCN, students have the opportunity to observe patient care first hand and will continue their second year of academic education led by FHCN faculty who are practicing physicians, as well as through various distance education technologies. In years three and four, students complete their clinical rotations in FHCN Community Health Centers, area hospitals, and other health care institutions that are associated and affiliated with FHCN.
“We are extremely proud to welcome and support this new group of medical students, and we encourage them join us in our efforts to create healthier local communities,” explained FHCN President & CEO Kerry Hydash. “The primary care provider shortage hits areas like the Central Valley particularly hard and this program plays an important role in our efforts to address this shortage.”
In addition to the medical school program, FHCN has established other formal partnerships and training programs to boost educational opportunities in the South Valley. In 2013, FHCN extended its partnership with the A.T. Still University, launching a Physician Assistant Program. In the same year, a Dental Residency program with Brooklyn, NY based Lutheran Medical Center Dental (LMC Dental) was established and places dental residents at FHCN health centers for comprehensive general dentistry training.
Since the inception of the program, the A.T. Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine on FHCN’s campus has graduated 77 medical school students. Twenty-nine medical school students are currently completing their third and fourth year of training. The new class of ten medical students will graduate in 2018.
About Family HealthCare Network:
Family HealthCare Network is a private nonprofit organization that operates federally qualified health centers. Our mission is to provide quality health care to everyone in the communities we serve. We operate 19 sites, of which 15 are community health centers located in Tulare and Kings Counties. Family HealthCare Network is recognized by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) as a Level 3 Patient Centered Medical Home and is dually recognized by The Joint Commission with its Gold Seal of Approval® for Patient Quality and Safety and as a Patient Centered Primary Medical Home.
For more information about Family HealthCare Network, please call 1-877-960-3426, or visit our website at www.FHCN.org, like us on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/fhcn.org, or follow us on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/FHCN.
