Episode 34 - Bonus Episode: Our History - a podcast by Rio Bravo Family Medicine Residency Program

Bonus Episode: Our History.  

Listen to some of the founders of the program as they share memories, dreams, anecdotes and vision for the Rio Bravo Family Residency Program. End of Season 1.

 

The sun rises over the San Joaquin Valley, California, today is November 6, 2020.

The 2021 Match season is in full development. We have reviewed many applications and interviews will begin this coming week. We wish good luck to all candidates. May you find a residency that meets your expectations and provides you the training you want.

Today we present a bonus episode to remember our program history. How did this residency program start? Who helped with the foundation of the program? What improvements are expected in the future? We will answer those and other questions in this bonus episode, and you will hear from some of the founders of the program.

Stay tuned.

This is Rio Bravo qWeek, your weekly dose of knowledge brought to you by the Rio Bravo Family Medicine Residency Program, from Bakersfield, California. Sponsored by Clinica Sierra Vista, Providing compassionate and affordable care since 1971.

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” – Edmund Burke

Congratulations to the winner of the presidential elections in the United States of America. Good men need to be actively engaged in improving our society, otherwise evil will prevail and chaos, suffering and misery will spread. I think our residency program is an example of good things that have been done by good people. We will listen to an interview done by Dr Manzanares, our current chief resident, with Mr Schilling, former CEO of Clinica Sierra Vista and founder of the program. Sandra Lopez, our first residency coordinator, will also share her thoughts. And we will also hear from two graduates of our first class, Dr Cindy Her and Fernando Palacios. Dr Stewart will close the episode sharing her vision for the future. 

Foundation of the Rio Bravo Family Medicine Residency Program

 

The first class started on June 23, 2014. The first residents were: Hector Arreaza, Josue Balart, Rafael Chiquillo, Cindy Her, Fernando Palacios, and Adan Romero. Program Director: Carol Stewart; Program Coordinator: Sandra Lopez. Faculty: Irene Sunday and Ryan Cabatbat. 

 

The program was housed in the Greenfield Community Health Center until March 6, 2015, when the East Niles Community Health Center was officially opened to the public.

 

The program increased the number of residents in each class from 6 to 8 every year in 2019. 

 

Statistics: Graduates as of November 2020: 21, with 2 residents graduating by the end of January 2021, for a total of 23 residents. Stayed in the Central Valley: 14. Underserved areas: 19. Stayed in Bakersfield: 11. Stayed with Clinica Sierra Vista: 12.

Our mission: To Seek, Teach and Serve​

Educate and train high quality family medicine residents in multicultural, rural and underserved settings.

Support a family medicine-centered education service and research in Kern County.

Facilitate the development and sustenance of a regional service-education network for family physicians and allied health professionals.

Serve in a general capacity to facilitate, research and organize innovative approaches to health care in family and community medicine.

​Our Goals

Excellence in medical education.

Facilitate selection of practice sites in the Central San Joaquin Valley.

Provide ongoing support in practice through continuing medical education efforts, research activities and program educational activities.

Develop and implement the health team concept in the health care delivery system for this region.

Respect for resident’s well-being.

Instruct residents in longitudinal care of their patients with an understanding of the impact of psychosocial factors on their health and wellbeing.

Teach residents the principles of health maintenance, disease prevention, health education and community-oriented primary care, in addition to caring for a broad range of acute and chronic problems encompassing the fields of pediatrics, adult medicine, and OB/GYN.

Highest quality patient care.

Sustain learning environments that foster academic excellence, inspire the highest standards of professionalism, and ensue the delivery of safe, high-quality care to patients.

Serve in a general capacity to facilitate, research and organize innovate approaches to health care in family and community medicine.

Needs met by the residency program: 

Patients seen: Each resident sees a minimum of 1650 patients in clinic and 1040 patients in hospital before graduation. That’s 2,690 patients per resident. If we have 23 graduates = 61,870 patients seen in by our graduates, and that does not include the patients seen by all other residents who are in the program.

Our service area

The population we serve has a variety of acute and chronic conditions. 

Unique to this area is Valley Fever. Residents who are interested in infectious Disease may find a variety of acute and chronic infections, including HIV, STIs, hepatitis, tuberculosis, and more.

Training in the care of patients with substance abuse and addiction, including to opioids.

Diverse makeup of resident group

Currently we have residents with at least 17 different backgrounds and between residents and faculty, we speak 9 languages, 90% of our team is bilingual. 

Rotations with top specialists in the community

Our main hospital is Kern Medical, but we also have relationships with other specialists in our community, which includes multiple private practices in Radiology, Dermatology, Occupational Medicine, and more, to be integrated in Bakersfield and offer a well-rounded training for residents and a multidisciplinary treatment for our patients.

Wellness, familial atmosphere, leading into high retention rate

We have a spirit of friendship in our residency. We have a cake for every birthday and we have wellness activities every 5th Wednesday. 

We have an annual and semiannual retreat to promote wellness among residents.

We have multiple family-friendly social event throughout the year (Halloween, Christmas, other special occasions)

 

Program growth since opening

Dr Arreaza, Dr Marquez and Dr Saito are graduates from the residency and now are part of the core faculty.

“New” location: From Greenfield to East Niles.

More faculty with new initiatives

New initiatives: POCUS, research, podcast, increased OB/GYN procedures and continuity deliveries, increased in the number of residents from 18 to 24)

Improved hospital experience by increasing the number of residents on the inpatient team, improved night float support

The program has gained a good reputation in the hospital, as residents rotate through different services (from unknown to colleagues).

These are the graduates by class:

First Class:

Hector Arreaza –Bakersfield, CSV, trained in obesity medicine, residency core faculty

Josue Balart- Bakersfield, CSV, trained in obesity medicine

Rafael Chiquillo- HIV fellowship, Los Angeles

Cindy Her- Kaiser in Sacramento area

Fernando Palacios- hospitalist in Temecula, CA

Adan Romero – Los Angeles

Second Class:

Jasmeet Bains – Taft CHC, Psych fellow

Olga Meave – Bakersfield, CSV, CMO

Omar Salamanca – Lamont/Arvin, CSV, per diem preceptor

Arlenis Barroso – CSV Greenfield

Verna Marquez – Bakersfield, CSV, residency core Faculty

Rhett Pelaez – Bakersfield, Kern Medical

Third Class:

Yoel Olazabal – Lamont, CA, CSV Lamont

Hamlet Garcia – Ventura, CA

Matthew Beare – Bakersfield, CSV, Medical Director of Special Populations, per diem preceptor

Jorge Palomino – Weed, CA 

Mark Rivera –Bakersfield, private practice

Fourth Class:

Ronald Gavilan – Taft, CA, per diem preceptor

Yunior Martinez – Bakersfield, CSV, per diem preceptor

Amna Fareedy –Central Valley, graduated in November 2020

Greg Fernandez – Fresno, CSV, walk-in Supervisor

Steven Saito – CSV, residency core faculty

Lisa Manzanares –Central Valley, will graduate Jan 2021.

Now we conclude our first season with episode number 34 - a bonus episode about Rio Bravo’s History. We appreciate all those who have set the foundation of the program, and we anticipate a brilliant future as it continues to expand and improve!

Thanks for listening to Rio Bravo qWeek. If you have any feedback about this podcast, contact us by email RBresidency@clinicasierravista.org, or visit our website riobravofmrp.org/qweek. This week we thank Lisa Manzanares, Tana Parker, Stephen Schilling, Sandra Lopez, Cindy Her, Fernando Palacios, Carol Stewart, and Hector Arreaza. Audio edition: Suraj Amrutia. See you next season!

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