Methuen native matches with program, joins in July

(MARCH 17, 2017 – LAWRENCE, MA) Greater Lawrence Family Health Center (GLFHC), the sponsoring organization for the Lawrence Family Medicine Residency, is proud to announce a successful resident physician match on today’s annual “Match Day”, through the National Resident Matching Program.  This will mark the fifth LFMR class that will be entering the residency program as part of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)’s four-year length of training national demonstration project which begins this July.

“The class of 2021 joins us from across the United States, with diverse backgrounds and experiences. They are all outstanding students and people who will be excellent additions to our Health Center and the Lawrence community. They were attracted to our Health Center because of our mission and the education and experiences that we all provide. A key part of that experience is the educational role that all our staff provides to our residents and the community at GLFHC,” states Wendy Barr, MD, Lawrence Family Medicine Residency Director.  “The mission of the LFMR is to offer resident physicians the knowledge and ability to provide medical care and leadership, specifically in underserved communities.”

“For our 10 first year positions this year, we had 782 applications from across the globe, 286 from medical schools in the United States, and conducted full-day interviews with 119 applicants between October and December,” states John Silva, GLFHC President and Chief Executive Officer.  “With the ever-changing health care environment, now more than ever it is crucial that we provide the best care to the community with some of the brightest minds in family medicine.”

Along with the ten resident physicians matched today, Olayinka Edwards, MD will also join the Class of 2020 as a transfer from the Via Christi Family Medicine Residency program in Wichita, KS so that she can be closer to her family. She grew up in Hartford CT and is a University of Connecticut graduate. She will fill the position of a resident who resigned in January to also by closer to her family in Indiana.

Joining LFMR is Methuen native Elie Ata.  Ata received his undergraduate degree from Merrimack College in North Andover, and attended Central Michigan University College of Medicine.  “While we are excited to meet all of our new residents, it’s comforting to know that Elie is, in essence, coming home to the Merrimack Valley to practice medicine and serve the community,” according to Barr.

Initiated in 1994, the Lawrence Family Medicine Residency is the first in the country for which the accredited institution is a community health center.  The residency is accredited through GLFHC and is affiliated with Lawrence General Hospital.  This relationship benefits both organizations gives residents a comprehensive range of experiences from office practice to in-hospital training.  In 2011, LFMR was designated by the Health Resource Service Administration (HRSA) as one of the nations’ first eleven Teaching Health Centers under the Affordable Care Act. The program has received recognition from the Society of Teacher’s of Family Medicine and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for the program’s impact on the health of the Lawrence community and underserved communities throughout the country.

The Lawrence Family Medicine Residency welcomes the following ten new resident physicians to our Health Center and family medicine residency program:

Elie Ata – Boston, MA (Hometown: Methuen, MA)
Undergrad: Merrimack College, MA – Biology
Medical School: Central Michigan University College of Medicine, MI

Layla Cavitt – Johnson City, TN
Undergrad: University of Florida, FL – Nutrition and Dietetics
Medical School: Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine

Julia Cooper – New York, NY
Undergrad: Swarthmore College, PA – Biology/English
Medical School: University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry

Caroline Komanecky – Philadelphia, PA
Undergrad: Colgate, NY – Biochemistry
Medical School: Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University

Rebecca Lee – Danbury, CT
Undergrad: Wesleyan University, CT – Chemistry
Medical School: Tufts University School of Medicine

Yeri Park – Pomoma, CA
Undergrad:  University of California, San Diego – Biochem and Cell Biology (BS, MS)
Medical School: Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine

Jamie Richter – Mesa, AZ
Undergrad: Northeastern University, MA – Psychology
Medical School: University of Vermont College of Medicine

Tuhin Roy – Cleveland, OH
Undergrad: University of California, Berkeley – Molecular, Cell Biology/Economics
Medical School: Tufts University School of Medicine – MD/MPH

Sumana Setty – Springfield, MA
Undergrad: Brandeis University, MA – Biology and Neuroscience
Medical School: New York Medical College

Jennifer Wolf – Poughkeepsie, NY
Undergrad: Binghamton University, SUNY – Integrative Neuroscience/Global Studies
Medical School: Wayne State University School of Medicine, M