St. Elizabeth Family Medicine Residency Program graduates nine doctors

UTICA, N.Y. — The St. Elizabeth Family Medicine Residency Program graduated nine doctors on June 24, bringing the total number of family physicians completing the three-year, postdoctoral training program to 317. The program is an affiliate of the Mohawk Valley Health System (MVHS).

According to residency program director T. Eric Schackow, MD, Ph.D., the physicians trained and provided care at the St. Elizabeth campus, the Sister Rose Vincent Family Medical Center, the Women’s Health Center, and the Faxton and St. Luke’s campuses as affiliates of MVHS.

Four of this year’s graduates plan to stay in the area, joining MVHS primary care practices. Historically, about 50 percent of the program’s graduates opted to stay in Upstate New York to practice, per MVHS.

Delta Hotel in Utica hosted the graduation ceremony and dinner, during which the graduates, along with residents and faculty members, received a number of awards.

Started in 1975-1976, the residency program aims to attract more doctors to practice family medicine. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and by the American Osteopathic Association both provide accreditation for the program. It is affiliated with SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse; New England College of Osteopathic Medicine in Biddeford, Maine; and Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in Erie, Pennsylvania.