Kaiser Permanente’s New Residency Program = More Physicians

Kaiser Permanente is furthering its mission to improve community health by
increasing residency programs for primary care physicians—including one at
Santa Rosa Medical Center!

The newly accredited Santa Rosa Family Medicine Residency Program expects to
welcome its first group of six residents into the three-year program in July 2018.

“Training Family Medicine physicians in the Kaiser Permanente integrated model makes
sense,” said Residency Director Patricia Hiserote, MD, a Santa Rosa Family Medicine
physician since 2012. “Our residents will receive an excellent education across the
broad scope of Family Medicine while caring for our community.”

Nationally, 50 percent of graduating residents choose to stay where they train; for
Kaiser Permanente Northern California, it’s closer to 60 percent. Along with training in
the Kaiser Permanente system, Santa Rosa residents will also train at Petaluma Health
Center to learn the community model of medicine.

“We’re investing our time and energy to develop full-spectrum, effective and efficient
Family Medicine physicians who will succeed wherever they choose to practice,” Dr.
Hiserote said. “What’s important is that we increase the number of primary care
physicians in our community. Research shows that the health of an individual, and the
community, improves with the number of primary care physicians. It’s a win-win.”

Santa Rosa Medical Center is already home to Podiatry, Pharmacy, and Optometry
residents, as well as students from medical schools across the country. In addition, we
will continue partnering with Sutter Health’s Santa Rosa Family Medicine Residency
program (which graduates 12 residents per year), while joining the ranks of Kaiser
Permanente Northern California’s 13 other residency programs.

“We are a center of medical education, and our new Family Medicine Residency
Program will continue to make us a major teaching facility,” said Kirk Pappas, MD,
physician-in-chief, Santa Rosa Medical Center.

Judy Coffey, RN, senior vice president and Marin-Sonoma area manager, echoes that
sentiment. “Expanding educational opportunities for physicians and caregivers, and
increasing the number of primary-care physicians is good for everyone in our
community,” she said.