I attended Georgetown for medical school on a National Health Service Corps scholarship. After my residency training at Christiana Care, I was lucky enough to be assigned to Westside Family Healthcare in Delaware for completion of my NHSC commitment. Westside is a Federally Qualified Health Center with four locations in northern Delaware, serving a diverse population of low income patients. What initially began as a short term placement became a vocation for almost 11 years. Over the course of my time at Westside, I learned a tremendous amount of clinical medicine, cultural insight and practice management. After two years as a staff physician, I became the Chief Medical Officer at the health center. This introduced me to the business of medicine and clinical quality improvement. As the years went on, my time devoted to clinical practice became smaller and I worked primarily as a health administrator. Though this was challenging, I missed the daily interaction with patients and the small feelings of accomplishment that I felt as a clinician, decreasing an A1c to 6% or making a complex diagnosis.
It was always my dream to work as a faculty member in a Family Medicine Residency program. I was so fortunate to change my career mid-stream and join the team here at Crozer in February 2009. During my interview process, I was immediately struck by the warmth, camaraderie, professionalism and quality of the other faculty members and residents. Since joining the program, this initial impression has been reinforced through my daily interactions with staff. I am so excited to be working with such a dynamic group of dedicated people.
As the Medical Director of the Springfield office, I am responsible for the day-to-day clinical operations at the primary site for outpatient residency training. We work with a talented office staff that includes a diabetes case manager, medical assistants, front desk receptionists, and medical records clerks. We function as a team to be sure our patients' needs are met in a timely manner, while encouraging a supportive teaching environment. Residents are encouraged to participate in performance improvement projects within the office and have an opportunity to contribute ideas to improve quality and efficiency in monthly Business Meetings.
On a personal note, I am interested in many aspects of clinical medicine, especially chronic disease management and pediatrics. Ask me about our diabetes initiative and you will get an enthusiastic response. When outside of work, I most enjoy spending time with my family - husband Steve, son Jack (3/02), daughter Rose (3/04), and twins Ryan and Sean (3/06). I love to run, though am most limited by time these days. I aspire to be Kathy Hill, but I have a long way to go. I also enjoy yoga and reading fiction, and I will jump at the chance to head to the Jersey shore at any time of year.