Published on June 20, 2023
Unique Family Medicine Residency Class is First to Graduate at Owensboro Health
Reaching a major milestone, the Family Medicine Residency Program at Owensboro Health is celebrating the graduation of its first class of six resident physicians. The program, which officially launched in July 2020, is a result of a partnership between Owensboro Health and the University of Louisville School of Medicine.
Owensboro Health Executive VP and Chief Medical Office Francis DuFrayne, MD, who was instrumental in bringing the Family Medicine Residency program to Owensboro Health, says the program has positively impacted our communities. “One of the goals of the residency program is to provide more access to primary care, which has increased patient satisfaction and decreased emergency room visits due to better preventive care,” he says. “We are pleased that two of our graduating residents are remaining in Owensboro. They are great additions to the Owensboro Health primary care team.“
Dr. Jon Sivoravong helped launch the new program and served as its director for the first two years. Darby Cole, MD, a family medicine physician who has been a faculty member since inception of the program, now has taken the helm as director.
“This class was unique from the beginning,” says Dr. Cole. “Not only were they willing to take a leap of faith and join a new program, their entire three years of training took place while the global medical community was figuring out how to operate in a world-wide viral pandemic.”
“Our first residents came to us from diverse backgrounds,” continues Dr. Cole. “Many took a non-traditional route to their residency training, bringing with them a wealth of real-world experiences. They knew they would be asked to contribute to the building and structure of this brand-new program, and they certainly rose to that challenge.”
To learn more about the Owensboro Health / University of Louisville Family Medicine Residency, please visit: OwensboroHealth.org/FMR.
Congratulations to the Class of 2023
- Jerry Bradley, MD
- Hamed Haghnazar, MD
- Hayat Itani, MD
- M. Damon Kolok, MD
- Suheung (Steven) Lee, MD
- Daniel Meis, DO
About Owensboro Health
Owensboro Health is a nonprofit health system with a mission to heal the sick and to improve the health of the communities it serves in Kentucky and Indiana. The system includes Owensboro Health Regional Hospital, nationally recognized for design, architecture and engineering; Owensboro Health Muhlenberg Community Hospital; Owensboro Health Twin Lakes Medical Center; the Owensboro Health Medical Group comprised of over 350 providers at more than 30 locations; three outpatient Healthplex facilities, a certified medical fitness facility, the Healthpark; a weight management program, and the Mitchell Memorial Cancer Center.
On average each year, we have more than 19,000 inpatient admissions, deliver 2,000 babies and provide the region’s only Level III NICU. Owensboro Health physicians perform nearly 33,000 surgical procedures, including nearly 150 open-heart surgeries. Our physicians and staff have 90,000 Emergency Department visits and more than 1.25 million outpatient visits annually. Visit our home page for more information.