FSU resident physicians: Providing care to those who need it most
James Hodge, M. D., program director for the FSU Family Medicine Residency Program at Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast, and Hillary Glenn, DNP, the clinic’ s executive director and co-founder, stand outside the clinic.
By Patrick Crowley FSU College of Medicine
When you meet James Sizemore, you think you see a healthy man in his 60s. But like many people, Sizemore has some serious chronic conditions hidden from view. Diabetes. High blood pressure.“ I have a ton of different things wrong with me,” he said.
For Sizemore and others who have made a living working with their hands or in the service industries, health insurance is hard to afford and finding a healthcare provider in a rural area is harder— even with insurance. It’ s in these situations that community-based providers such as the Point Washington Medical Clinic are vital.
“ Having these resources available is just overwhelming for me because I don’ t have anywhere else to go,” Sizemore said during his first visit to the healthcare facility.
The clinic, funded primarily by grants and community support, most notably from Point Washington United Methodist Church, has one paid staff member. The remainder are volunteers and resident physicians on rotation from the Family Medicine Residency Program sponsored by the Florida State University College of Medicine at Ascension. It’ s these FSU residents that allow the clinic to open an extra day during the week to serve more patients.
“ The residents allowed us to open a fourth day, which is incredible because we just continue to see growth— upwards of 29 % annually— and to meet the need is hard, because we are a volunteer organization,” said Hillary Glenn, DNP, the clinic’ s executive director and co-founder.
According to Glenn the clinic, which expects to see more than 5,000 individual patients this year, has more than 300 volunteers, but 40 additional volunteers are needed to staff the additional day, plus the providers.
“ Most volunteer providers do not want to volunteer more than one day a week” Glenn said.“ With the residents, it’ s incredible because they can cover that day and it’ s a great learning opportunity for them.”
An added benefit is that these are Family Medicine residents— meaning they can see patients of all ages.
“ They aren’ t limited in scope,” Glenn said.“ Some of our volunteers are internists, so they can’ t see people under 18. Some are OB-GYN and can only see women, whereas the residents can see everyone.”
As most physicians attest, where they complete their residency is life-changing, and often influences where they decide to stay and practice. For the FSU residents in Point Washington, that holds true.
56 FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY | COLLEGE OF MEDICINE