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Northeast Florida Medicine
Vol. 66, No. 4 2015
21
Giving Back
SVFM is proud to partner with the philanthropic tradition of
St. Vincent’s HealthCare Foundation, a non-profit organization
founded in1982dedicated to serving the community of Jackson-
ville. Residents and faculty alike are committed to participating
in various community service and outreach projects in the area.
For example, residents travel to various parts of Jacksonville and
surrounding counties each week as part of The Mobile Health
OutreachMinistry at St. Vincent’s to provide free care to patients
who are unable to reach the facilities. This mobile unit also visits
area schools year-round, offering free school and sports physicals
to students. St. Vincent’s residents and attending physicians also
care for patients ofTheWay Clinic, a freemedical clinic in south-
ern Jacksonville. Residents have even continued care of TheWay
Clinic patients by delivering babies of their OB patients at St.
Vincent’sMedicalCenter.Inaddition,SVFMparticipatesinmany
community activities. Perhaps most notably, SVFM promotes
literacy in Jacksonville’s children by sponsoring the annual “Read
and Romp” event each fall.This beloved community activity was
originally started by a former St. Vincent’s resident 12 years ago,
and has become a tradition in community education. The resi-
dency has also recently partnered with a local elementary school
where residents will serve as mentors to the students throughout
the year to promote life-long learning.
Leaders in Family Medicine
In addition to receiving complete training and education,
many residents participate in leadership activities outside of St.
Vincent’s. For example, one of our third year residents Dr. Sally
Tran is currently the Resident Secretary-Treasurer for the Florida
Academy of Family Physicians. SVFM residents also participate
regularly in research projects which have earned state-wide at-
tention. In the past year, graduated resident Dr. Elisa Pujals won
first place in the poster competition at the Florida Academy of
Family Physicians for her work in reducing hospital re-admission
rates. Also in the past year, her classmate Dr. Leah Robinowitz
won theNOVACEMEResidentResearchInitiativeAwardbased
on her work with the Gardasil HPV vaccine.
Our Future
After completing the 3-year residency, SVFMresidents pursue
many areas of Family Medicine in urban, suburban and rural
locations. Several physicians have gone on to complete 1-year
OBGYN fellowships for extra training. Some graduates have
continued their training in the armed forces, providing care toour
nation’s heroes. Others have gone on to take part in international
work. Still other graduates have made a home at St. Vincent’s
and currently are attending physicians teaching each new class
of residents. Overall, St. Vincent’s Family Medicine residency
program strives to promote quality, compassionate healthcare
for the Jacksonville area while giving back to the community. To
learn more about the SVFM, please visit the residency website
at
www.svresidency.com.v
Dr. Waidner is a full-time pediatrician at SVFM
who trains residents and sees his own patients as well.
The Family Medicine
Center opened in 2004 and has 2
floors with over 40 patient rooms.
Current residents and faculty
represented the program at the
American Academy of Family
Physicians National Conference
in Kansas City this summer.
Residents’ Corner: St. Vincent’s