Penn Highlands Healthcare Celebrates Graduating Residents
Penn Highlands Healthcare recognized their fourth class of graduates from the Graduate Medical Education program at a ceremony on Friday, June 30. The Graduate Medical Education program has seen 14 Family Medicine Residency graduates to date. This year, that number becomes 19 with five graduates in the 2023 class: Kaylin Darling, MD; Jonathan Soekamto, DO; Kaylin Strauser-Curtis, DO; Alexander Westcott, DO; and Alexis Zimmerman, DO.
Dr. Kaylin Darling attended medical school at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and plans to return there after graduation as an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine and Public Health.
Dr. Jonathan Soekamto attended medical school at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine and plans to work as a primary care physician in Chickasha, Oklahoma.
Dr. Kaylin Strauser-Curtis also studied at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine. She plans to stay at Penn Highlands Healthcare to complete the Sports Medicine Fellowship and work at the Orthopedics and Sports Medicine clinic in the Clarion Community Medical Building.
Dr. Alexander Westcott earned his medical degree from the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine and plans to work as a primary care physician in Fair Lawn, New Jersey.
Dr. Alexis Zimmerman attended medical school at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr. Zimmerman will be staying at Penn Highlands Healthcare and focusing on geriatric medicine in their long-term care facilities.
The Educator of the Year award was presented to Renee Allenbaugh, MD. Dr. Allenbaugh is an Associate Director of the Family Medicine Residency program at Penn Highlands. She also works as the Regional Hospitalist Program Director for Apogee Physicians for the health system.
“We are proud to be able to educate up-and-coming primary care physicians at Penn Highlands Healthcare,” said Dr. Kevin Wilson, Family Medicine Residency Program Director. “This program offers residents the opportunity to receive hands-on training to become trustworthy and compassionate providers for their patients in the future.”
The first fellow to complete the Sports Medicine Fellowship at Penn Highlands Healthcare was also recognized at the ceremony. Conner Hosner, MD, earned his medical degree at Central Michigan University and completed his Family Medicine Residency at Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado. After finishing his Sports Medicine Fellowship at Penn Highlands, he plans to work as a primary care/sports medicine physician in the Columbus, Ohio region.
Dr. Chris Varacallo, Program Director of the Sports Medicine Fellowship, is proud to have the first physician complete the program at Penn Highlands Healthcare.
“It has been exciting to add this fellowship to the Graduate Medical Education program,” stated Dr. Varacallo. “It is an honor to work one-on-one with new physicians who are enthusiastic to learn about Sports Medicine and to provide them with knowledge they will take with them to their practices in the future.”
In 2015, Penn Highlands DuBois received its institutional accreditation from the American Council for Graduate Medical Education and registered for their first class of Family Medicine residents in 2017. The program is accredited through the Accreditation Council for Graduated Medical Education and has grown to offer a Family Medicine Residency Program, a Psychiatry Residency Program, and a Sports Medicine Fellowship.
Physicians that participate in the three-year Family Medicine Residency Program work closely with Penn Highlands physicians in various specialties to see patients in outpatient and inpatient settings. The Family Medicine residents have electives to choose from that allow them to gain experience in specialties of their choosing.