You are at an exciting time in your professional journey. The next three years will shape you professionally and personally for a lifelong career of service, and we’re glad that you found your way here. While medicine has made amazing strides in the past 100 years, the systems we have do not deliver equally for all. Many changes are needed, but we clearly need physician leaders with competence and compassion for our communities.
In Hendersonville, we think that ALL should have high quality and affordable healthcare, and as a Teaching Health Center (THC), we get to practice this kind of real family medicine. Being a THC means that our residency is combined with a Blue Ridge Health, a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) that serves as our clinical sponsor. We see all patients, regardless of ability to pay. In this partnership, our residents and our community both win.
Rural medicine is full of challenges: disproportionate mortality rates, higher rates of addiction, and mental illness. It is also an “opportunity desert” that has depressed access to housing, education, and employment. As a community-based program, we see these challenges as opportunities during every patient encounter as well as in larger community health projects. From day one in our program, you will engage in the issues and learn how to be a leader for change in your community.
Our curriculum is designed around giving you professional value. The flexibility to “choose your own adventure” is more than a slogan—it embodies the heart of how we want to form the next generation of Family Physicians. In your intern year, you will start shaping the curriculum that serves you for a lifetime of practice. You will train in full-scope family medicine that is robust and unopposed, and includes dedicated procedure time, high volume longitudinal obstetrics, and clinical exposure that will equip you for your future.
In residency, you will be stretched, discover new strengths, and you will be a new person by the end. In Hendersonville, we want you to find harmony in the professional and personal. We live in a beautiful part of the country and have built a supportive environment around personal wellness that values you as a colleague from day one. Our faculty and residents model balance, resilience, and long-term joy in a demanding profession.
It’s an honor that you are considering training with us, and we’re excited to meet you. Come and explore the education we offer, the values we share, and how we can help you develop into the physician leader of the future. Learn more about our program in this brochure.
Sincerely,
Daniel E. Yoder, MD
Tracie Hazelett
Cynthia RidlerMAHEC offers a variety of student rotations in Family Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology, General Surgery, Rural Medicine, and Psychiatry for both in-state and out-of-state students interested in our residency programs. Learn more about our 4th year medical student rotations
MAHEC is committed to inspiring and equipping the next generation of healthcare professionals and expanding access to care for all. Our vision is to create a healthier community in Western North Carolina and beyond.
There are so many great family medicine programs, but ultimately students need to find the place where they feel the right fit. Our values support us as a bedrock of who we are as a program, and we want to meet people that share in these values.
Community-CenteredHospital, schools, health campaigns, migrant farmworker camps, educational programs... We are involved and we lead. |
Continuous Full-Spectrum CareThroughout residency, we deliver babies, care for children, manage critical care patients, and provide acute care. We care for all, all the time. |
Leadership and AdvocacyTo make change, you have to lead change. Our residents are our colleagues and we provide the ability, tools, and avenues for our residents. Our residents make a difference from day one. |
At-Risk PopulationsOur patient population is more than 85% uninsured or Medicaid insured. We provide outreach services to the migrant farmworker population, sit on the board of the free clinic, provide care at the health department, and manage a clinic to support individuals experiencing homelessness. We give access to care to everyone. |
DynamicBeing a smaller program allows us to push the standards of medical education to provide customized education at the highest quality. We constantly evaluate our program and our residents. We make sure every physician leaves having the heart, skills, and knowledge to bring lasting change to their community. |
On top of these values and the great people here, we have many unique features that we hope align with the vision for your future.
During their second and third years, residents work on a community project, which is often their main scholarly activity. They collaborate with local organizations to develop a project that has a lasting impact on their community.
Examples of prior projects:
Our program has been developing full-spectrum rural physicians for over two decades, and have been very successful in placing our graduates in Western North Carolina. As Hendersonville has grown, however, we have seen a rising challenge of continuing to develop rural physicians in a town that has become more vibrant and less rural. Through multiple sites affiliated with Blue Ridge Health, our residents establish themselves at rural clinics in multiple mountain towns outside Henderson County. In their second and third year, residents spend 1-2 days per month at these smaller clinics to develop their own patient panel and improve their skills in rural medicine.
Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is used in our hospital and continuity clinics with handheld Butterfly devices. Ultrasound is taught in formal courses as well as in didactics, typically 6-7 times per year. Residents are encouraged to use these skills daily in their continuity clinics but further hands-on training is incorporated into our procedural skills rotation. Furthermore, residents can choose to use elective time dedicated to additional POCUS training.
Despite the national reduction in scope of practice in family medicine, our program has remained committed to full-spectrum training. Our goal is to train a generation of physicians who are ready to practice anywhere in the world and tackle whatever community needs they encounter. We continue to work with our local health systems to expand the scope of practice of family doctors and to improve the health of Western North Carolina.
Our residents are a diverse group of learners with a diverse number of interests, and our curriculum can be individualized for residents based on their anticipated needs. With maximal elective time built into the curriculum and an away month in second and third year, our residents have the opportunity to shape their own experiences to match their interests. Some residents have spent this time to gain expertise in alternative medicine, medical Spanish, curriculum development, innovative practice models, surgical obstetrics, and much more. Our small size allows residents the flexibility to work on their interests and to mold a personalized curriculum around their goals.
Small is beautiful! Some would compare us to larger University programs and call us “unopposed” but we think a better definition is community-based. In Hendersonville, that means that when you call the pulmonologist, they know your name! We thrive as a residency because of an excellent group of community faculty that see you as a junior colleague and want to help you grow along the way.
Small communities like ours still have big problems. Here in Hendersonville, we have so many great resources and non-profits looking to make an impact on the community, and our residents are encouraged to make those connections and take on the problems that matter. Whether in the clinic, hospital, or community at large, you can lead that change.
With over 750+ family medicine programs, you’re bound to find the one that fits your personal and professional needs. For us, flexibility is a key element of how we fulfill our mission of “Training to Serve.” We think we have the Goldilocks of class size, but we also find that this gives us the flexibility to let a resident build a curriculum for their professional needs. If a resident wants a longitudinal curriculum in obstetrics, or psychiatry, or OMT, that excites us and we can help you take that desire and achieve your goals.
The clinic is the classroom in Hendersonville, but we don’t think your faculty is the teacher. Instead, your patients will be your greatest teachers, and your faculty the facilitators. Since this person in the exam room will be the most valuable part of your education, we have designed our curriculum to reflect that. Several years ago, we implemented the “patient first” approach in our clinics. This means improved continuity, improved patient satisfaction, and you, as a physician, know the people you care for.
Some programs will have you meeting new continuity patients even in your third year, but there really isn’t much time to build those relationships before you graduate. From day one in Hendersonville, you have your full panel, and each year have an equal number of office visits to build that connection and grow with your patients. As a result of the changes made years ago, our program is well-positioned to address new ACGME standards.
Our family practice service (FPS) is a full-spectrum service that cares for OB, pediatrics, and adult inpatient medicine. We care for the entire panel of Blue Ridge Health patients in multiple clinics across Western North Carolina. Residents spend three months during their first and second years on the FPS, and two months in a leadership role during their third year. Our longitudinal call structure ensures that residents continue to be confident and comfortable with inpatient medicine throughout their residency. As a result, many of our graduates have gone on to practice hospitalist medicine.
Our family practice service is the primary team for our intensive care patients. We do more than make social visits or watch as others care for our patients. Our residents are the first call when our patients require intubation, procedures, or resuscitation. In addition to gaining this experience during your family practice rotation, residents have a dedicated intensive care rotation at Pardee Hospital and have the opportunity for an elective month of pulmonary and critical care at Mission Hospital. A hallmark of our residency is that Pardee is large enough to have a busy ICU, but small enough that our residents retain primary responsibility to care for our patients there.
Pardee Hospital in Hendersonville is where residents will get the bulk of their delivery experience, and it is one of the few hospitals in Western North Carolina where family doctors are practicing operative obstetrics. Our residents graduate with between 60-120 deliveries, depending on their interest, and have gone on to become faculty and full-spectrum physicians across the country because of their comfort with obstetrics. Due to an underserved patient population without easy access to specialists, residents become comfortable with managing higher risk prenatal patients who would usually be managed by specialists in an urban environment or larger program.
During the first year, residents spend two months in inpatient pediatrics at Mission Hospital in Asheville and are taught by pediatric hospitalists, intensivists and sub-specialists. They admit pediatric patients from all over Western North Carolina and are the only inpatient pediatricians to admit, which allows for a wide range of cases. Residents become comfortable caring for newborns and coordinating care with specialists, as well as managing common and complex illnesses.
Residents also acquire ongoing inpatient pediatrics experience on the inpatient service in Hendersonville. Because of the thriving OB practice, many children are recruited by residents into clinic after participating in deliveries. Residents enjoy additional outpatient experiences at the local Health Department and in pediatric blocks during their first and third year.
Mental health is an area of great need in our community, and our residents see behavioral health as a vital component to family medicine. We have a dedicated LCSW faculty member who is responsible for the behavioral health education of the residents, which comes as both didactic education and co-managing patients in the clinic.
Residents also lead group visits for behavioral health issues. Rotations during second year in community medicine and behavioral health provide experiences in counseling and residents learn about available community resources. Additionally, physician wellness is a key part of our behavioral health curriculum and a major focus of our program in general.
For one month during intern year, residents train in the second busiest emergency room in Western North Carolina, where they focus on actively managing critically ill patients, as well as gain procedural experience. Residents will often perform additional procedures in the ER while on call for the inpatient service. Our residents also have an ER rotation in their second year dedicated to pediatric emergency medicine at Mission Hospital. During their third year, residents have the option of using elective time in the emergency room if they seek additional experiences. Family doctors in rural areas are expected to care for acutely ill patients in an emergency setting, and our residents are comfortable caring for our patients in this environment.
Our residents spend one month during intern year on a surgery rotation rotating with the surgical group from Pardee Hospital. During this month, their emphasis is on evaluation for surgical intervention, basic surgical skills, endoscopy, and post-surgical care. Residents also use this opportunity to become adept at intubations and procedural techniques that are useful during their longitudinal call. During third year, our residents have a dedicated Procedural Skills rotation where they will have an entire month dedicated to both outpatient and inpatient procedural skills.
One month during intern year is spent with local orthopedic and sports medicine practices. Residents learn outpatient management of orthopedic problems and participate in surgery. During the second year, residents have the option to complete an MSK/Sports Medicine elective and rotate through various family, sports medicine, and physical therapy clinics. Residents are encouraged to learn sports medicine procedures and techniques for use with their continuity patients and our program has a weekly sports medicine clinic that can supplement those efforts. Residents will also have the opportunity to be involved with local sports teams and events.
While residents primarily work in the FQHC setting, they also have dedicated time in the second and third year to explore multiple practice models. Curriculum focuses on personnel management, coding, billing, and patient flow & satisfaction. A one-month rotation during the third year focuses on skills in practice leadership. During this time, residents will also complete a practice improvement project and focus on their community impact project.
We are one of the few programs in the country where residents can take the opportunity to practice overseas during each year of their residency. Residents can travel to rural Honduras through Shoulder to Shoulder as early as intern year, and have one month of dedicated time during each of their subsequent years to travel and practice away from Hendersonville. Other recent experiences chosen by residents have included time in Ecuador as well as to a variety of Indian Health Services locations in the Western U.S. Additionally, we have dedicated time during didactics to address international and wilderness medicine topics.
Although we do not provide a specific curriculum to all residents, several of our residents have taken advantage of elective time to gain experience and credentialing in wilderness medicine. Residents participate in didactics as well as periodic workshops and outings. They are given the opportunity to teach lectures for a wilderness EMT course. The residency is within close proximity to Dupont State Forest, Pisgah National Forest, and multiple wilderness areas.
The scarcity of rural providers makes procedural skill training a focus of our program. Ultrasound is a major priority of our procedural training curriculum and we have added handheld point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) devices in the hospital and outpatient clinics. We also equip residents in more formal MAHEC training courses throughout the year. Our didactic curriculum includes simulation center trainings on difficult airways and intubations, central line placement, and further work on point-of-care ultrasound. Each resident’s curriculum can be tailored to match their anticipated needs, but every resident will graduate feeling comfortable with a broad range of procedural skills.
Residents have afternoon didactics weekly. These conferences cover a broad range of primary care topics including: patient management, behavioral medicine, Ob/Gyn, cardiology, neurology, pediatrics, community medicine, practice management, and more. Learning sessions are led with active teaching methods in mind. Regular monthly conferences within the residency include discussions of hospital cases, obstetrics cases, M&M, pediatrics/nrp cases, difficult outpatient cases, physician wellness, and resident meetings.
Our call schedule is one of the most important aspects of our program. During intern year, our residents spend two weeks on night float while rotating at Mission Hospital on inpatient pediatrics and one week during the away OB rotation in Greensboro. The primary goal of intern year is to prepare the resident for longitudinal call at Pardee Hospital, where the resident will be actively caring for critically ill patients. Additional intern call consists of weekend day call; approximately nine weekends per year, which includes the time on Family Practice Service. Second and third year residents are on call an average of 33 nights per year, which includes weekends. Plus, their regularly scheduled weekend day call when on FPS, four (PGY3s) to six (PGY2s) weekends per year. Residents practice as a full-scope hospitalist including ICU and obstetrics with faculty support. Our graduates feel prepared to continue practicing obstetrics and inpatient medicine because they had continuous full-scope training throughout their residencies.
| Family Practice Inpatient |
| Family Practice Inpatient |
| Family Practice Inpatient |
| Ob/Gyn |
| Practice Management / Community Medicine |
| AWAY: Ob/Gyn Inpatient (Greensboro) |
| PEDS Inpatient (Asheville) |
| PEDS Inpatient (Asheville) |
| MSK |
| PEDS Outpatient |
| ED |
| Surgery |
| Rural |
4 clinic half days per week*
4-5 patients per half day
| Family Practice Inpatient |
| Family Practice Inpatient |
| Family Practice Inpatient |
| Ob/Gyn |
| Practice Management / Community Medicine |
| Cardiology |
| Infectious Disease |
| ICU / Critical Care |
| MSK Sports Medicine |
| HOME: Elective |
| ED: PEDS (Asheville) |
| HOME: Elective |
| AWAY: Elective |
3-4 clinic half days per week*
7-8 patients per half day
| Family Practice Inpatient |
| Family Practice Inpatient |
| Nephrology / ENT |
| Dermatology / Ophthalmology |
| Practice Management / Community Medicine |
| Procedural Skills |
| Geriatrics |
| Neurology / Urology |
| HOME: Elective |
| PEDS Outpatient |
| HOME: Elective |
| HOME: Elective |
| AWAY: Elective |
2-3 clinic half days per week*
8-10 patients per half day
*1-2 half clinic days weekly on shaded blocks, none on AWAY blocks
Residents may choose to gain additional experience in any rotation they are exposed to during first, second, or third year (i.e. Ob/Gyn, ED, MSK Sports Medicine, Neurology, Cardiology, etc.)
Other electives include:
AWAY electives can be done domestically, to include Rural Rotations or Indian Health Services experiences in another part of the state or another part of the U.S. International experiences can also occur during AWAY electives, including Honduras (Shoulder to Shoulder program), Ecuador, or other locations of interest.
As the saying goes, history repeats itself! I was fortunate to train at the Hendersonville Residency from 2008-2011 and had fantastic experience here both personally and professionally. I can truly say that being in Hendersonville was a life enriching experience, one in which I learned how to relate to patients with compassion and how to build effective clinical teams. After graduating residency, our family moved to Jellico, Tennessee to work at Dayspring Health, an FQHC on the Tennessee/Kentucky border. While there, I worked with an incredible group of mission- minded physicians providing full spectrum care in three different clinics and in the hospital, including obstetrics. I was pleased to see how well residency at MAHEC Hendersonville prepared me for practice in rural Appalachia. During my time in Jellico, students and residents often rotated with us and I recognized how much I enjoyed teaching in the midst of my daily work.
Sadly, the hospital that I was working at ceased providing obstetric care and many inpatient services. Through a series of fortunate events, I learned of the faculty opening at the residency and am excited to come back. My wife, Amy, reminds me that she always felt like we might find our way back to Hendersonville someday and we are glad to be here and to be part of the residency.
My interests within medicine include behavioral health and hospital medicine, but I truly enjoy the broad scope of family medicine. Outside of work, we enjoy gardening, home improvement, baking and outdoor activities.
Behavioral Health Faculty
Special Interests: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), mental illness, smoking cessation, addiction/substance use
I was born in the United Kingdom and have spent time living across three different continents. I’m happy to raise my children and call WNC my home for a multitude of reasons—largely revolving around rivers, forests, and adventure. Soon after moving to the USA, I started working with homeless and runaway youth in Asheville, quickly recognizing that early intervention leads to positive outcomes. After attaining my MSW and clinical licensure, I moved on to work at a Recovery Education Center in Transylvania County with a focus on Substance Use Disorders within the rural setting. Serving as an outpatient therapist at various FQHC sites, I again find myself the opportunity to offer targeted interventions at critical moments for at-risk populations. I am trained in DBT, CBT, and EMDR and enjoy working with complex trauma, disordered personalities, and substance use disorders. I appreciate any opportunity to share my experiences, knowledge, and passions surrounding wellness and mental health within the residency program. I approach my practice with the ethos that life is short and we all deserve to find a life worth living with an emphasis on harm reduction. I am grateful and energized to work within an organization promoting inclusivity, empowerment, and civility. My hobbies include whitewater kayaking, mountain biking, hiking, guitar, and painting miniatures.
Faculty
Special Interests: Community medicine, public health, women and children’s health, community preparedness & disaster management
I am a family physician, and have been faculty for the Hendersonville Family Medicine Residency Program since 1996. I teach clinical rotations at the county health department in Obstetrics and Gynecology. In addition, I teach public health, community medicine, laboratory medicine, and coordinate the resident community projects.
As the medical director at the Henderson County Department of Public Health since 1999, part of my role is to link family medicine with public health -- enhancing the resident experience in caring for Spanish-speaking, the uninsured, and low-income patients.
I graduated from the University of Michigan Medical School in 1993 and did my residency at the MAHEC Family Medicine Residency in Asheville. I have completed a fellowship in Faculty Development at the UNC School of Medicine and have a certificate in Community Preparedness and Disaster Management. My husband, Gary Curran, is also a family physician in private practice in Asheville. We are the proud parents of two children, Genevieve and Paul. We love living in the mountains where we can do our favorite activities including hiking, biking, running, white water rafting and canoeing, photography, spotting wildflowers and teaching our children about wildlife and gardening.
Faculty
Special Interests: Prenatal care, maternal child health, treatment of substance use disorders, vulnerable populations
Back in Hendo at long last! I am a Boone native who has always claimed NC as home and I am finally back in WNC after many years outside of the state. I did my residency at UTenn-Knoxville while my now husband did his residency here in Hendersonville. I spent a lot of time back and forth on I-40 and sometimes feel like I was an honorary resident at this wonderful program.
After residency we moved to Colorado to see how Family Medicine was practiced in a different part of the country, explore the West, and of course play outside! I worked at a community health clinic that provided full-scope FM care to patients in clinic and in the hospital including deliveries. We served low-income, homeless, and primarily Spanish speaking patients which allowed me to continue to learn Spanish and provide full scope care to the underserved. We had a busy OB service and jam-packed clinic days that made me a stronger physician. When we weren’t working we were trying to explore all the West had to offer since we always dreamed of coming back to WNC one day. We have hiked the Colorado Trail, rafted the Grand Canyon, toured around the surrounding states in a van, and tried to ski every single day possible. After 5 years out West, we decided to come home and knew Hendersonville, specifically this residency program, was where we wanted to be. I loved all my experiences at my current CHC and knew that Blue Ridge would give me the same patient population, serve the same mission, provide Spanish exposure, and allow me to participate in the full scope FM experience that I had in CO. And the added benefit was teaching! I love prenatal care, homeless outreach, hospital medicine, and taking care of families. Blue Ridge and the Hendersonville FM Residency program are a perfect fit for me and I love my new role as a teacher.
We are also excited to be back in NC after having our first daughter and are expecting another little one soon! In our free time we love to travel, get outside, see live music, obsess over Carolina/Tennessee sports, and post up at a local brewery.
Faculty
Special Interests: Geriatrics, chronic disease management, medication-assisted therapy for opiate use disorder, lifestyle medicine
As an avid runner, hiker, biker and gardener, Western NC is my outdoor paradise. As a family physician committed to accessible, quality healthcare for all, my faculty position with Blue Ridge Community Health Services is an opportunity to serve the most vulnerable population living in our mountains. After my Family Medicine residency with MAHEC in Asheville, I completed a Rural Faculty Fellowship at the Hot Springs Health Program in Madison County, followed by a faculty position with MAHEC in Hendersonville. I recently returned to WNC after six years at another community health center, and I am very excited to be part of the new teaching health center paradigm. There is no better way to enhance the health of our entire community, particularly our most vulnerable patients, than to train and retain family medicine doctors as part of our community health center work.
Faculty
Special Interests: Maternal and child health, preventative medicine, obstetrics, contraception, chronic pain
As a WNC native it has been my dream to return to this area for quite some time. I was excited to join the Hendersonville MAHEC Faculty because it allows me to continue doing all the things I’ve been trained to do, and to help teach residents and medical students.
After working at UCLA Medical Center and in the LA-County Health System, it’s a relief to join a smaller medical community. I am very impressed with the Pardee Health System, and the services that are available here. This is a great environment to learn, grow, and deliver high-quality patient care.
When I’m not working I enjoy hiking, cooking, traveling, and attending live music events. Living in Hendersonville is great for access to hiking trails, farmer’s markets, and concerts. I also have a 9-year-old German Shepherd Mix named Zora. My family is in Asheville and South Carolina.
Faculty
Special Interests: Whole family care, gender-affirming care, addiction medicine, care for vulnerable and unhoused persons
I came to Hendersonville as my dream residency program and after graduation was thrilled to stay on as faculty. As I've continued to learn and grow, to teach and volunteer, and to build relationships with colleagues and in our community, I've come to love this place even more! I grew up in Georgia and around the world, graduated high school in the Chicago area, attended college at Samford University, and Medical School at the Medical College of Georgia. As a former Air Force Captain, I found my passion for underserved health care while volunteering as a medic at the Berkeley Free Clinic in Berkeley, California, and ultimately, I've found my home, my people, and my dream vocation here in the beautiful mountains of Hendersonville, NC.
As faculty, working with our amazing residents and colleagues is the best part of the job! Our program really values resident leadership and involvement in decision making for all aspects of the program, and in clinic I enjoy working with our residents as we navigate medical concerns, connect our patients to resources, and walk the journey alongside them. Like my colleagues, I enjoy providing both full spectrum care in clinic and covering hospital care and OB deliveries. I serve as the lead provider for our 7th Ave outreach clinic where we coordinate a resident MAT clinic and provide healthcare/resources to the most vulnerable and unhoused in our community. I also serve as board member and volunteer for The Free Clinics, providing after hours acute care, free medications, and resources for patients. My particular interest areas are in resident education, MAT, transgender health, and care for the unhoused/underserved.
Outside work, you'll find me at our church (St James Episcopal, where my husband is the rector), hiking with my family in Pisgah Forest, tending my much beloved vegetable/fruit garden, reading books for the next residency book club, or enjoying a local symphony or musical production. This is a place where you can really do it all -- put down roots, build relationships, enjoy the outdoors and cultural events, and really make a difference for patients and community- so thankful to be a part of it!
Faculty
Special Interests: Quality of care, chronic disease management, preventative health
Being called to figure out how we make a positive difference in the health of our community, lands me in the hills of Western North Carolina committed to academic teaching, service, and engagement. Having completed a National Health Service Corps Scholarship at a Community Health Center in underserved St. Louis, I am drawn to the dedication, innovation, and balance that I found in the residents and faculty of this program. My journey here has led me to an array of experiences abroad in Honduras, Guatemala, and Kenya, as well as challenges closer to home like working with people experiencing homelessness, rural health, and person-centered delivery models. Working in underserved communities with residents inspires me to create change that matters for those that need it most. As chair of the Department of Community and Public Health at UNC Health Sciences at MAHEC, I have the opportunity to expand community outreach throughout our rural region, build pathways that support equitable access to health careers, and train public health leaders. I am constantly reminded how family medicine allows me the best opportunity to impact the lives of others in a positive and sustainable fashion as well as treat patients as whole individuals. I consider myself very fortunate and inspired to be practicing and teaching in an environment that enthusiastically shares this belief.
Outside of the office, I am happily surrounded by the commotion of four young daughters, a supportive wife, and the companionship of two dogs, one cat, several chickens, fish, and a gecko. We enjoy traveling, camping, running, hiking, and swimming as well as exploring all the joys of Western North Carolina.
Faculty
Special Interests: Street medicine, rural medicine, harm reduction, integrative medicine, palliative care, point-of-care ultrasound
As a high-schooler growing up in swampy Gainesville, Florida, I started practicing Spanish by volunteering as a translator in rural clinics in the surrounding North Florida region. This experience led to a curiosity for medicine and service, including volunteering for an adolescent palliative care program while in college at the University of Florida. After considering careers in marine biology and wilderness therapy, I ended up at the University of South Florida in Tampa for medical school, where I was inspired towards broad-spectrum family medicine by rotations at rural Indian Health Service hospitals on the Hopi and Navajo reservations, public health research in Nicaragua, and as a founder of Tampa Bay Street Medicine providing medical care to Tampa’s large homeless population. This passion for broad-spectrum family medicine took me to Ventura Family Medicine Residency in California, and eventually back east to Appalachia and the Blue Ridge mountains.
I couldn’t be more passionate about the founding mission of Blue Ridge Health – to provide quality healthcare that is accessible and affordable for all – and for our service commitment to the area’s migrant farmworker population. The MAHEC Hendersonville residents have incredible opportunities for full-scope family medicine practice every single day, and I’m continually impressed by the high caliber of our team.
In free time, I enjoy grilling and good beer, trail running, ultimate frisbee, surfing, sailing, freediving, fishing, canoeing, mountain biking, rock climbing and backpacking, especially when accompanied by my wife and our dog Oso!
Faculty
Special Interests: Travel medicine, global health, point-of-care ultrasound
After completing family medicine residency at MAHEC in Asheville, I discovered an enjoyment of clinical education while supervising learners during a 2-year term at Clinica Hombro a Hombro in southern Honduras. Upon returning to the U.S., I was drawn to North Carolina for the third time, the first being at Davidson College and this time to work with a great residency program that benefits from its relationship with four excellent organizations: MAHEC, University of North Carolina, Blue Ridge Community Health Services, and Pardee UNC Hospital.
Each of these organizations contributes to a robust residency experience rolled out in a community health center and community hospital. I consider it a privilege to work alongside innovative and compassionate colleagues who are adapting to both local and national medical needs with new ideas about how to offer quality care to patients from all walks of life. Hendersonville is a place where I have the opportunity to practice the spectrum of what I was trained to do while adding new knowledge and skills to meet my patient’s needs; most recently in the areas of MAT, hepatitis C, and point-of-care ultrasound. My other medical activities include being the medical director of several local camps/adventure travel companies and the Course Director of the Missionary Medicine for Physicians course at Equip International.
My wife, Laura, and I love living here with our four children: Luke, Gabriel, Ana, and Sam. During this season of life, they are my main hobby. It is a joy to raise them here with a sense of community and an appreciation for God’s creation as we hike the hills, explore the forests, ski the lakes, and cool off in the streams of Western North Carolina. We are an active part of our local church, Henderson County foster care, and our children’s schools. Once you come visit here, you will see why it is so hard to leave.
Faculty
Special Interests: Child Advocacy, perinatal substance use disorders, lifestyle medicine, women's health
I was born and raised in a small town in Michigan. After leaving for another small town in upstate New York for my undergraduate, I met my husband there and followed him the big city of Raleigh where I was accepted to medical school at UNC. Through those experiences I realized both my own need for rural spaces and the unique potential of small towns to make big changes for the health of their people. I jumped at the opportunity to move to Asheville for my medical school rotations and stayed for residency with the rural family medicine program in Hendersonville. The town and hospital met my family's needs perfectly, so we opted to stick around!
As faculty I'm excited to share knowledge and love for a wide variety of topics. I'm interested in lifestyle medicine as a key component to effective primary care. I also devote clinic time to special projects in perinatal substance use disorders and child advocacy.
Nurse Midwife
Special Interests: Obstetrics and women’s health (including prenatal care), public health
All good things come to those who wait.... It is true both for becoming a certified-nurse midwife and of finding a professional and personal home here in Hendersonville. I first discovered midwifery as a biology major at Florida State University, while finishing my pre-med curriculum and after I had already taken the MCAT and had been accepted to DO school. My pregnant advisor had the wisdom to introduce me to her midwives and it was immediately apparent that although I didn’t know that midwifery existed, the work was exactly what I had envisioned doing all those years ago when I day dreamed about what I would be when I grew up. While at FSU, I worked both in the microbiology lab and as a telephone counselor and supervisor for two statewide, nonprofit hotlines, the Florida HIV/AIDS Hotline and Healthy Baby Hotline. After graduation, I completed classes to apply to nursing school and worked many odd jobs, always trying to keep a hand in biology or medicine. Some of the more interesting ones were during my time in Los Angeles as a group methamphetamine counselor, as a researcher for an herbal supply company and as front office staff for a star-laden Beverly Hills dermatology office.
I completed my training at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, graduating with a Masters Degree in Nursing and midwifery specialty in December 2003. For four years, I worked in Florida providing care to the uninsured and underserved as a member of the National Health Service Corps in a community health center. As fulfilling as my work was, I longed for a professional environment with supportive and service-oriented health care providers and a balanced family life. I am deeply grateful to have found that in Hendersonville and moved here with my infant son in September 2007. In addition to professional satisfaction, I was drawn to the area by its beauty and the opportunity to raise my son in this warm and welcoming community and with an appreciation of nature and small-town life. Hendersonville Family Health Center is a family, as corny as that might sound, and we are supportive of each other through good times and bad. My friends here helped my son and I though a difficult separation and divorce, and have welcomed my new husband and stepsons with open arms.
I am proud to be a part of the Family Practice program, to call these doctors both my colleagues and my friends and to help educate our outstanding rural family practice residents each year. Midwifery and family practice philosophies of care are well-suited to work together, providing comprehensive, supportive and preventative care. We all believe in the power of women’s bodies to give birth and are supportive of that natural process and of the transition of the family to welcome this new, little life.
Faculty
Special Interests: Vasectomies, substance use disorders, rural medicine, prenatal care
My wife, Erin, and I first moved to the mountains of Western North Carolina for me to complete my residency at MAHEC in Asheville. Once you’ve visited here, it’s easy to see how we fell in love with the area and were eager to make it our more lasting home. After graduating from residency, I was looking for a place that I could practice both inpatient and outpatient family medicine, while still getting to deliver babies, and I didn’t have to look much further than down the road in Hendersonville to find a thriving environment to continue full-spectrum family medicine, with the wonderful addition of fostering the next generation of family physicians through residency education.
I’m passionate about providing comprehensive care to my patients, preventative health, family planning, substance use disorders treatment, and family medicine procedures. I’m particularly interested in how to balance support and independence to nurture developing resident physicians to a role of autonomy.
When not working, I love spending time with my wife and our two energetic little ones, Annalise and David. I’m rejuvenated whenever I can venture out into our beautiful mountains, hiking, running, and biking. And we enjoy filling our house with the sounds of music (admittedly more nursery rhymes now than before) and the smells of home cooking.
Faculty
Special Interests: Obstetrics (including prenatal care, deliveries, lactation support), migrant health, Spanish-speaking patients
After graduating from medical school at UNC Chapel Hill, I left my east coast roots and headed out to Ventura, California for my Family Medicine Residency training. It was an awesome experience living in a new place and forming a close group of residency friends, but I always planned to come back to North Carolina to be closer to family. It was also very important to me to practice in an underserved area and enjoy where I live. Luckily, I found all of that in Hendersonville.
I was immediately drawn to Blue Ridge because of its mission to take care of the migrant farm worker population. When it turned out I could work with residents and keep practicing inpatient medicine and OB along with this mission, I knew it was a great fit. I am very excited to be joining such a creative, dedicated, and experienced team of providers all working toward the same goals: providing excellent care to those who need it most and training residents to be the best doctors they can be. My favorite parts of family medicine are dermatology, procedures, women’s health, and everything to do with obstetrics!
My family has enjoyed getting to know Hendersonville, Asheville, and the surrounding areas. We love local produce, reading, movies, hiking, running, and watching the seasons change.
Behavioral Health Faculty
Special Interests: Perinatal population, medication-assisted treatment (MAT), chronic pain, trauma-informed care
Born and raised in Raleigh, NC, I have found myself transplanted in WNC and honestly can’t complain a bit about it. After completing both my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Social Work at North Carolina State University in 2012 and 2013, respectively, I found myself looking for a change of scenery and, now, very much enjoy calling WNC my home. My favorite activities include hiking, houseplants and hanging out with my husband and four beloved dogs.
I have a diverse background as a clinician, having worked previously in inpatient substance use detoxification and rehabilitation services, inpatient psychiatric services with children and adolescents, medical social work with mother-baby dyads, school-based therapy services and outpatient therapy services. Working with clients aged five and older, my clinical areas of expertise include Trauma-Informed care, Dual Diagnosis, Perinatal MH/SUD, ADHD, Personality Disorders, Intimate Partner Violence and Chronic Pain.
Throughout my clinical experience, I have always enjoyed taking on a teaching role with social work interns, psychiatry fellows, psychology doctoral candidates, and medical residents. While I thoroughly enjoy the challenge and diversity of my clinical work with clients, I was thrilled when the opportunity to participate in a teaching capacity became available within the residency program in 2021. Serving as residency faculty and offering outpatient therapy services in the Blue Ridge Health clinic setting creates the perfect balance of clinical work and teaching, which had made my work more rewarding than ever.
Faculty
Special Interests: Obstetrics/prenatal care, addiction medicine, pediatric obesity, combatting the epidemic of loneliness, health equity
Growing up as a homeschooler in Western North Carolina allowed me to explore the world outside my front door as well as abroad. My parents are firm advocates of experiential education. My early years found me disembarking a bus in a Guatemalan mountain village and being allowed to wander through town to make new friends on the soccer pitch. At home, I could be found in the deep hollers of our mountain home or catching crawdads in the creek. Much of this early exploration was foundational to who I am today. I love meeting new people from all walks of life, sitting with a patient and truly listening to their story, building vegetable gardens in our clinic, and advocating for healthcare in rural WNC.
I completed my BA in theatre and biology at UNC–Chapel Hill, where I had the opportunity to spend five months interning with practitioners of homeopathy, Ayurveda, and traditional Chinese medicine across India, Nepal, and China. During my clinical time in medical school, I witnessed too many primary care physicians running on a treadmill with no control over the speed setting. They often pointed to insurance, documentation requirements, or the business of medicine as culprits for their unhappiness—what didn’t sit well with me was the utter lack of empowerment I witnessed. This prompted me to pursue my MBA concurrently with medical school.
My dream clinic is one that is not simply a single-file line of patients waiting to interface with my limited knowledge base, but a gathering point for the community. I currently have three group visits around topics including lifestyle medicine, substance use disorders, and individuals with high ED utilization who lack insurance. I am passionate about being meaningfully involved in addiction treatment, rural prenatal access to care, intergenerational and communal cycles of trauma, and creating sanctuary spaces for healing healers and healing patients.
In my free time, I am in my garden, tearing down and rebuilding parts of my house in Morganton, cultivating mushroom logs, whitewater kayaking, traveling abroad, or spending time with family.
Faculty
Special Interests: Preventative medicine, lifestyle medicine
We moved to Asheville in 2008 for family medicine residency at MAHEC Asheville. We love the area so much and have met so many wonderful people that we never want to leave. I started working for Blue Ridge Health shortly after graduating from residency. The work is fulfilling and challenging, and although some days are the latter more than the former, I love what I do and where I work. There are amazing people here, and we see a variety of patients, including adults, children, prenatal patients, and procedures. I especially love teaching and precepting both residents and students. It allows me to learn more and to be a better doctor in attempts to provide a better example to learning physicians. We all strive to provide access to quality healthcare for all, and we can go home each evening knowing we are making a difference in people’s lives.
I have also taken on some administrative responsibilities at Blue Ridge Health and am the current Chief Medical Officer. I enjoy opportunities to work with providers across the organization and help with logistics of a Teaching Health Center.
My family and I love the community here. Between Hendersonville, Asheville, and surrounding areas, there is a lot to do! We particularly enjoy getting outside, riding bikes, hiking, and of course, just hanging out with our children and friends. There are many fun festivals, sporting events, and gathering places. It’s a great place to be!
Originally from Christiansburg, Virginia, I graduated from Harvard College in 2016. Following college, I worked as a MedServe Fellow, a primary care service fellowship. During this experience, I served at Advance Community Health in Raleigh, NC as a Medical Assistant and Community Health Worker. Since medical school, I’ve been passionate about underserved primary care medicine and became a Kenan Rural Primary Care Medical Scholar and Pisacano Scholar. Working with Sanjay Batish, MD in Leland, NC, we created the Firearms Related Incidents from Gun Shows (FiRInGS) study and won a $50,000 grant to support evaluation of the temporal association between regional gun shows and firearm events.
I chose to pursue an MBA to gather more perspective on the broader healthcare system and a toolkit to solve system-level problems. I put my new skills to work with Aledade, an Accountable Care Organization contractor, to support NC community health centers in transforming to value-based care. Following my residency training, I dream of practicing full-spectrum family medicine while being a Chief Medical Officer of a network of rural, community health centers. During my free time I can be found crocheting (@LittleBitsByJiyun on Instagram) and snuggling with my cat Chao and my husband, Andrew.
Hello! I’m Hannah and I was born and raised in the small town of Ashland, VA. I attended the Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond Virginia for my undergraduate degree and went north to Hershey Pennsylvania to attend Penn State Hershey College of Medicine for Medical School.
My father passed away from cancer while I was in college, and the extraordinary care he received inspired me to pursue medicine. I am passionate about mitigating health disparities and discrimination in medicine and believe every person should have access to excellent compassionate health care.
I am excited to be joining the Hendersonville team and look forward to exploring my interests of full scope family medicine, women’s health, LGBTQ+ health, and rural/underserved care. On a free day you will find me doing some combination of something outside, something artsy, or something involving food and friends. I am also lucky to be supported by my wonderful husband Joey and our weird cat Benji.
I grew up down the mountain from Hendersonville in Mooresville, NC. As a North Carolina native and member of a tight-knit southern family my childhood was comprised of Sunday lunch at my Mama Billie’s house and adventures all up and down the Blue Ridge Parkway. This part of the world will always feel like home to me.
Through my academic career, I was given incredible opportunities to venture out of North Carolina and learn about medicine, cultures, and people in many different parts of the world. My innate curiosity and genuine love for hearing people’s stories brought me to live in a village in rural Nepal, work in rural Honduras, and be a full-time professor in the Southern outer banks. I was able to present research from all over the world to people all over the country. In all my experiences there was an abiding truth; life, and certainly healing, happened at the local level. In my experience, this truth holds from the Himalayas to Appalachia.
My interest in family medicine was solidified by my nontraditional path to medical school and all of the places I saw primary care as the largest gap in outcomes for populations. Family medicine for me is primarily about becoming an integral part of the community I am serving, it is within community that we have the rare opportunity to truly help people heal in ways that are lasting and significant. I wanted to become a rural family medicine doctor who uses their life to invest in the people around them. I am so thankful to be coming back to my neck of the woods/world to practice as a resident country doctor in Hendersonville. This program provided the depth and breadth of independence, exposure, and amazing support I was looking for in my desire to train at a truly full scope program.
Outside of medicine you can find me attempting to start a homestead equipped with seed bags and YouTube. I love reading and usually have about three different books going at any given time. I also love doing all the outdoor things with my fiancé and rescue dog Willow who can hike and ride in the canoe with the best of them!
I grew up in Ann Arbor, MI and took a non-traditional route to medical school: I studied Romance Languages and Literature and International Studies at University of Michigan. After college, I trained in San Francisco to be an esthetician and massage therapist. Taking care of people with acne is a passion of mine, and I continued to work in skin care while doing my post-baccalaureate for medical school.
I truly believe every part of the body works together; I always wanted to take care of the whole person instead of one system. I went to University of South Carolina School of Medicine in Greenville and was the student that loved everything. It was hard to think about giving any part of medicine up, so Family Medicine was a perfect fit! I am particularly interested in working with my hands, dermatology, mental health, family planning, gender-affirming care, and lifestyle and integrative medicine.
In my free time, you can find me veganizing my favorite foods (I am a for-the-animals vegan), doing hot yoga, writing, and learning languages. I am always learning new things in French and Spanish, but I am currently studying Italian.
I want to be the doctor my patients go to for everything at any point in their lives. I felt the training in a rural health program would help me be a more well-rounded family physician. The opportunity to take care of a large Latinx community was also a huge draw for me to MAHEC in Hendersonville. Aside from being physically close to my family, the people in the program made it feel like home away from home.
Hi, everyone! My name is Lyda. I’m originally from Charleston, SC. I come from a large, blended family and have 5 siblings.
I studied anthropology at Washington University in St. Louis, where my free time was spent with the Outdoors Club and working on urban farm projects. After college, I accepted an Americorp position in the Copper River Valley of Alaska. It was there that I fell in love with living in a small, close-knit community. I also experienced the unique challenges rural areas face in accessing healthcare. I went on to the University of Alaska for premedical coursework with a newfound goal of becoming a small town doctor.
I headed home to the south for medical school at University of South Carolina in Columbia. Medical school rotations confirmed my interest in full-scope family medicine. I also found that I loved working with patients experiencing mental illness. I couldn’t be happier to continue my training at MAHEC Hendersonville and join a family of passionate family medicine physicians!
I was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, but I have lived in North Carolina for the majority of the last 10 years. In high school I read all of Nicholas Sparks’ novels and discovered a love for North Carolina! I dreamed of living in NC and ended up at Davidson College, where I earned a Bachelor’s degree in biology and was a member of the swim team.
After graduating college, I started my gap year with two weeks in my car driving across the country. Once I reached Los Angeles, I flew to Peru where I spent two months learning Spanish and shadowing doctors. I spent the remainder of my gap year working as a background actor in television and training for triathlons. Then I spent three weeks driving back across the country to Durham, NC to start medical school at Duke University. I am so excited to be able to stay in NC for residency and serve the communities in North Carolina!
In my free time I like to crochet, do any kind of water sport, and explore on my bicycle. I am so excited to start my next adventure as a Family Medicine resident in Hendersonville! I love that family medicine allows me to pursue all my passions in medicine and allows for long lasting relationships with my patients.
Hi there! I grew up in rural Glasgow, Kentucky, where I experienced firsthand how a zip code can determine access to healthcare. Before medical school, I completed college at the University of Louisville, making the somewhat unorthodox choice to study biology and studio art. After that, I attended medical school at UofL’s Trover Rural Track. There, I served as a co-director and student provider in our free clinic, the Hopkins County Community Clinic, where I developed a passion for meeting the community where they to provide equitable healthcare.
I believe that the physician’s job description, first and foremost, is to heal. This of course means healing the body, but also healing emotionally, fiscally, and otherwise, ultimately to heal a community. Family medicine was a perfect fit for me because it most allows the physician to be a holistic healer in this way. My special interests within family medicine include mental health, reproductive health and LGBTQIA+ care.
When I am not thinking about medicine, you can find me drawing, painting, tending to my controlled jungle of houseplants, or feeding the deer and birds in my backyard (cue Mary Poppins song). I am also constantly on the lookout for the best coffee in town, so please send me your recommendations!
When I interviewed in Hendersonville, I strangely felt that I was surrounded by “my people.” Everyone I met had similar interests to my own, within and without medicine, and were immediately welcoming to me. I am thrilled to be continuing my education at MAHEC Hendersonville by training to provide excellent, first-class healthcare to those that need it most.
Hi everyone! I am originally from Washington state, where my family still lives in the beautiful San Juan Islands. After graduating from a small liberal arts college in eastern Washington I worked as a neurodiagnostic technician. I obtained my MPH through the University of Minnesota and worked for several years on the industry side of medicine, both on pharmaceutical and medical device clinical trials. Working with oncology clinical trial patients and terminally ill patient populations sparked my passion for palliative care.
My clinical rotation years were spent in Alaska where I fell in love with rural primary care. I experienced firsthand the health disparities in rural America and the strong, lasting impact that family medicine doctors can have not only on patients but entire communities. From that point on, I knew I wanted to practice full spectrum family medicine!
Outside of medicine I am a lifelong athlete. I was a competitive collegiate swimmer, and now CrossFitter, Olympic lifter and on and off coach. I love movement and inspiring others to use their bodies and find their own strength.
I love dogs (maybe too much), and my partner Brad and I currently have 8 perfect fur babies. He is from NC originally, and we are excited to come back to the area and establish ourselves in the wonderful Hendersonville community. I couldn’t be more excited to join the MAHEC Hendersonville team to continue my training among like-minded family medicine physicians!
Hi everyone! My name is Alex, and I am so excited to be joining the team here in Hendersonville! I grew up in New Orleans, but I spent many summers visiting family in Brevard, NC, about half an hour from Hendersonville.
I attended college at Fordham University in the Bronx, where I initially thought I wanted to be an archaeologist. I even got to go on archaeological dig near Fairbanks, Alaska! While this was a truly incredible experience, back in the Bronx I had been teaching health education to ninth graders for a program called Peer Health Exchange, and this is where I really felt at home. This led me to pursue working as an afterschool teacher at a non-profit called CitySquash in Brooklyn. While I loved working with my coworkers, students, and their families, I missed the health-specific content from my volunteering days in college. Thus began my journey to medical school, and I worked the next two years as an EMT and medical scribe throughout New York City before starting medical school at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx.
Volunteering at Einstein’s student-run free clinic introduced me to family medicine, and I loved the holistic and patient-first care the family doctors practiced. In my family medicine rotation, I deeply admired the strong trust between physicians and their patients, and among all the members of the healthcare team. Additionally, the variety of family medicine allows for me to pursue my personal interests of pediatric care, neonatal and maternal health, and substance use disorders.
I am so excited to be joining the residency in Hendersonville!! I’m so grateful to be joining a team so committed to each other and the health of their community.
In my free time, I am a total home body and love to spoil my yellow lab Maggie, and two cats Minerva and Serenity. I am also stoked to be able to see my parents and family more over in Brevard!!
Hi everyone! I’m Katie Lively. My family is from the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Georgia, and I am looking forward to continuing my training in this region. Though I’ve always been a Georgia girl, I’m looking forward to starting a new chapter here in Hendersonville, North Carolina with my partner Cody and our fur babies, Eden and Putney.
I went to college at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia and majored in Psychology and Sociology, where I began to better understand how social, personal, and economic factors can impact a person’s wellbeing and quality of life. I longed for a career where I could merge my insatiable love for learning with a desire to serve others and advocate for their wellbeing… and I landed on medicine! I attended the Medical College of Georgia where I was the chapter co-founder and inaugural co-president of the SNaHP (Students for a National Health Program) Interest Group. During my time at MCG I also served as a Student Director for the Georgia Academy of Family Physicians, where I was able to collaborate with members to influence advancements in practice, patient care, and health equity for Georgians.
I am interested in practicing full-scope family medicine within a community that I myself am embedded in. I look forward to delivering uniquely tailored care to my patients that empowers them to elevate their quality of life and achieve better health.
I felt that the mission of MAHEC was aligned with my own values and firm belief that effective healing stems from understanding the unique personal and social factors that shape patients’ lives. I know that here I will build the tools to care for all!
I was born in the Philippines, but moved to North Carolina with my family at age 6 and have lived in the state ever since. Most of my family works in healthcare from nursing to respiratory therapy, but I am the first in my family to become a physician. I graduated from UNC Chapel Hill with a B.S. in Psychology and Chemistry. During undergrad, I did a wide variety of non-medical things, including being a linguistics research lab assistant, playing with the UNC Marching Tar Heels, and learning jiu jitsu. I also worked in multiple clinical settings, including as caregiver for psychiatric patients, emergency medical technician, and medical scribe in labor and delivery.>/p>
My many interests led me to pursuing becoming a family physician, and so I stayed at UNC Schoolt of Medicine. As a student, I helped develop our ultrasound curriculum, worked with our climate change advocacy group, and taught pre-medical students. I have a particular interest in providing procedural care, seeing patients of all ages and backgrounds, and promoting both physical and mental health. Training as a family physician is a dream come true as I can do all of that and more. In my 4th year, I visited MAHEC Hendersonville for a short rotation and came to love the small community, full-spectrum practice, and close-knit program. I’m incredibly excited to be part of this amazing group of people.
Outside of medicine, I still play music and drums, train as a competitive powerlifter, and enjoy video games like The Legend of Zelda. I am a huge fan of college sports and always cheer on the Tar Heels.
Hey! I’m Allison, and I am originally from a town just outside of Burlington, Vermont. I studied biology for my undergraduate degree in Buffalo, NY and then attended medical school at Nova Southeastern University about seven years later. During my break between undergraduate and medical school I spent time volunteering with the American Red Cross and AmeriCorps NCCC, traveling abroad, and working both in and out of the medical field. A lot of these experiences helped shape my desire to pursue primary care, and I am excited to start this journey with MAHEC.
Some of my interests in medicine include mental health, global health, and lifestyle medicine. I also have an interest in wilderness medicine and spent part of my time earning a degree in Disaster and Emergency Medicine which I hope to incorporate into my future practice. Other interests of mine include being in the mountains, being outside, going on walks, reading, and music.
Blue Ridge Health - Justice Street is one of two main outpatient clinics of our Teaching Health Center (THC) where residents and faculty see patients regardless of ability to pay. Built in 1999, it is a 12,000 square foot facility with 24 patient rooms, two procedure rooms, a behavioral health meeting room, a teleconference room, and a precepting area. This clinic serves a wide breadth of patients with full-spectrum family medicine, nutritionist, and behavioral health services offered. There are also laboratory services and an on-site 340b pharmacy that offers significant discounts to our uninsured and underinsured patients. It is located across the street from Pardee Hospital, allowing easy access between clinic and the hospital.
Blue Ridge Health - Chimney Rock is the other main outpatient clinic of our THC. It is on the site where Blue Ridge Health was initially founded in 1963. At this location, residents and faculty see a similar patient demographic, but also have a higher volume of Hispanic and migrant populations. Here and at all sites, full interpreter services are present to give culturally competent care. At this facility, dental services, mammography, and radiology are offered in addition to the above services at Justice Street. Similarly, the on-site 340b pharmacy offers significant medication discounts to our patients. The clinic is a short 10-15 minute drive to the hospital.
Established in 1953, Pardee Hospital is a non-profit community hospital. Family Medicine is the only training program at the hospital, so residents have access to a wide range of medical cases and experiences. It is a busy 222 bed hospital that has received high marks in orthopedics and surgery by several national rankings. It also houses the second busiest ER in Western North Carolina, which has 34 ER rooms. Over 300 babies are delivered at Pardee Hospital each year. It has an ICU where family physicians have admitting privileges.
Mission Hospital is located 19.8 miles away from Pardee Hospital, making the rotations an easy commute for our residents. Mission Hospital is a part of the Mission Health System and the medical center that serves as the tertiary referral center for the entire Western North Carolina region and parts of TN, SC, WVA, VA and beyond. This comprehensive health system brings together the capabilities of its two founding hospitals, Mission and St. Joseph's. Together, they are licensed for 815 beds. The medical staff comprises approximately 600 physicians.
If you believe that you are a good match for our program, we would welcome your application. We will review all applications submitted through ERAS and will contact and schedule interviews for those who appear to be the best fit for our residency program.
Our interview days will be on Tuesdays and/or Thursdays and will be held weekly from late October through mid-December. Our interviews begin with a casual dinner party hosted at one of our resident's homes the night before, therefore candidates should be in town no later than 5:00 pm the day prior to their interview. Interviews with our program also include accommodations in a historic B&B in downtown Hendersonville, lunch on your interview day, time with faculty and residents, and tours of our clinical sites and hospital. We also offer a community tour for your spouse/partner, provided by one of our resident’s spouses, during your interview time.
If candidates wish to have a second look, those visits are arranged by appointment.
In compliance with AAMC recommendations, MAHEC Hendersonville Rural Family Medicine Residency suggests that applicants signal their most interested programs regardless of whether they are home or away rotations. This is the most fair and equitable process for all applicant types (MD, DO, and IMGs) and provides all programs that participate in receiving signals with the same information about interest level. This signaling information will be used in the process of choosing applicants to interview but not for rank list ordering.
The mission of the Hendersonville Family Medicine Residency Program is to train superior family physicians for community-oriented rural practice in Western North Carolina. We welcome well qualified candidates to apply to our program.
The Graduate Medical Education (GME) programs will select from among eligible applicants on the basis of residency program-related criteria such as their preparedness, ability, aptitude, academic credentials, communication skills, and personal qualities such as motivation and integrity.
An applicant must meet or exceed the following minimum qualification(s) to be eligible for selection and appointment to MAHEC’s GME residency programs:
MAHEC does not directly sponsor residents or fellows that need a J-1 Sponsorship VISA. Non-U.S. citizen applicants needing visa sponsorship must secure this directory from the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG). The ECFMG is authorized by the U.S. Department of State to sponsor foreign national physicians for the J-1 Exchange Visitor visa for the purpose of participating in U.S. programs of graduate medical education or training. ECFMG is designated by the U.S. Department of State as a BridgeUSA sponsor for J-1 exchange visitor physicians enrolled in accredited programs of graduate medical education or training, or advanced research programs (involving primarily observation, consultation, teaching, or research). Although many universities and research institutions in the United States are authorized to sponsor exchange visitors as research scholars, ECFMG is the sole sponsor of J-1 physicians in clinical training programs.
Questions regarding VISA Sponsorship should be directed to the GME office at 828-232-2946 or gme@mahec.net.
Orientation for first year residents occurs prior to the start of each academic year, so that new residents can begin their first rotation on July 1 with a basic understanding of their new educational environment.
In addition to a variety of activities designed to orient new residents to the hospital, Family Medicine Clinics, and MAHEC, social activities are organized to allow residents to get acquainted with each other, faculty, and staff.
Orientation will begin in mid-June. First-year residents will receive a stipend to be compensated for these two weeks of orientation that occur prior to their contract date of July 1.
