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Enka Candler Family Health Center – open for walk-ins Mon-Fri 8:30-5:00

Enka Candler Pharmacy – open Mon-Fri 8:30-5:00

Biltmore Pharmacy – opening Oct. 10th 9:00-5:00

Biltmore Ob/Gyn - opening Oct. 9 with limited capacity

Brevard Women’s Care – open Mon-Fri 8:30-5:00

Franklin Ob/Gyn – open Mon-Thurs 8:00-5:00

Internal Medicine - office will open Oct.14 but telehealth available now

Biltmore Family Health Center - office will open Oct.14 but telehealth available now

Newbridge Family Health Center – opening Oct. 9 and accepting walk-ins

Cane Creek Family Health Center office – closed

Center for Psychiatry – open for telehealth beginning October 7 (assume your appt is telehealth unless we contact you)

Dental Health Center at Columbus - opening Oct. 10 with limited capacity; please do not arrive for your appointment unless called by a team member

Dental Health Center at Biltmore - opening Oct. 14 with limited capacity; please do not arrive for your appointment unless called by a team member

Continuing Education events – being evaluated daily and participants will receive email updates


If you are a patient needing help with resources, please contact us here: https://mahec.feedtrail.com/Misc/RCF/RCF


If you would like to directly contribute to those in our community who need extra help getting through this disaster, please visit mahec.net/donate

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General Surgery Residency

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The MAHEC (Mountain Area Health Education Center) General Surgery Residency Program is in collaboration with Mission Hospital. During the five-year residency, residents will complete a number of surgical rotations including rural hospital surgery, wound, breast, burn, acute care surgery, pediatric surgery, trauma surgery, vascular surgery, endocrine surgery, minimally invasive surgery, oncology and colorectal surgery, and hepatobiliary and pancreas surgery.

  • Mission Hospital is licensed for 815 beds with 47 operating rooms and a new critical care tower
  • Mission Children’s Hospital includes 130 beds with 60 board-certified pediatric subspecialists providing care in 23 different specialties
  • Mission Hospital's emergency department has 100,000 patient visits per year, the trauma center admits 3,400 patients per year, and the helicopter transports more than 1,000 patients per year
  • Faculty includes 12 critical-care-certified acute care surgeons, 8 subspecialty surgeons, 2 pediatric surgeons and 5 vascular surgeons
  • At more than 35,000 surgical procedures each year, Mission Hospital is one of the busiest surgical hospitals in the state of North Carolina

Our Team

Courtney Sommer, MD, FACS Courtney Sommer, MD, FACS
Program Director, General Surgery Residency
Trauma Surgery Faculty

Sean O’Connor, MD, FACS Sean O’Connor, MD, FACS
Associate Program Director, General Surgery Residency
Subspecialty Surgery Faculty

Elaine Chan, MD, FACS Elaine Chan, MD, FACS
Director of Wellness & Mentoring
Trauma Surgery Faculty

Contact

Amanda Espinel Amanda Espinel
Residency Program Administrator
email surgery@mahec.net


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The NC AHEC Program provides and supports educational activities and services with a focus on primary care in rural communities and those with less access to resources to recruit, train, and retain the workforce needed to create a healthy North Carolina. Located in Asheville, MAHEC is one of nine centers in the NC AHEC Program and serves the western part of our state.

MAHEC was established in 1974 and serves a 16-county region in Western North Carolina. MAHEC is the largest Area Health Education Center in North Carolina and evolved to address national and state concerns with the supply, retention, and quality of healthcare professionals. MAHEC’s approach to caring for patients is based on an advanced care team model. Our general surgery residency program is located on the same campus with family medicine, internal medicine, transitional year, obstetrics/gynecology, psychiatry, pharmacy, and dental residencies.

MAHEC’s Biltmore campus is also home to UNC Health Sciences at MAHEC, an academic health center in partnership with UNC Chapel Hill that includes programs from the UNC School of Medicine, UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, UNC Asheville, and UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy.


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Tracing its roots back nearly 120 years and based in Asheville, NC, Mission Health is the tertiary care referral center for the western part of the state and the adjoining region. Mission Health has been recognized as one of the nation’s Top 15 Health Systems by Truven Health Analytics. Mission Health is the only health system in the nation to receive this recognition four years in a row, and the only health system in North Carolina to achieve Top 15 recognition.

Our mission is to improve the health of the people of Western North Carolina and the surrounding region.

Our core values, “MERIT,” are the foundation of our workplace and culture:

  • Mercy: We work to create a caring and compassionate environment responsive to the emotional, spiritual, and physical needs of all persons.
  • Excellence: We strive to meet and exceed our patients’ and consumers’ needs, and work collectively to improve every aspect of our care and services.
  • Respect: We value the innate dignity of all persons, respect their uniqueness and diversity, and enable the development of each person’s full potential.
  • Integrity: We are consistently open, honest, and ethical. We abide by our Corporate Compliance Program and integrity statement to always do the right thing by being honest in our interactions with one another, our patients, and our business contacts.
  • Trust/Teamwork: We say what we mean and do what we say, and work collectively to improve every aspect of our care and services.

4th Year Medical Student Rotations

MAHEC 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

Values Statement

  • Excellence: We deliver quality activities and services that our customers and partners value.
  • Diversity: We promote equity and inclusivity.
  • Integrity: We act with fairness, transparency, and the highest level of ethics.
  • Collaboration: We value partnerships and support interprofessional approaches.
  • Improvement: We continuously innovate and improve our work.

Foundational Principles

  • Civility: We treat all people with respect and kindness, all the time.
  • Inclusivity: We value the contribution of people different than ourselves and the merits of an organization that reflects differences in our teams and our community.
  • Empowerment: We value engagement, commitment, and ownership of MAHEC’s mission, work, and budget.

Our Commitment

MAHEC is committed to creating an equitable and inclusive place to work, learn, and receive care. We actively recruit physicians, staff, and students from underrepresented minorities, and we strive to implement policies and procedures that value and support diverse backgrounds and experiences. MAHEC does not discriminate on the basis of socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, spiritual practice, geography, disability, or age.


PGY1 Mission EGS
(Blue Service)
Mission Subspecialty Surgery
(Orange Service)
Mission Subspecialty Surgery
(Red Service)
Mission Trauma Surgery/Wound Clinic Mission NeuroTrauma ICU
Site 1 1 1 1 1
% Outpatient 20 30 30 20 0
% Research 5 5 5 5 5

PGY2 Mission NeuroTrauma ICU Mission EGS
(Blue Service)
Mission Vascular Surgery VAMC Vascular Surgery VAMC General Surgery
Site 1 1 1 3 3
% Outpatient 0 20 20 50 50
% Research 5 5 5 0 0

PGY3 Mission Breast Surgery Mission Subspecialty Surgery
(Yellow Service)
Mission Pediatric Surgery & Burn Surgery UNC Burn/Transplant Rotation VAMC Endoscopy
Site 1 1 1 2 3
% Outpatient 75 30 40 0 100
% Research 0 5 0 0 0

PGY4 Mission Vascular Surgery Elective Mission EGS
(Blue Service)
Genesis Surgery Mission Subspecialty Surgery
(Orange Service)
Mission EGS
(Green Service)
Site 1 1 1 1 1 1
% Outpatient 20 30 20 20 30 20
% Research 5 5 5 5 5 5

PGY5 Mission EGS
(Blue Service)
Mission Subspecialty Surgery
(Red Service)
Haywood General Surgery Mission Subspecialty Surgery
(Yellow Service)
VAMC General Surgery
Site 1 1 5 1 3
% Outpatient 20 30 20 30 50
% Research 5 5 0 5 0

Faculty

Residents PGY5

Residents PGY4

Residents PGY3

Residents PGY2

Residents PGY1

Class of 2021

Harold Campbell, MD, MPH

Harold Campbell, MD, MPH

Fellowship: none

Employment: Frio Regional Hospital, Pearsall, Texas

Brian Charnock, MD

Brian Charnock, MD

Fellowship: none

Employment: Centra Lynchburg General Hospital, Lynchburg, VA

Marc Duverseau, MD

Marc Duverseau, MD

Fellowship: none

Employment: Newton Medical Center, Newton, Kansas

Danielle Fontaine, MD

Danielle Fontaine, MD

Fellowship: MAHEC Surgical Critical Care Fellowship

Employment: Mission Hospital, McDowell, Marion, NC

Class of 2022

Timothy “Tim” Merino, MD

Timothy “Tim” Merino, MD

Fellowship: Surgical Critical Care Fellowship, George Washington University, Washington, DC

Employment: Enloe Orthopedic & Trauma, Chico, CA

Rachel Morris, MD

Rachel Morris, MD

Fellowship: Surgical Critical Care Fellowship, Beth Isreal Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA

Employment: pending 2024 graduation

Andrew “Andy” O’Neill, MD

Andrew “Andy” O’Neill, MD

Fellowship: Jackson South Minimally Invasive Surgery Fellowship, Miami, FL

Employment: DelRay Medical Center, DelRay, FL

Sarah Waterman Manning, MD

Sarah Waterman Manning, MD

Fellowship: none

Employment: Copley Hospital, Morrisville, VT

Class of 2023

Matthew “Matt” Wagner, MD

Matthew “Matt” Wagner, MD

Fellowship: pending upon completion of 4 years of service with the U.S. Navy

Employment: U.S. Navy Service, Okinawa, Japan

Class of 2024

Keith Anderson, MD

Keith Anderson, MD

Fellowship: UT Knoxville Vascular Surgery

Employment: Pending 2026 Graduation

Kathryn “Katie” Decker, MD

Kathryn “Katie” Decker, MD

Fellowship: none

Employment: Southwestern Surgical Associates, San Antonio, TX

Einstein Juma, MD

Einstein Juma, MD

Fellowship: none

Employment: Cobre Valley Regional Medical Center, Globe, AZ

Ruth “Natalie” Reed, MD

Ruth “Natalie” Reed, MD

Fellowship: George Washington University/VA Minimally Invasive Surgery Fellowship

Employment: pending 2025 graduation

Oleg Ryabinin, MD

Oleg Ryabinin, MD

Fellowship: none

Employment: U.S. Navy (two-year commitment)

MAHEC Biltmore Campus

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MAHEC (Mountain Area Health Education Center) was established in 1974 and serves a 16-county region in Western North Carolina. MAHEC is the largest Area Health Education Center in North Carolina and evolved to address national and state concerns with the supply, retention, and quality of healthcare professionals. MAHEC’s approach to caring for patients is based on an advanced care team model. MAHEC's Biltmore campus houses residency training programs in family medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, general surgery, pharmacy, and dentistry.

MAHEC's Biltmore campus is also home to UNC Health Sciences at MAHEC, an academic health center in partnership with UNC-Chapel Hill that includes programs from the UNC School of Medicine, UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, and UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy.


Mission Hospital

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Mission Hospital is licensed for 815 beds. The emergency department has 100,000 patient visits per year, the level II trauma center admits 3,400 patients per year, and the helicopter transports more than 1,000 patients per year. Mission Children’s Hospital includes 130 beds with 60 board-certified pediatric subspecialists providing care in 23 different specialties. Mission Hospital surgery services includes eight critical-care-certified acute care surgeons, 11 subspecialty surgeons, two pediatric surgeons, and five vascular surgeons that provide the entire spectrum of patient care and surgical procedures. At more than 35,000 surgical procedures each year, Mission Hospital is the busiest surgical hospital in North Carolina.


The Charles George VA Medical Center

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The Charles George VA Medical Center is a Joint Commission-accredited, tertiary referral, 1C facility that provides a full spectrum of health services to Veterans residing in a 23-county area of Western North Carolina. The medical center has 119 authorized acute care beds (including a 16-bed inpatient psychiatric unit), two state-of-the-art ICUs, 120 authorized community living center (CLC) beds, and 18 beds authorized for a substance use residential rehabilitation treatment program. The medical center also operates community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs) in Franklin, Rutherford County, and Hickory, NC. The VA Medical Center currently has the resident spots available and the clinical volume to support four full-time surgical residents from our MAHEC program. Regarding colorectal cases, the VA Medical Center will provide the resident a valuable learning opportunity with four general surgeons performing approximately 100 colectomy cases per year.


Haywood Regional Medical Center

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Located in Waynesville, NC, only 29 miles from Asheville, sits Haywood Regional Medical Center. It will provide residents with additional experience in the skills needed to be a community-based surgeon.


University of North Carolina Hospitals

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200 miles east of Asheville is the University of North Carolina Hospitals System. Provided with the opportunity to work closely with the residents of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, our residents will perform their required burn and transplant rotation at this site.

IMPORTANT MESSAGE

Dear Residency Applicants,

Asheville is currently in a state of emergency following Hurricane Helene. We want to assure you that we are moving forward with our upcoming recruitment season and look forward to meeting each of you.

At MAHEC, responding to our community’s needs has always been a priority. Our immediate focus is the health and well-being of our community, patients, and residents, and we anticipate being fully operational by the next academic year - and most certainly sooner! We are confident that our program will continue to offer a strong and rewarding training experience as Asheville rebuilds and returns to full capacity.

To ensure everyone's safety and ease, we will continue to offer only virtual interviews this season. Our virtual interview system is well-established, as we’ve successfully used this structure for the past three years.

We are excited to share with you how our people, community, and many other aspects make MAHEC General Surgery a unique and exceptional place to train and grow. We look forward to connecting with you soon.

Sincerely,

Courtney Sommer, MD MPH FACS
Program Director, General Surgery Residency, MAHEC
Section Leader, General Surgery, Mission Hospital
Adjunct Assistant Professor, UNC SOM


Application Requirements

We invite you to apply to our program via the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS). We will review your application and contact you if we wish to invite you for an interview. Typically, our interview season runs from mid-October through mid-December.

A complete ERAS application is required, including:

  • Curriculum Vitae (CV)
  • Personal statement
  • Three letters of recommendation from faculty who have directly supervised clinical performance (at least one letter should be from a surgeon)
  • Medical school transcript(s)
  • Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE)
  • USMLE, COMLEX, or Canadian licensing exam scores (Step 1 required, Step 2 preferred)

Board Certification in General Surgery

Residents who complete the MAHEC General Surgery Residency are eligible to pursue board certification in general surgery through the American Board of Surgery. Please visit the ABS website for certification requirements.

Questions regarding the application process should be directed to the Residency Program Administrator at surgery@mahec.net.

Eligibility and Selection Criteria

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.

Minimum Requirements

An applicant must meet or exceed the following minimum qualification(s) to be eligible for selection and appointment to MAHEC’s GME residency programs:

  • Be a graduate of a medical school in the United States or Canada, accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME); or
  • Be a graduate of a college of osteopathic medicine in the United States, accredited by the American Osteopathic Association (AOA); or
  • Be a graduate of a non-LCME- or AOA-approved medical school who also meets one of the following additional qualifications:
    • holds a currently-valid certificate from the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) prior to appointment; or
    • holds a full and unrestricted license to practice medicine in a United States licensing jurisdiction in his or her current ACGME specialty/subspecialty program; or
    • has graduated from a medical school outside the United States and has completed a Fifth Pathway program provided by a LCME-accredited medical school.
  • Passed USMLE Steps 1 and 2 or COMLEX 1 and 2 within three attempts, as required by the North Carolina Medical Board.
  • Be eligible for a NC resident training license.
  • Be eligible to work in the U.S. (citizen, permanent resident, eligible visa including J1). MAHEC does not sponsor H1B or other visas.

VISA Sponsorship

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.

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