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Medical students to begin clinical rotations in January, with new family practice residency program to follow in July

The Lake Erie Consortium for Osteopathic Medical Training (LECOMT) announced today that it has added Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center to its network of affiliated teaching hospitals with accredited residency programs.

In addition, the medical center announced its family practice residency program has been accredited by the American Osteopathic Association and will immediately begin interviewing physician applicants for admission to the three-year program in July 2010.

“Today’s announcement reaffirms Niagara Falls Memorial’s mission to continue as the only post-doctorate medical education teaching hospital in Niagara County,” Memorial President & CEO Joseph A. Ruffolo said. “This program will serve as a conduit to attract, train and nurture talented physicians and assure quality medical care in our community for generations to come.”

Memorial President Joseph Ruffolo announces affiliation with LECOMT.

Don McLean, MS, the program’s director of behavioral science, said Memorial’s LECOMT affiliation also will help the medical center address a critical community need.

“This part of Western New York has been declared a HPSA or health professional shortage area,” McLean said. “By having a residency program, we can meet the shortage by attracting more primary care physicians to the area.”

Michael P. Rowane, DO, MS, FAAFP, FAAO, chairman of the board for the Lake Erie Consortium for Osteopathic Medical Training (LECOMT), noted the importance of developing post-graduate medical training sites.

“The LECOM administration has a commitment to osteopathic medical education. Creating and developing post-graduate sites for new residents is essential,” said Dr. Rowane, an associate clinical professor of family medicine and psychiatry at Case Western Reserve University and the director of medical education at University Hospitals Richmond Medical Center in Ohio.

In addition to training resident physicians, Niagara Falls Memorial will also serve as a clinical training site for third- and fourth -year medical students from the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, which has campuses in Erie, Pa., Greensburg, Pa., and Bradenton, Fla. Beginning in January, qualified third and fourth year LECOM students will perform clinical rotations and receive valuable first-hand experience while observing and working alongside physician mentors at the Niagara Falls hospital.

Those students will be housed at Memorial and perform rotations in internal medicine, surgery, OB/GYN, psychiatry, emergency medicine, ambulatory family practice, cardiology, nephrology, neurology, radiology and urology.

The Osteopathic Family Practice Residency Program at Memorial is directed by Laurie L. Kilbury-Taylor, DO, a graduate of the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine in Old Westbury, N.Y. Dr. Kilbury-Taylor, who completed a dual residency program in Emergency Medicine and Family Practice at St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx, holds board certifications from both the American Osteopathic Board of Family Physicians and the American Osteopathic Board of Emergency Medicine.

LECOM Associate Dean of Clinical Education Dennis Agostini, DO, discusses the family practice residency program with Memorial CEO Joseph Ruffolo and Residency Director Laurie Kilbury-Taylor, DO.

“As the only residency program at Memorial, our program offers a broad range of in-depth training and experience to qualifying post-graduate physicians,” Dr. Kilbury-Taylor said. “A designated safety net hospital such as ours serves a diverse patient population with significant medical needs, so our residents will see it all.”

Over the next three years, the program will grow to include four first-year, four second-year and four third-year residents.

Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center has been training post-graduate family practice resident physicians for more than 30 years. Its program’s faculty members are interested in research and have published in the areas of patient safety, residency training and working with underserved populations, Dr. Kilbury-Taylor noted.

Besides treating patients at the medical center and the Hamilton B. Mizer Primary Care Center, family practice residents will utilize Memorial’s mobile clinic to provide care to migrant workers at nearby farms and will see patients at the Niagara University Health Clinic and Tuscarora Indian Reservation Health Center.

About LECOM: The Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine and LECOM School of Pharmacy offer innovative and affordable education in osteopathic medicine and pharmacy. From campuses in Erie, Pa., Greensburg, Pa., and Bradenton, Fla., LECOM provides student-centered pathways to prepare the next generation of healthcare professionals. For more information, please visit http://www.lecom.edu.

About LECOMT: Lake Erie Consortium for Osteopathic Medical Trainingprovides interns and residents with a variety of internship and residency programs. Post-doctoral programs are available at LECOMT affiliated hospitals in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, Michigan, Indiana, and New York. For more information, please call (814) 866-8136 or visit http://lecom.edu/phys_lecomt.php.

About Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center: Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center is a full-service, 183-bed medical center with extensive inpatient and outpatient services including The Heart Center of Niagara, Diabetes & Endocrinology Center of Niagara and University Sports Medicine of Niagara. To learn more, please visit www.nfmmc.org.