Doctors head to Mission Valley

Lake County Leader 

Three of five new medical doctors who will graduate this month from the University of Montana’s inaugural class of family physicians are headed to Polson and Ronan.

The new doctors will care for Montanans in rural and underserved areas, ushering in a new phase for the Family Medicine Residency of Western Montana. In July 2013, the program welcomed its inaugural class of 10 residents, and this month the program will celebrate its first graduating class.

The three-year, intensive training program prepares family physicians to practice effectively in rural and underserved areas in Montana. Of the first class to graduate, five out of the 10 family physicians already have accepted employment in Montana and will work in rural and underserved areas.

T.J. Sherry and Scot Swanson are headed to Polson and Megan Svec will be employed in Ronan.

When the residency program began, Montana ranked 50th in the nation for graduate medical education per capital. The creation of the Family Medicine Residency of Western Montana more than doubled the number of family medicine physicians being trained in Montana each year and is expected to have a significant impact on the state’s shortage of primary care doctors in rural communities

The program’s three sponsoring hospitals in western Montana include Kalispell Regional Healthcare, Providence St. Patrick Hospital and Community Medical Center in Missoula. Residents are involved in continuity clinic training in Missoula and Kalispell.