Adventist Health Honors First Residents in White Coat Ceremony

The first six Family Medicine Residents in Mendocino County have arrived and were honored Saturday, June 15 with a white coat and stethoscope ceremony during the Music is Medicine event at Mendocino College. This ceremony kicks off the inaugural group that will begin a three-year residency with the Adventist Health Mendocino County Family Medicine Residency Program.

In the fall of 2016, Adventist Health Ukiah Valley received institutional accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) to become an official teaching hospital. In 2017 the hospital, together with UC Davis, submitted the Family Medicine Residency Program application to ACGME and, in 2018, the ACGME accredited the Adventist Health Ukiah Valley Family Medicine Residency Program.

"This is a very exciting time for the healthcare community of Ukiah and Mendocino county as a whole. We have six very talented young doctors who are going to be moving to Ukiah and will bring with them their passions and unique skillsets to benefit the entire community. And the best part of all? We get to do this again each June as we welcome another class of six doctors, eager to move to Ukiah and start building their practice,” says Chris Deuel, Family Medicine Residency Program Director.

This cohort of residents bring with them a varied and impressive background. Jeffrey Baitis, MD, received his medical degree from OHSU with a special interest in population health. John Lee, MD, also received his medical degree from OHSU with a special interest in primary care/psychiatry. Joshua Levy, MD, received his medical degree from UC Irvine with a special interest in primary care/psychiatry. Caitlin Raymond, MD, PhD received her PhD from Mills College and medical degree from the University of Massachusetts with a special interest in primary care/psychiatry. Hayley Rousek, MD, received her BS in biochemistry & molecular biology as well as her medical degree from UC Davis with a special interest in obstetrics. Lastly, Shamsher Singh, MD, comes to us from UC Davis with a special interest in primary care/psychiatry.

Residents will begin their first year with hospital-based training in the Sacramento area and at UC Davis focusing on adult medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics, emergency medicine and critical care. The second and third years of their residency will be spent locally in Mendocino and Lake Counties completing their full scope primary care training.

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Adventist Health Ukiah Valley is part of Adventist Health, a faith-based, nonprofit integrated health system serving more than 80 communities on the West Coast and Hawaii. Founded on Seventh-day Adventist heritage and values, Adventist Health provides care in hospitals, clinics, home care agencies, hospice agencies and joint-venture retirement centers in both rural and urban communities. Our compassionate and talented team of 35,000 includes associates, medical staff physicians, allied health professionals and volunteers driven in pursuit of one mission: living God's love by inspiring health, wholeness and hope. Together, we are transforming the American healthcare experience with an innovative, yet timeless, whole-person focus on physical, mental, spiritual and social healing.