Release Date: Nov. 6, 2002
Eight new medical students at the
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) have received
appointments in the Community Match Program of the Rural Medical
Practice Student Loan and Scholarship Board.
The program will subsidize one or more years of the students'
medical education in exchange for their practicing primary care
- family medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology,
or pediatrics - in rural communities for the same number of
years after completing their medical training.
The students and the communities
where they have promised to practice are Elizabeth Eoff of
Arkadelphia (Harrison), Robin Forward of Camden (Magnolia), David
Geidl of Rogers (Clinton), Daniel Hardin of Heber Springs (Heber
Springs), Seth Hollenbach of Murfreesboro (Nashville), Giri
Srikanthan of Little Rock (Clinton), Alan Von Gremp of Rogers (Pea
Ridge), and Brad Walsh of Crossett (Crossett).
Yvonne L. Lewis, Ed.D., coordinator for the program, commented,
"The Community Match Program is a terrific opportunity for a
future physician to improve the health of rural Arkansans while
lessening the financial burden of attending the UAMS College of
Medicine."
The students join 90 others who have been community match
participants since the program's inception in 1998. The Arkansas
General Assembly funds the program.
Several participants have completed
their residencies, or advanced, medical training and are now
practicing in rural communities.
Kirk Coker, M.D., of Stuttgart, Ark., was a participant in the
Community Match Program and did his residency at the UAMS AHEC in
Pine Bluff. He commented recently, "The Community
Match Program is a win-win situation for all participants. Most
importantly, it places physicians into rural areas of the state
that may not otherwise be able to receive medical care. It also
provides the opportunity for people to go to medical school.
"I had a wonderful experience
at the AHEC in Pine Bluff. Although Pine Bluff isn't a rural
town, the patient population I served came from several
underprivileged rural areas in south Arkansas. When I entered
medical school at UAMS, I already knew that I wanted to go back to
my hometown of Stuttgart to practice. Working with the rural
population around Pine Bluff solidified my decision."
# # #
Contact:
Leslie W. Taylor
501-686-8998
Wireless phone: 501-951-7260
leslie@uams.edu
Elizabeth F. Shores
501-686-8394
ShoresElizabethF@uams.edu
UAMS
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