Tallahassee Memorial Family Medicine Residency Program Celebrates 50 Years

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (May 4, 2023) – This year, Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare’s (TMH) Family Medicine Residency Program is celebrating 50 years of training family medicine physicians and providing compassionate primary and specialty care to the Big Bend region.

Since 1973, the program has trained nearly 445 physicians, many of whom have continued to provide care locally and regionally upon completing the program. Of those, 288 still practice in Florida, and 14 are currently employed as hospitalists at TMH.

“Amid a nationwide physician shortage, TMH is committed to expanding local access to healthcare through graduate medical education,” said Dean Watson, MD, Vice President & Chief Integration Officer at TMH. “Because many doctors continue to practice where they complete their residency programs, it is crucial for us to attract and retain talented residents in this region.”

TMH’s Family Medicine Residency Program trains physicians following their graduation from medical school, providing in-depth, hands-on training within the specialized field of family medicine.

Residents and faculty within the program care for patients in the hospital and the program’s outpatient clinic. With more than 60 healthcare providers, the program is the largest primary care provider in Northwest Florida, offering expert medical care for the whole family, with services spanning from obstetrics and pediatrics to adult and geriatric medicine.

“We have trained physicians from all over the world, bringing a diverse array of talent and expertise here to Tallahassee,” said Joseph Mazziotta, MD, Program Director of the Family Medicine Residency Program. “Our residents are passionate about providing accessible, equitable care and play a key role in supporting the health, not only of our Leon County community, but of our neighboring communities as well.”

To celebrate its impact over the last 50 years, the Family Medicine Residency Program recently hosted an anniversary reunion at Goodwood Museum & Gardens. Nearly 200 guests — current and former residents, faculty and more — gathered to reconnect, share memories, recognize accomplishments and explore the future of the program.

“I am very pleased with how this residency program prepared me for my career as a confident family medicine provider at a busy rural outpatient clinic,” remarked one guest, Alexandra Wright, MD, a recent graduate of the Family Medicine Residency Program at TMH who now practices at TMH Physician Partners – Primary Care in Quincy. “I can’t wait to see what the next 50 years holds for this program and the region.”

Among its accomplishments, the Family Medicine Residency Program at TMH is a recognized leader in research and best practices in patient care, with seven providers having won Florida Family Physician of the Year awards, including one this past December.

The Family Medicine Residency Program is also host to the Alexander D. Brickler, MD Fellowship in Obstetrics, a two-year program designed to offer additional training for family doctors in the practice of advanced obstetrics. Notably, this fellowship program was awarded a $2.9 million grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration in 2021 to expand its maternal health services outreach in the Big Bend region’s underserved rural communities over the next five years.

TMH recently announced a partnership with Florida State University to develop an academic health center that will house the future expansion of this and other residency programs.

To learn more about the Tallahassee Memorial Family Medicine Residency Program, please visit TMH.ORG/FMRP.

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About Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare

Founded in 1948, Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare (TMH) is a private, nonprofit community healthcare system committed to transforming care, advancing health, and improving lives with an ultimate vision to elevate the standards of healthcare practice, quality and innovation in the region. Serving a 21-county area in North Florida and South Georgia, TMH is comprised of a 772-bed acute care hospital, a surgery and adult ICU center, a psychiatric hospital, multiple specialty care centers, three residency programs, 38 affiliated physician practices and partnerships with Alliant Management Services, Apalachee Center, Calhoun Liberty Hospital, Capital Health Plan, Doctors’ Memorial Hospital, Florida State University College of Medicine, Radiology Associates, Weems Memorial Hospital and Wolfson Children’s Hospital. For more information, visit TMH.ORG.