PeaceHealth | Southwest health | Winter 2017

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W. WARREN WE LDON recently made a bequest in
memory of his late wife, Betty, to create the Betty J. and W.
Warren Weldon Fund benefiting the Residency Program at
PeaceHealth Family Medicine of Southwest Washington.
The gift honors Marilyn Darr, MD, a physician in the
Family Medicine Program.
Weldon was inspired to make the gift because of the excellent
care his late wife received at PeaceHealth Southwest.
“The Residency Program will grow and educate residents
well into the future,” says David Ruiz, MD, the program’s
director. “I am humbled by Mr. Weldon’s incredible
generosity.”
About the Residency Program
Since 1995, PeaceHealth Southwest has been a training site
for University of Washington family medicine residents.
This community-based program provides resident physicians
with a broad spectrum of training that focuses on meeting
the needs of the underserved.
More than 800 applications are received each year from
recent medical school graduates for eight first-year resident
positions, according to Dr. Ruiz.
“Because the program is so competitive, we are able to
attract the cream of the crop,” he says. “Our association
with the University of Washington, which has one of the
finest medical schools in the country, is a real feather in
PeaceHealth Southwest’s cap.”
There are 24 residents studying in three, eight-member
cohorts. The ultimate goal of the program is to train superior
family physicians, as judged by successful certification by the
American Board of Family Medicine.
The residents provide care for patients at the Family
Medicine of Southwest Washington clinic, located at
PeaceHealth’s Memorial Health Center. More than
82 percent of the clinic’s patients are Medicaid, Medicare,
or underinsured.
The program’s 25 faculty members are drawn from a wide
range of specialties, including family medicine, obstetrics,
behavioral science, cardiology, pharmacy, and sports
medicine. PeaceHealth Southwest is the only hospital in
the PeaceHealth system that is involved in the training of
resident physicians.
“We provide our residents with 21st-century medical
skills combined with timeless family medicine core values,”
says Dr. Ruiz. These values include an emphasis on serving
the community through an interdisciplinary approach to
population health.
There have been 126 graduates of the family medicine
residency program to date. According to Dr. Ruiz, 60 percent
have opted to continue their practice in the Portland-
Vancouver area after their training, and 30 of them have
remained in Clark County.
“There is a growing need for family medicine physicians,”
says Dr. Ruiz. “Having a residency program at PeaceHealth
Southwest is a real boon to this area. Once the residents
experience the quality of life in our community, they often
don’t want to leave.”
Planned gifts help health care thrive
Throughout the years, private gifts have helped expand and
enhance the Family Medicine of Southwest Washington
clinic. The recent bequest commitment from the Weldons
will help ensure that the clinic and its residency program
thrive for years to come.
You are invited to join the Weldons and other members of
the Columbia Society by recognizing PeaceHealth Southwest
in your estate plan. Your planned gift will help ensure a bright
future for those who need health care in our community.
Download our FREE Personal Estate Planning
kit. Visit
wills-and-living-trusts.
Donor creates fund to
benefit Residency Program
Cascade
Society
dinner
When: Wednesday,
May 31, 5:30 p.m.
Where: Vancouver Hilton
Info: PeaceHealth Southwest
Foundation’s annual
Cascade Society dinner. The
Cascade Society comprises
donors who have made a
gift of $1,000 or more in
the previous calendar year.
If you’d like to join
the Cascade Society,
contact Alison Lazareck
at 360-514-3634 or
SAVE THE DATE!
Residents graduating in 2016 from the Residency
Program at PeaceHealth Family Medicine of
Southwest Washington
D O N O R - S U P P O R T E D
Jennifer Wilkerson
Major Gifts Officer
PeaceHealth Southwest Medical
Center Foundation
PO Box 1600
Vancouver, WA
360-514-3314
360-514-3106
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