BELLE GLADE — Strength, courage, character, confidence and dignity. Those were the words of encouragement and guidance given to three new physician graduates of Lakeside Medical Center’s Family Medicine Residency Program.

Special to the Lake Okeechobee News
LMC Grads 2019 from left are: Ron Mathews, D.O., Roy Barski, D.O. and Kimala Harris, D.O.

“You have a tremendous opportunity to make a big impact on society,” said Duclos Dessalines, M.D., the keynote speaker at the graduation ceremony, which also welcomed five new residents to the medical program.

Dr. Dessalines, Pediatric Services director of the C.L. Brumback Primary Care Clinics, told graduating residents that during their residency they demonstrated, “hard work, sacrifice, dedication and commitment.”

Special to the Lake Okeechobee News
Duclos Dessalines, MD, (keynote speaker), Pediatric Services Director, C. L. Brumback Primary Care Clinics.

Nearly 90 family members and guests attended the June 17 event at the Wanderers Club in Wellington. Among the attendees were South Bay Mayor Joe Kyles and Dan Liftman, staff assistant to U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings.

Lakeside Medical Center in Belle Glade is an acute care facility and is Palm Beach County’s only rural teaching hospital. The residency program was established in 2011 and is now one of the few of its kind to focus on the health care needs of rural, underserved areas.

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Incoming residents and hospital leadership from left to right: Karen Harris, VP of Field Operations; Daniel Padron, DO, CPE, Chief Medical Officer; Alina Alonso, MD, Lakeside Health Advisory Board Member and Health Care District Board Member; Benjamin Kosubevsky, DO, incoming resident; Jennifer Dorce-Medard, DO, Family Medicine Residency Program Director; Anna McClain, DO, incoming resident; William Draper, DO, incoming resident; Jess Grieb, DO, incoming resident; Thy Bui, DO, incoming resident; Bryan Dawkins, MD, Family Medicine Residency Program Assistant Director; Joe-Ann Hyppolite, Family Medicine Residency Program Operations Coordinator; and Janet Moreland, APRN, MSN, LHRM, hospital administrator.

The three graduates, Roy Barski, D.O., Kimala Harris, D.O. and Ron Mathews, D.O., completed a rigorous three-year curriculum that included rotations in emergency medicine, women’s health care, pediatrics, psychiatry, general surgery, internal medicine, community and sports medicine, cardiology, dermatology, women’s health, radiology, orthopedics, ENT, urology, ophthalmology and critical care.

“We see high-acuity patients with seven or nine diagnoses, which you wouldn’t normally see in other residency programs,” said Dr. Barski, chief resident, who plans to practice in South Florida. “It’s a more nurturing learning environment and you become part of the community.”

“One of the best parts is the bond I’ve formed with my co-residents,” said Dr. Harris, who plans to work in an outpatient setting in South Florida. “I’ve unofficially adopted both to form a family for life.”

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James T. Howell, MD, MPH, Assistant Dean of Professional Relations and Professor of Public Health at Nova Southeastern University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine.

“We treat a lot of complex cases,” said Dr. Mathews, whose nickname is “Dr. IT” because of his skill in clinical informatics. “Just like an onion, you’re peeling away many layers of conditions that our patients face to get to the bottom of it.”

“Never stop learning,” said Jennifer Dorcé-Medard, D.O., Family Medicine Residency Program director at Lakeside Medical Center.

Dr. Dorcé-Medard also urged the graduates not to forget that having a “positive and welcoming attitude is medication one can offer every patient.”

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A group shot from left to right: Kenneth Scheppke, MD, Director of Emergency Services; Alina Alonso, MD, Lakeside Health Advisory Board Member; Belma Andrić, MD, MPH, VP, Chief Medical Officer & Executive Director of Clinic Services; Jennifer Dorcé-Medard, DO, Family Medicine Residency Program Director; and Seneca Harberger, MD, Family Medicine Physician, C. L. Brumback Primary Care Clinics.

Following the ceremony, the three graduates took part in coating the program’s five incoming residents: Thy Bui, D.O., William Draper, D.O., Jesse Grieb, D.O., Benjamin Kosubevsky, D.O. and Anna McClain, D.O.

Karen Harris, the Health Care District’s vice president of field operations, hosted the seventh annual graduation. Harris introduced James T. Howell, MD, MPH, assistant dean of Professional Relations and Professor Public Health at Nova Southeastern University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine who helped establish the residency program at the hospital.

Dr. Howell, urged the residents not to forget the “soul part” of medicine. “Patients,” he said, “are more than just a medical chart.”

The Family Medicine Residency Program is funded by a grant from the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration. The program’s academic and community partners include Nova Southeastern University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine and the Florida Department of Health for Palm Beach County.

For more information about Lakeside Medical Center, which is owned by the Health Care District of Palm Beach County, visit lakesidemedical.org or call 561-996-6571.