January 2024

Our required Family Medicine Clerkship for URSMD students has entered its third year. Dr. Elizabeth Brown, FM Clerkship Director and DFM Director of Medical Student education, has assembled a team of outstanding family physician preceptors, including faculty from Jordan Health (Woodward and Brown Square sites), URMC Primary Care Network (including Monroe, Other counties…), and Department of Family Medicine/HFM faculty. This group of 80 family physicians has taught over 4000 medical student hours during academic year 2022-23!

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Colleen T. Fogarty, MD, M.Sc., FAAFP; William Rocktaschel Professor; Chair, Department of

Family Medicine

David C. Holub, MD, project director, and Family Medicine Residency program director, and Alex Doucette, education administrator and project manager

A three-year $750K HRSA grant to the University of Rochester Medical Center will support the training of Family Medicine residents in a rural setting and help increase access to Family Medicine and Obstetrics for historically marginalized and low-income rural residents and all women of reproductive age in Allegany, Livingston, Steuben and Wyoming counties.

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Lisa Denmark (2020-2021), Amy Mayfield (2020-2021), Carissa Singh (clinical director 2021), Luzann Ampadu (academic director 2021) are shown at NPA Annual Conference 2022

The University of Rochester Highland Family Medicine Family Nurse Practitioner Residency Program has been awarded $2.4 million via the Advanced Nurse Education - Nurse Practitioner Residency Fellowship (ANE-NPRF) grant by HRSA. In combination with the support of Highland Family Medicine, Tri-County Family Medicine, HRSA and their clinical partners at the University of Rochester School of Nursing, this will allow the expansion and enhancement of the FNP Residency Program. In addition, this will enable the continued training of more Family Nurse Practitioners to practice in underserved settings by gaining the skills required to meet the needs of culturally diverse and clinically complex patients. 

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Highland Hospital and the Department of Family Medicine recently bid farewell to Brenda Houtenbrink, Senior Program Administrator, UR Department of Family Medicine and Highland Family Medicine. Brenda served in her current role since February 2020 and prior to that as Program Administrator, Chief of Operations - Flaum Eye Institute, University of Rochester.

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Brenda Houtenbrink

Anne Nofziger, MD, ‘00, grew up in a small town in Southern Indiana, where primary care was a huge need, and her father was a valued family physician. “Everyone knew my family or had a story to tell us about a family member's care,” she said. When she was choosing a specialty, Dr. Nofziger wanted to have the same continuity with generations of families and help them reach their health goals. She has been a devoted family medicine physician for close to 30 years and now serves as Associate Chair, University of Rochester Department of Family Medicine.

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Anne Nofziger, MD

Shifra Mincer, MD and Jackie Grode, MD

During her second year as a UR Department of Family Medicine resident, Shifra Mincer, MD, was inspired to form the Family Medicine Journal Club to nurture lifelong learning throughout the department. Faculty, residents, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, and others throughout the department meet in person and by Zoom at noon every other Friday to discuss current journal articles and evidence based medicine. “Academics and learning are so important to us in health care,” said Dr. Mincer, who hails from New York City and came to the residency program after receiving her medical degree from SUNY Downstate, “and it’s an added bonus that we approach these articles as an interdisciplinary group.”

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Family Medicine residents enjoyed a sunny afternoon of games, crafts, and Abbott's Frozen Custard at Ontario Beach Park for their Fall Residency Retreat. Thanks to the inpatient Highland Hospital teams for providing coverage so that more of our residents could spend time bonding and relaxing together.

Front row L to R: Meghan Connor (R1), Monica Sharma (R1), T-Rae Chu (R3), Ronin (dog), Jackie Grode (R2), Kalyani Sonarikar (R2), Christine Ly (R2), Katherine Hausrath (R1), Julia Norton (R2), Yoni Abres (R3), Maggie (dog)

Back row L to R: Nick Antos (R3), Shea Kelly-Buckley (R1), PK Batth (R1), Adriane Spiro (R1), Sheema Shabahang (R3), Sarah Lichenstein (R3), Emily Triplett (R3), Megan Taggart (R3), Basim Ahmad (R1), Gabby Capone (R1), Katie Klapheke (R1), Kay Timmireddy (R3), Matt Sears (R2)

Mackenzie Palmer medical student at University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, has been awarded a 2024 STFM Foundation Student Scholarship from the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM) to participate in the 2024 STFM Conference on Medical Student Education. This highly competitive scholarship is awarded to some of the best and brightest medical students from across the country. In addition to recognizing a strong commitment to academic family medicine through scholastic, volunteer, and leadership pursuits, this award acknowledges the recipient’s strong potential for a career in academic medicine. Only 23 awards were given for 2024. 

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Maternal Child Health Departmental Fellowship

Class of 2023 Graduates and incoming OB Fellows

Fellows Graduated July 2023:

• Hannah Economos, DO, Surgical Fellow
• Jolie Cooperman, MD, Advanced Obstetrics Track Fellow  

Fellows Graduated November 2023:

• Sarah Watler, MD, Surgical Fellow 
• Andrew Shaw, DO, Advanced Obstetrics Track Fellow

New Maternal Child Health Departmental OB Fellows

Surgical Fellows:

• Erin Wheeler, MD, MPH, from UICOMP Family Medicine Residency in Peoria, IL
• Katherine Price, MD, from University of Massachusetts Family Medicine Residency in Worcester, MA

Advanced Obstetrics Track Fellows

• Carmen Purvis, MD, from Saint Louis University School of Medicine Family Community Medicine Residency Saint Louis, MO
• Amber Milward, MD, MHA, from Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center in Niagara Falls, New York

The program is lead by Sarah Tiggelaar, MD, CLC, FAAFP Director and Alissa Correll, MD, Associate Director

Here is a sample of recent publications from members of the University of Rochester Department of Family Medicine:



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Local children pose with Department of Family Medicine delegation

Front row: Shea Kelly-Buckley, Ryan Cummings, Paulet Fugon, Leo Iglesias

Back row: Ronald Roseman, Ana Rivera, Diego Fugon, Doug Stockman, Melissa Rivera, Roger Carroll, Barbara Gawinski, Phil Stern, Yoni Abres

The Global Health Track of the UR Family Medicine Residency program prepares highly motivated and accomplished residents to care for underserved populations anywhere in the world. Each Fall and Spring residents travel along with other physicians, staff and volunteers to a rural community called San Jose, San Marcos de la Sierra in the Southwestern state of Intibuca, Honduras to help meet the needs of the community. Here are some photos from Doug Stockman, MD, Director, Global and Refugee Health.

Ryan and Shea placing fluoride varnish on school children’s teeth. 

Yoni applying varnish on a child’s teeth, with interpreter Leo helping.

Bus with group heading to San Jose full of enough supplies to last 12 days.

Dr. Stockman remarked that this was the most amazing sunset he had ever seen. It was raining out and the clouds were just right that half the sky appeared to be on fire with the bright orange glow.