Following a graduation ceremony at Lanier Technical College Ramsey Conference Center and an awards banquet in downtown Gainesville celebrating the end of the academic year, the first 19 resident physicians trained at Northeast Georgia Medical Center (NGMC) are moving on to the next step in their careers. A total of seven are staying in the state of Georgia, including five who will remain in Hall County to continue improving the health of the community.
From the inaugural class who began their training at NGMC in 2019, eight have been accepted into fellowship programs, five of the graduates are practicing in Hall County this year, and the remaining six will begin working in various health systems around the country.
“To have eight residents going into highly competitive fellowship programs is a tremendous number,” says Internal Medicine Residency Program Director, Dr. James Kruer. “It speaks to the caliber of our training and how NGMC residents are competitive in the Match and in all areas of internal medicine. The five residents that have decided to stay in our community to treat patients says a lot about Gainesville, Hall County, and our patient population – all of which they have grown to love. NGMC has prepared them well, they are ready.”
The 2022 graduates and their career plans include:
Alex M. Adams, DO
Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship | Northeast Georgia Medical Center
Gainesville, GA
Moaz Ahmad, MD
Hospitalist | Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center
Poplar Bluff, MO
Nayab Ahmed, MD
Pulmonary/Critical Care Fellowship | SUNY
Syracuse, NY
Yusuf O. Alimi, MD
Nocturnist | Parkland Medical Center
Farmington, MO
Vidya Baleguli, MD
Nocturnist | Atrium Health Navicent Medical Center
Macon, GA
Ryan D. Berry, MD
Primary Care Physician | Longstreet Clinic
Gainesville, GA
Young Min Cho, MD
Rheumatology Fellowship | Zucker Medical School
New York, NY
Nazmul Hasan Choudhury, DO
Hospice & Palliative Care Fellowship | University of Missouri-Columbia
Columbia, MO
Shivang Danak, MD
Hematology/Oncology Fellowship | University of Florida
Gainesville, FL
Ahmer Festok, DO
Daytime Hospitalist | Franciscan Health
Crown Point, IN
Wesley M. Field, MD
4th Chief Resident | University of Alabama-Montgomery
Montgomery, AL
Martin Herrera, DO
Pulmonary/Critical Care Fellowship | Allegheny General Hospital
Pittsburg, PA
Aman “Amy” Kapoor, DO
Hospitalist | Northeast Georgia Physicians Group
Gainesville, GA
Riaz Mahmood, DO
Chief Resident for Research | Northeast Georgia Medical Center
Gainesville, GA
Robert O. Oberman, DO
Hospitalist | Grandview Medical Center
Birmingham, AL
Tariq Y. Odeh, MD
Chief Resident | Northeast Georgia Medical Center
Gainesville, GA
Shahraiz S. Rizvi, MD
Hospitalist | University of Alabama-Montgomery
Montgomery, AL
William P. Russell, DO
Infectious Disease Fellowship | Tulane University
New Orleans, LA
Sameena H. Salcin, MD
Pulmonary/Critical Care Fellowship | Medical College of Georgia
Augusta, GA
Rachana Mendpara, MD
Pulmonary/Critical Care | University of Kentucky
Lexington, KY
Faculty and residents were also honored at an annual awards banquet that recognizes scholarly and personal accomplishments and celebrates the end of the academic year. Award winners include:
- Most Promising Intern Researcher: Sheena Bhushan, MD
- Most Promising Senior Researcher: Young Min Cho, MD
- Faculty Research Mentor of the Year: Rami Arfoosh, MD
- Resident Researcher of the Year: Oluseyi Abidoye, MD
- Community Engagement Award: Celine Fadel, DO
- Overcoming Adversity Award: Young Min Cho, MD
- Excellence in Education Faculty Awards:
Michele Poole Kelly, CNM, MSN – Family Medicine
Matthew Vassy, MD – General Surgery
Franklin Fontem, MD and Idopise Umana, MD – Internal Medicine - Outstanding Residents of the Year:
Allie Angel, MD – Family Medicine
Michael Stolz, MD – General Surgery
Martin Herrera, DO – Internal Medicine
“Our health system and our patients have come to rely on our residents, especially over the past two years due to the pandemic,” says John E. Delzell, Jr., MD, MSPH, vice president of Medical Education for Northeast Georgia Health System and Designated Institutional Official for NGMC. “We’re accomplishing our goal of adding excellent new doctors to care for our community for generations to come. I’m so excited to see all that they will accomplish in the future.”
NGMC is working to expand to more than 200 residents across five specialties – internal medicine, family medicine, general surgery, emergency medicine, and psychiatry – by 2024. That will make NGMC one of the largest graduate medical education programs in the state. The idea is to train the physician leaders of tomorrow right here in Hall County, so that they will stay to practice in this region and the state.
Learn more about NGMC’s residency programs at www.ngmcgme.org.
About Northeast Georgia Medical Center
Since 1951, Northeast Georgia Medical Center (NGMC) has been on a mission of improving the health of our community in all we do. With hospitals located in Gainesville, Braselton, Winder and Dahlonega, the four NGMC campuses have a total of more than 700 beds and more than 1,200 medical staff members representing more than 50 specialties. NGMC is part of Northeast Georgia Health System, a non-profit that cares for more than one million people across more than 19 counties. Learn more at www.nghs.com.