In 2021, the University of Rochester Department of Family Medicine Maternal Child Fellowship was awarded a 5 year, $2.7 million HRSA grant to focus on rural maternity care. The Fellowship has a longstanding partnership with the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) OB/GYN Department and Highland Hospital in Rochester; and the HRSA grant expanded to partner with the interprofessional team at Jones Memorial Hospital in Wellsville, NY, to integrate clinical experiences in various settings including in hospital and outpatient clinics in the Southern Tier.
Jones Memorial Hospital is a 49-bed rural hospital affiliated with URMC, located approximately an hour and 45 minutes south of Rochester. Fellows rotate for 4-8 weeks, in 4 week blocks. Jones Memorial Hospital Birthing Center has six birthing suites and approximately 350 deliveries per year.
"Our focus in the fellowship is to train family physicians with the skills needed to provide high-quality full spectrum care in rural areas, " says Dawn Pruett, MD, who has served as Director of the MCH Fellowship since 2020 and is Project Director for the HSRA grant. Alissa Correll, MD, serves as Associate Fellowship Director and leads the connection with the Wellsville team. The grant allowed the fellowship to expand from 2 to 4 fellows annually, and to develop an Advanced Obstetrics track alongside the Surgically focused track, which has existed for decades.
Recently, Jolie Cooperman, MD, an MCH fellow on the Advanced Obstetrics track, completed a 4 week rotation in Wellsville. “The relationship between the patient and clinician had a certain level of comfort that was remarkable to me – you’re taking care of your neighbor. It allows for the experience to be really individualized.” Dr. Cooperman has accepted a full-spectrum Family Medicine position at an underserved clinic in California following her graduation in July 2023.
Hannah Economos, DO, will also graduate this July. With her surgically-focused training, she will practice at a full-spectrum family medicine, including cesarean deliveries, in Pennsylvania.
The fellowship looks forward to 2 additional fellows graduating in November 2023, and has recruited 4 fellows for the 2023-2024 year. Leadership of the fellowship will transition this summer, when Sarah Tiggelaar, MD will become Director of the fellowship in July.