Laredo Medical Center Welcomes the Fourth Cohort of Residents for Family Medicine and Internal Medicine
7/6/2021
Laredo Medical Center and its academic partner, the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW), introduced the fourth cohort of the LMC Family Medicine and Internal Medicine Residency Programs on Wednesday, June 23.
A standing-room-only audience was on hand to witness the ceremony, which included hospital board of trustees, administration and staff. Also present were officials from outpatient training partner Gateway Community Health Center, members of the medical community and stakeholders.
The fourth cohort—consisting of 10 Family Medicine Residents and eight Internal Medicine Residents—was formally welcomed during a White Coat Ceremony held at LMC’s main entrance foyer. As part of the traditional ceremony, each resident was introduced and received their white lab coat to signal their start in the three-year-long residency program. The residents begin their residency on Monday, July 1.
Launched in July 2018, the Laredo Medical Center Residency programs are the city’s only Graduate Medical Education programs that came to fruition after several years of collaboration with the Texas Institute for Graduate Medical Education and the University of the Incarnate Word School of Osteopathic Medicine (UIWSOM). The new residents will join the current 30 residents for the 2021-2022 year with a total of 48 residents being enrolled.
“Laredo Medical Center is excited to welcome and bring a fourth cohort of residents onboard,” said Jorge Leal, FACHE, Chief Executive Officer. “Our goal is to recruit the very best residents from each program and support those who choose to stay in Laredo to build their private practice and serve our community.”
Leal added that the fourth cohort of residents includes three Laredoans.
“We are pleased that LMC’s Residency Programs are opening a much-needed opportunity for Laredoans to stay closer to home to fulfill their dreams in the medical profession,” Leal said.
The residency programs are accredited by the American College of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and the American Osteopathic Association (AOA).
During the ceremony, a group of seven medical students from their School of Osteopathic Medicine were introduced. These individuals are third-year medical students who will be performing their clinical rotations for the next two years at LMC with the potential to later join as residents themselves.
The Family Medicine Resident Physicians are Emerson Fillippa, D.O.; Mario Flores, M.D.; Mercedez Hernandez, M.D.; Murtuza Khan, D.O.; Hannah Morales, D.O.; Pablo Martinez, M.D.; Nereyda Ochoa-Jacob, M.D.; Katelyn Smith, D.O.; Adrian Villarreal, D.O.; and David Catano, M.D..
The Internal Medicine Resident Physicians are Ngozi Ajoku, D.O.; Joseph Belanger, D.O.; Lizbeth Fraticelli Rentero, M.D.; Victor Li Mandri, D.O.; Antony Mancheril, M.D.; Marco Fernando Passeri, M.D.; Rashid Qureshi, M.D.; and Margarita Valdez Cuadra, M.D..
The Medical Students are Harold Averill IV, Edith Gonzalez-Godinez, Raudel E. Guerra, Christopher Lancaster, Nathan Nguyen, Lauren Tooman and Yesenia Veils.
For more information about LMC’s residencies, visit www.tigmer.com/lmc-main or call (956) 796-3223.
Laredo Medical Center welcomed the fourth cohort of the LMC Family Medicine and Internal Medicine Residency Program on June 23. They are joined by hospital leadership and residency partners, faculty, program directors and staff.
Laredo Medical Center also welcomed a group of seven medical students, pictured with Laredo Medical Center CEO Jorge Leal (right) and outpatient training partner Gateway Community Health Center CEO Elmo Lopez Jr. (left).
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