Webster completes residency rotation at CHC

Dr. Greg Webster of the University of California San Francisco Pediatric Residency Program recently completed a one-month residency rotation at the Commonwealth Health Center.

The residency program was funded by the Larry L. Hillblom Foundation, through a grant application that the Department of Public Health submitted in 2004.

“Dr. Webster did an outstanding job and had a busy schedule,” said Dr. Richard Brostrom, one of supervising physicians at the DPH.

Assisting with clinic, Webster also rotated through the hospital seeing patients admitted to CHC and also spent some time at the two outlying clinics in San Antonio and San Roque.

In the grant application, Public Health Secretary Dr. James U. Hofschneider said that a major barrier to providing quality healthcare in the Commonwealth Health Center is the lack of doctors and other primary care providers in the community. The hope is that the Hillblom Pacific Resident Training Program will help address and mitigate this barrier.

“In an attempt to improve future recruitment and retention and at the same time provide a valuable clinical experience for senior [final year] medical and pediatric residents [physicians in training], the CHC has proposed a partnership with the Larry L. Hillblom Inc. and the University of California at San Francisco’s School of Medicine,” said Hofschneider. “Senior resident will be able to provide services now to the CNMI community and will be potential recruits for longer-term employment in the future. These residents will also help to improve the CNMI’s exposure for recruiting purposes throughout the mainland U.S.”

The grant currently funds the rotation of four residents each from the Pediatrics and Internal Medicine departments of the UCSF School of Medicine throughout the year.

“We hope to generate such an interest among senior residents in the program to include even more rotations throughout the year,” said Hofschneider.

The Larry L. Hillblom Foundation Inc. is a California non-profit public benefit corporation. It is funded through a bequest from Larry L. Hillblom, one of the three founders of DHL Worldwide Express.

Hillblom was a long time resident of the CNMI and lived in San Vicente until his death from a plane crash in the Northern Islands.

“The residency program is a meaningful and worthwhile endeavor that will serve the people of the CNMI as well as a lasting legacy of Hillblom,” the foundation said in a statement.