Lakeside Medical Center's Family Medicine Residency Program graduates class of four

Family, friends and colleagues gathered June 21st at Lakeside Medical Center, Palm Beach County's only public hospital, to celebrate the graduation of four residents from its Family Medicine Residency Program. Richard Roche, Hospital Administrator and Chief Administrative Officer with the Health Care District of Palm Beach County welcomed the more than 70 attendees.

This is the fourth class of residents to graduate from the program, which was established at the acute-care facility in 2011 and is one of the few of its kind to focus on the special health care needs of rural, underserved areas.

"Your training gave you a broad opportunity to learn the best practices of health care for patients with a variety of medical conditions,” said Darcy J. Davis, the Health Care District's Chief Executive Officer. "We appreciate your commitment to Lakeside Medical Center, to the health of the residents of the Glades and for choosing to advance your medical careers right here in this rural, agricultural region.”

 

From left to right: Richard Roche, Hospital Administrator and Chief Administrative Officer, Health Care District of Palm Beach County; Donoffa Nelson, DO, Co-Chief Resident and Graduate; Shaun Nazar, DO, Co-Chief Resident and Graduate; Sholem Palevsky, DO, Graduate; Monique Samuel, DO, Graduate; Nikerson Geneve, DO, Family Medicine Residency Program Director and Director of Medical Education, Lakeside Medical Center; and Darcy J. Davis, Health Care District CEO.

The graduates, Shaun Nazar, DO, Co-Chief Resident; Donoffa Nelson, DO, Co-Chief Resident; Sholem Palevsky, DO; and Monique Samuel, DO completed a rigorous three-year curriculum that included rotations in emergency medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, geriatrics, general surgery, internal medicine, neonatology, community and sports medicine, cardiology, diagnostic radiology, orthopedics, ENT, urology, ophthalmology and critical care.

Lakeside Medical Center, which is accredited by The Joint Commission and owned and operated by the Health Care District, is the program’s primary clinical training site.

“Being a physician is challenging,” said Nikerson Geneve, DO, Lakeside Medical Center’s Family Medicine Residency Program Director and Director of Medical Education. “You have all learned the science of medicine, but it’s my hope that you will practice the art of compassion. Only then will you be a great physician.”

This year's graduation included two keynote speakers: Lesly Desrouleaux, MD, Senior Physician with the Florida Department of Health Palm Beach County and Anthony J. Silvagni, DO, PharmD, MSc, FACOFP, Professor Emeritus and former Dean of Nova Southeastern University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine.

"There is a huge difference between being an ordinary doctor and a special doctor,” said Dr. Desrouleaux. “It’s a very special club being a special doctor. You need to practice good medicine 100 percent of the time.”

“Medicine is magic,” said Dr. Silvagni. “People will trust you with things they won’t tell anyone else. Every patient who walks out of your office, you will change the quality of their life. Enjoy this profession. Enjoy your accomplishments.”

From left to right: Mayor Steve B. Wilson, City of Belle Glade; Sandra Chamblee, Vice Chair, Lakeside Health Advisory Board; Rev. Robert Rease, Member, Lakeside Health Advisory Board; Darcy J. Davis, Health Care District CEO; Caitlin White, DO, Incoming Resident; Ron Mathew, DO, Incoming Resident; Hayley Baum, DO, Incoming Resident; Kimala Harris, DO, Incoming Resident; Roy Barski, DO, Incoming Resident; Takela S. Golson, MBA, Family Medicine Residency Program Coordinator, Lakeside Medical Center; Nikerson Geneve, DO, Family Medicine Residency Program Director and Director of Medical Education, Lakeside Medical Center; Richard Roche, Hospital Administrator and Chief Administrative Officer, Health Care District of Palm Beach County; Donoffa Nelson, DO, Co-Chief Resident and Graduate; Monique Samuel, DO, Graduate; Sholem Palevsky, DO, Graduate; Shaun Nazar, DO, Co-Chief Resident and Graduate; James T. Howell, MD, MPH, Chair of the Department of Rural Medicine at NSU’s College of Osteopathic Medicine; and Daniel B. Kairys, MD, Chief of Surgery, Lakeside Medical Center.

In his graduation remarks, Dr. Nazar thanked the attending physicians and hospital staff: “I will always be proud to come from this institution. It will always be a special place and I’ll remember how much I’ve improved and learned.”

“Thank you for encouraging us, inspiring us, reassuring us, calling us and most importantly, reprimanding us,” graduate Donoffa Nelson, DO stated in her remarks. “We know these things were done because you wanted nothing but the absolute best from us and for us.”

Following the ceremony, the four graduates, along with Dr. Geneve, took part in coating five incoming residents to the program: Kimala Harris, DO; Roy Barski, DO; Hayley Baum, DO; Ron Mathew, DO and Caitlin White, DO.

Belle Glade Mayor Steve B. Wilson attended the graduation as did two members of the Lakeside Health Advisory Board, which governs Lakeside Medical Center: Sandra Chamblee, Vice Chair and Rev. Robert Rease. Also in attendance were: James T. Howell, MD, MPH, Chair of the Department of Rural Medicine at Nova Southeastern University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine and member of the Health Care District’s Audit and Compliance Committee; Daniel B. Kairys, MD, Chief of Surgery at Lakeside Medical Center; and Omar Mubaidin, DO, who graduated with the Lakeside Medical Center Family Medicine Residency Program’s Class of 2014. Rev. Patti Aupperlee of the First United Methodist Church in Pahokee delivered the invocation.

The Family Medicine Residency Program is funded by a grant from the State of Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration. The program’s academic and community partners include Nova Southeastern University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine, the Florida Department of Health Palm Beach County and Florida Community Health Centers.