Jagdeep Badhesha, M.D.

Marie Barbara Celestin, M.D

Oleg Dulkin, M.D.

Waldo Luis Ferrer, M.D.,

Preeti Gupta, M.D.

Thong Van Nguyen, M.D.,

Issam Obeid, M.D.

Amogechukwu Okonkwo, M.D.

Mahesh Padmanabhan, M.D.

Robyn Sato, D.O.

Tuoc Khong Duong, M.D

Gopal Kishore, M.D.

Gail Peltz, M.D.

13 physicians come to
Mohawk Valley to train
in family medicine

UTICA - St. Elizabeth Medical Center welcomed 13 doctors to the Mohawk Valley on June 24 as they began training in the three-year St. Elizabeth Family Medicine Residency Program.

Dr. Mark Warfel, Residency Program director, said ten started as first-year residents, and three as second-year residents. He said the physicians would train and provide care at St. Elizabeth Medical Center and its Women's Health Center, at Faxton-St. Luke's Healthcare, at Crouse-Irving Memorial Hospital, and at the St. Elizabeth Family Medicine Center at 120 Hobart Street.

The new residents bring to 24 the total number of doctors in the program, excluding eight third-year residents who will graduate June 30. T

he Residency Program was started in 1975-76 to attract more doctors to practice family medicine. Since then, nearly half of the 142 physicians completing the program have settled in upstate New York.

The program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and by the American Osteopathic Association, and is affiliated with SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine in Biddeford, ME, and Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in Erie, PA.

The new first-year residents are:
-- Jagdeep Badhesha, M.D., a graduate of Dayanand Medical College, India. A Canadian citizen, he has been volunteering in a neurology ward at Foothills Hospital, Calgary.
-- Marie Barbara Celestin, M.D., who transferred from University of Rochester. She is a graduate of State University of Haiti Medical School.
-- Oleg Dulkin, M.D., who came from Salt Lake City, Utah. He graduated from medical school at Volgogradskaja Medicine Academy in Russia.
-- Waldo Luis Ferrer, M.D., who came from California where he has been a medical assistant at Vanguard Clinical Center at University of California at San Diego. He graduated from medical school at Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala.
-- Preeti Gupta, M.D., who has been volunteering with Dr. Bhaska Achar with OB/GYN patients in Williamville, NY. She graduated from the Pravara Medical College in India.-- Thong Van Nguyen, M.D., who graduated from medical school at University of Hue in Vietnam.
-- Issam Obeid, M.D., who has been volunteering with Dr. Aziz Maksoud in Longview, Washington. He graduated from Albert Szent Gyorgyi Medical College in Hungary.
-- Amogechukwu Okonkwo, M.D., who has been volunteering at Syracuse Community Health Center. She graduated from medical school at University of Nigeria.
-- Mahesh Padmanabhan, M.D., who has been employed at University of Alabama at Birmingham coordinating HIPAA and patient privacy/confidentiality initiatives on campus. He is a graduate of Kilpauk Medical College, India.
-- Robyn Sato, D.O., who graduated from Western University of Health Sciences, College of OsteopathicMedicine of the Pacific, Pomona, California. She also holds a master's in public health from the University of California at Los Angeles.

The new second-year residents are:
-- Tuoc Khong Duong, M.D., who transferred from the internal medicine program at Greater Baltimore Medical Center, Baltimore, MD. He graduated from medical school at Ross University.
-- Gopal Kishore, M.D., who transferred from the internal medicine program at New York Hospital Medical Center of Queens in Flushing. He graduated from Sarojni Naidu Medical College in India
-- Gail Peltz, M.D., who completed an internship in internal medicine at Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn, and transferred from an anesthesia residency there to return to primary care. She is a graduate of St. George's University Medical School.