Cox Family Medicine Residency to gain nine resident physicians

For nearly 30 years, the Cox Family Medicine Residency program (Cox FMR) has been the only physician residency program in the Ozarks. Now the program, which works to train physicians who will be at the forefront of patient care, is gaining nine new resident physicians.

Cox FMR is pleased to announce the Class of 2019:  

• Jennifer Bulcock, MD, University of Kansas – Kansas City
• Matthew Dalke, MD, University of Arkansas – Little Rock
• Whitney Davis, DO, Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences
• Alyssa Easter, MD, University of Missouri – Columbia
• Jenny Eichhorn, MD, University of Missouri, Kansas City
• Cliff Ganus, MD, St. George’s University       
• Evan Johnson, MD, University of Arkansas – Little Rock
• John Long, MD, University of Kansas – Salina
• Lukas Mathews, MD, Ross University

Nationally, there has been an increase in the number of medical school seniors who are choosing primary care residencies. But the need is still great, and the shortage of primary care doctors is a reality. The Association of American Medical Colleges predicts a shortage of 91,000 primary care physicians by 2020 to keep up with expected health care demands. As a result, CoxHealth expanded the residency positions available from 8 to 9 this year with hopes for further expansion in the future. 

“This year, we had 775 applicants to our program for 9 available spots,” said residency administrator Tonya Fisher. “This speaks not only to the increasing trend of medical school seniors recognizing the importance of serving as a primary care physician, but also to the strength of our program here at CoxHealth.”

Another benefit of having a primary care physician residency in the Ozarks? Many residency graduates choose to practice medicine locally: In fact, 62% of the graduates in the past five years have remained in Southwest Missouri. 

“There is no question that CoxHealth’s commitment to maintaining a quality residency program and training excellent family physicians benefits everyone in our region,” says Fisher. “Physicians trained here tend to stay here.”