Ep. 60 | Madison Hill, DO, & Omid Hassanpour, MD

Transcript

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- When it comes to caring for families, having one provider for every stage of life can make all the difference, especially for kids. Welcome to what brings You In Today, a podcast from SMC health.

I'm Kara Hope Rockwell and I'm Erika Bennett, and today we're joined by Doctor Hill and Omid Hassanpour to talk about family medicine. Our family medicine residency program, and kind of how that's been growing over the past couple of years. And so what brings you in today? All right, guys, I'm Doctor Madison Hill and we're going to talk about what's new in the FMX program today.

All right. To get us started, introduce yourselves and give us a background. Sure. You got here. So I'm doctor Madison Hill. One of the hats that I wear at right now is the director of the family medicine residency program. And so a little bit of background, I grew up in South Georgia, about 45 minutes away here, right outside of Moultrie.

So South Georgia is home for me. Very glad to be back. My family and I have been back almost four years now. We're proud to to call Valdosta our home and proud to be here at SMC. About two years ago, I was given the unique opportunity to build a family medicine residency from the ground up, and it has been a really exciting process, and I'm excited to talk a little bit more today with one of our new FM residents about what that process has looked like and where we are now, and just where we are expanding to now.

Very good. I am, I am one of four of the family medicine residents or as we like to know, Doctor Hill's minions.

Little background I grew up in England. I moved to the US in 2011, and I've pretty much been chasing the opportunity to get to where I am today. So good. All right. I know we kind of talked about your background last time, about what made you pursue medicine, but I am interested. What made you decide to become a physician?

For me, science was always a peak interest for me. At the age of 11, my mom was diagnosed with a pneumothorax, which, using my little textbook, I managed to figure out. So we got to the hospital and then the doctor gave me a high five. Wow. And it was best high five ever. So here we are. I've been chasing that high five ever since.

So that's incredible. Yeah, I didn't know that. So that was exciting. Thank you for sharing. Of course. Thank you. So, Doctor Hill, we've had you on the podcast before, but now we wanted to have you come back and talk a little bit about like, updates since we last had you of the family medicine residency. And just like how how have things gone since we last spoke with you?

Yeah. So last time I was on, I think we talked a lot about lifestyle medicine and a little bit about what was coming next or my family medicine standpoint. At that time. It was very conceptual. We were still in the process of getting accreditation from the Acme Acgme. For those of folks who aren't in the GMI, space, is just the accrediting body for all the residences in the United States.

And so we received our initial accreditation for our family medicine program back in January of 2025. And so we get to have eight new residents a year for a total complement of 24 residents. When the when our slots are awful. And so we actually were able to get for residents who were in their first year, PG one from a program that had closed elsewhere in Georgia, and they joined us this past March.

And we have just been really, really glad that that they are on board with us. And so that was a little ahead of our timeline. We were planning initially, probably, if you'd ask me two years ago to match our first class, who would be starting with us within the next month, but as the universe has it, it was an even better deal and we're proud to have them.

So now we'll actually have what we call upper levels. So they'll be matriculating into their PG two just in the next few weeks, and then we'll have eight new folks come in about three weeks from now. So we'll have 12 folks in the family medicine space. And my hope is that we can show them what family medicine is all about, and hopefully most of them will hang around and help provide care for our community.

Yes. And speaking of family medicine, tell us what that is. What is what does that apply to for the general listening audience? Right. So family medicine is really what we call cradle to grave medicine, right. So one of the fun things is you can do OB, you can be in there and deliver the baby. You can see the mom and the baby after they've delivered and do a newborn visit at the office.

You can see them as they grow through their years in grade school, in college, throughout, you know, different parts of their life all the way to the geriatric age of 100 or however old they grow to. And so it's unique in the ability that there's not really a patient that we turn away. And so another thing that I really love about family medicine in that space is that you can do combo visits, right.

So it's not just, you know, you go to the doctor and you can't bring your kids. If I see you and your children, if you're all patients of mine, we can do a combo visit. And I absolutely love that bustling me about that before you came in. And that is brilliant. And so we're not brilliant. You know, I know one of the things he wanted to talk about today is what kind of what changes when we open up our clinic to pediatrics of all ages.

And I think access to care changes. Right. Because I look at it from a, you know, I'm a busy mom of two, right? And so if I have to take off for an appointment for me, then I also have to take off for an appointment for my kids. Usually that's not at the same time. And well, if it happened on the same day, that would be amazing.

00:05:47:20 - 00:06:06:23
Unknown
But probably not. But now we we have the ability and the aptitude to make that happen. Yeah. And also it's with the same provider which is so cool right. They know everything. So I think that's a really beautiful thing. Yes. So convenient. That's what I do for my dental appointment. So myself and both of my sons, we all have the same dental appointment every block.

00:06:06:23 - 00:06:22:12
Unknown
And it's convenient because I can go pick them up. We all go together and we're done for six months. But if one of them is sick and they miss and then out to your point, I'm having a schedule. It is. It's horrible. So the ability to be able to do this for primary care, I think is, is huge.

00:06:22:12 - 00:06:45:03
Unknown
I think the Pete's portion is going to be, you know, a fun thing, right? You can do the pairing with the parent and the kid. But I think also the pairing for maybe adults who are taking care of some of their older parents in the geriatric space, that can be really powerful, too, right? Because a lot of times when you're in that caretaker role as an adult, it's hard to find time for your own appointment and for your parents appointment.

00:06:45:04 - 00:07:00:12
Unknown
Well, you can bundle those together, right? You don't have to be in the same room. You can be in a room next to each other, but maybe you do a 10:00 and your parent does a 1015, and you get everything you need under one roof. Yeah, quite literally. What happened for me yesterday? Yes. So you had that in clinic, actually, right.

00:07:00:15 - 00:07:22:20
Unknown
Yesterday I had the daughter and her mother. She was caretaking for her mother. And she was incredibly happy that we managed to schedule them both right after each other in the same room. Right. I'll also say it's a huge win as well, from just an understanding and a patient kind of rapport, because you understand the family dynamic, which is only going to help you care for them better.

00:07:22:21 - 00:07:47:00
Unknown
Right. Yeah, I think it's just life has evolved. Everyone is busier and busier, and it's just so hard. And then thinking about health care providers are busier and busier, right? If you miss an appointment and you have to reschedule, it can be oftentimes weeks out maybe. And it's just so to be able to get that done right and done efficiently is is definitely a win.

00:07:47:02 - 00:08:19:07
Unknown
Yeah. So you touched on pediatrics a little bit. And how on July 1st were the family medicine residency clinics going to start seeing pediatric patients. But what does that really mean for the community? Access to care. So I'll say access to care. And part of the reason that we did the family residency there, built the residency just from the ground up, is we realized in a 2020 need survey that only about 33% of local peds in this area are able to be seen by folks like providers in this area.

00:08:19:08 - 00:08:39:00
Unknown
Right. So what that tells me is there's 60 plus percent of just general well, childs that cannot occur in this area because we don't have folks who can see PEDs. So I said this will not do. We need to create a solution to this. And the solution is family medicine physicians who can see pediatrics of all ages. Right.

00:08:39:01 - 00:09:00:05
Unknown
That's in everyone's training before they graduate residency. They have to see pizza all ages. They're not only forced to do it per se, but they are well versed in it and very comfortable and can provide excellent care. And so it's it it fills a need that we otherwise wouldn't have been able to fill from a community standpoint, and I could not be more excited as a parent myself.

00:09:00:06 - 00:09:15:15
Unknown
Right. I have two young kids. They're going to go to the residency clinic is is as soon as we do the July 1st rollout. And so I think if there's anything you can take away is that, you know, professionally, I'm invested in training, you know, the future family, med docs. But personally I'll be using this service line as well.

00:09:15:16 - 00:09:44:01
Unknown
Well, it's probably pretty cool to another aspect of this that is not intentional, but for children to be able to see a learning environment through the physicians as that, I mean, that could also be cool for them to kind of connect to like, oh, wow, okay, this is a doctor who's getting his specialty and family medicine. Maybe, you know, you don't normally talk about that in a doctor's visit, but it would open up implanting the seat.

00:09:44:02 - 00:10:10:13
Unknown
Yeah, yeah, kind of like, you know, your experience that led you to medicine? Yeah. Maybe we'll be able to provide something similar for for some of your kids. Definitely. And to your point about the number of people that don't have pediatricians, I was shocked because we did look at some data recently of patients that came in our urgent care to see, like if they have primary care physicians or if they were pediatric patients, did they have a pediatrician?

00:10:10:13 - 00:10:28:20
Unknown
And there was a large amount. I was shocked by that because I just assumed that they had that they had Peter. Right. Yeah. I just because I take my kids every year, you know, we do the annual. But I was kind of shocked that like there's a large population of patients that aren't. Yeah. And so we're, we're trying to to address that.

00:10:28:21 - 00:10:45:18
Unknown
Yeah. And if you're not going to those visits, you're not getting your vaccines. You know, you're not getting your checkups to catch anything early. I mean, that's a really big deal for I mean, for families, it's the cornerstone of prevention, right. And so if we can catch this early, then there's a lot on the back end that we don't even have to to worry about.

00:10:45:18 - 00:11:08:17
Unknown
And so we will do vaccines for kids of all ages. And so that's been something that we've been working on very diligently to, to get ready to roll out in the clinic. So that will be kind of another way that we're helping support in the community. Yeah. For families who are listening, what should they expect when bringing their child to your clinic versus maybe going to a pediatrician's office?

00:11:08:17 - 00:11:32:04
Unknown
How is it different? So I'll say there it's going to be very similar, right. The care that you're getting from family medicine to pediatrics should should not vary at all. The only bonus would be maybe their parent also would be seen, maybe during that that time frame, or maybe someone else in their family. So I'd say there shouldn't be any nuance to that.

00:11:32:06 - 00:11:57:04
Unknown
That and the fact that with children, they get to a certain age and they stop seeing their pediatrician, they have to redevelop that relationship with a new provider. Or as with us, they can continue that. That's a great point. Yeah, that is a really good point. So we don't have to transition out at 18 right? So if doctor is your doctor at 18 he can be your doctor at 19 two, which is awesome.

00:11:57:05 - 00:12:18:17
Unknown
Absolutely. And can you talk a little bit about how the residency clinic is different than a regular clinic and the all of the perks for patients, like you're basically getting treated by two physicians instead of just one. Absolutely. So when you call to schedule with our clinic, you will be placed on a schedule with one of our residents.

00:12:18:17 - 00:12:38:22
Unknown
That resident will be your primary care provider. So if you choose to have Doctor Hassan poor, his name will be on your chart. You will get a notification that says your appointment is Monday at 9 a.m. and it will be with him. You'll have a very regular intake. You'll see Doctor Hassan poor. And then once he finishes with your visit, he and I are going to discuss everything that happened.

00:12:38:23 - 00:13:00:19
Unknown
We are going to talk about things that will help him grow from a learning standpoint to further his knowledge, because our goal at the end of residency for our residents is they can practice autonomously, right? Like, I want them to be able to see patients without seeing an attending physician. And that conversation on the back end after the the visit that you guys have is where that learning happens.

00:13:00:20 - 00:13:20:22
Unknown
The second piece of that is, once we have that conversation and kind of decide a way forward, we go back in, usually together and talk about what that looks like. A lot of times I'll confirm different pieces that he's telling me about the history, confirm different things on a physical exam, and then altogether we will make the the best choice possible for that patients care.

00:13:20:22 - 00:13:43:21
Unknown
And so two for one anyone. Right. Like two two docs are way better than than one. And so you're going to get that every single time you're seen in a residency clinic. And that that is, is really where it happens. The the other piece is you're contributing to someone's knowledge and growth, right? Whereas if you're in a private clinic where there there aren't folks you're training, right?

00:13:43:22 - 00:14:09:10
Unknown
Yes. You're still having that relationship where you probably you're teaching your docs things, but you may not even know. But, you know, our primary purpose for the residents is, is to learn and to grow and to develop their clinical acumen and and their style of practicing medicine. And you, you get to be a part of that. Yeah. So not only are you getting to help train the next generation of physicians, but also you get to spend a little bit more time with your doctor.

00:14:09:10 - 00:14:31:09
Unknown
And I know that's something that's very important to people, that they don't want to just be another number on the schedule, like they want to sit down and have those conversations and ask all of their questions, and you get that time to do that. You do. I think it's it's incredibly personalized medicine and something that is a huge benefit versus other clinics, because we have the time to do it.

00:14:31:10 - 00:14:56:08
Unknown
It takes time to be thoughtful and to train residents. But it's not just time we're spending. It's time that you get with the patient. So, Doctor Hassan, for what drew you to family medicine? Why that instead of some other specialty? I like the continuity of care going through. I like building relationships with people, knowing that I will see the same patient multiple times a year.

00:14:56:08 - 00:15:28:17
Unknown
Well, hopefully not multiple times a year, but perhaps for different reasons. Sure, but at least I'll see them for reasons that I may know they'll come in. We see so many different patients in a day. One could be diabetes management. The next one would be management of their high blood pressure. Another one Medicare wellness. So it's a broad spectrum, but I don't focus on one specific disease process or one organ system, so that's good.

00:15:28:22 - 00:15:50:14
Unknown
What has been the most exciting thing that you've seen since you've been here with us? In what regard do you mean? I don't know, I'm just leaving it open. Like what has been or what has been your experience this far? Just joining our team. Everyone at SMC has been amazing, quite literally everyone. I cannot single any single person out.

00:15:50:16 - 00:16:15:06
Unknown
Although you deserve special credit. Megan deserves special credit. Doctor Corson, doctor Parker, just quite literally everyone you walk down the hallways, people are greeting you. It's a different sense of community and family that comes with. So I'm very grateful to be here. I love that. What are you most looking forward to about the opportunity to see kids now?

00:16:15:09 - 00:16:36:20
Unknown
Kids are great. Yeah. They're awesome. They're like little sponges. Yeah, they are hilarious, too. Yeah. Yes, that's brutally honest. Some of the best interactions I've had are with children in rooms with their patients. I think I was just outside on my way in. A little child was wearing a dinosaur t shirt. I was like, I love your t shirt.

00:16:36:21 - 00:17:01:02
Unknown
And he's like, I love you, too. Oh, perfect. So sweet. That is funny. We've actually kind of talked about the potential of having, like, some children on to be, like, guest host on the podcast and let them ask the question because their brains work so differently. You know, what they. So it just be so fun to kind of see what they would, but that would put forth.

00:17:01:02 - 00:17:06:03
Unknown
So bring me back for that one. Okay.

00:17:06:05 - 00:17:27:05
Unknown
Any anything that you wish to share with the general public. Do you get any frequently asked questions that you you know, you're kind of like, I wish I could help spread information about this. I think one of those we've already unpacked is just kind of the expectation. And how is the residency clinic differ from one of our normal other clinics?

00:17:27:07 - 00:17:45:18
Unknown
I think once you know that, most people want to know, where do I sign up? Right. The other is just approachability, right. So it's going to work like any other office that you have. Right. Just because you you have a residency clinic doesn't mean that you still can't call and ask for questions and still have same day appointments.

00:17:45:19 - 00:18:12:05
Unknown
I think one of our new commitments is trying to make sure that there's always going to be access for those patients, especially in the space. And so we're actively brainstorming ideas, but I think the idea will be if you need to walk in, we are going to support you in whatever way that you can that you need. Can you talk about that a little bit to like the difference of when you would call your doctor and try to get in for a same day appointment versus going to urgent care, and why?

00:18:12:06 - 00:18:31:16
Unknown
It really does benefit you if you can see your primary care provider. Absolutely. So a lot of times, you know, I get multiple different phone messages a day. And if I didn't know these patients, I would not be able to accurately tell them, well, you need to come see me or we can send you something in, or you should go to urgent care.

00:18:31:16 - 00:18:50:11
Unknown
Or the E.R. said that foundational patient doctor relationship that you're getting in family medicine allows us to kind of tell you what to do. If we don't know you and we don't know your history, then it's very hard to to be able to do that. And so I get lots of questions just from patients saying, hey, should I come in?

00:18:50:12 - 00:19:06:23
Unknown
Should I go to the E.R.? And so that our relationship with them allows me to tell you what you need to do. And so if for no navigation, yes, I'm happy I tell everybody I am like the director of the cruise ship. Right? And I'm like, you should go to this level and this deck and this is what you will be getting.

00:19:06:23 - 00:19:29:00
Unknown
But if you don't know anything about that person, you're not able to do it. And so a lot of times if you have that relationship with your, your family physician, then we can save you a trip to the urgent care. We can save you a trip to the E.R.. It's it just is better that way. And the other convenient thing that your clinic has is the access to my chart.

00:19:29:01 - 00:19:47:08
Unknown
Right. The chart application. And even being able to send messages through my chart and things like that, it's a lot more convenient than having to play phone tag or even, you know, do you know, try to call the office? It just delays care. So like this is there's more options and accessibility and I encourage patients to use my chart.

00:19:47:08 - 00:20:05:06
Unknown
I, I like folks when they ask questions. Right. It tells me that you're inquisitive about your health, that you want to stay healthy longitudinally. It's not a burden. And I'm happy to to help address those. Sometimes those can be addressed with a quick message back over my chart. And then sometimes I'll say, hey, let's make let's get you an appointment.

00:20:05:06 - 00:20:26:06
Unknown
So you have a dedicated space so we can really unpack this for you. But again, that longitudinal relationship allows us to know how do we navigate that space? Yeah, I think my new outro with patients has been do you have my chart? Feel free to message me at any time. Yeah. And you truly mean that. And I want them to feel comfortable knowing that I will respond to their messages and I do see them.

00:20:26:07 - 00:20:43:11
Unknown
So the best part, at least for me, is that, you know, you get your labs done and your your results are in there. And the same day, most of the time, if not the next day. I mean, it's pretty incredible. Like, I can see my results before the doctor sees a lot of the times because y'all are still seeing patients.

00:20:43:11 - 00:20:55:08
Unknown
And I know, and it's funny that way. Sometimes I'll get calls before I'm done seeing patients that day and they're like, hey, can you look at my labs? And I was like, well, I haven't even seen them yet. Give me a second. I'll sit down and look at them. But they do come across really quickly. But I think that's a great thing.

00:20:55:09 - 00:21:21:15
Unknown
Right. So it's knowledge is power right. And and the way that we access that knowledge has been made profoundly easier by my chart. Yeah. And really empowering the patient to take ownership of their care and their health and to be educated and to assess questions. And they really have to be advocates for themselves throughout their whole lives. Like, you can't I mean that it's really trying to put it on his back on the patient as well.

00:21:21:16 - 00:21:46:06
Unknown
Like you're obviously a partner in that, but we have a little bit of responsibility to, as a patient to be educated and advocate for yourself and make sure that. Correct. Yes. But I also feel being a well-rounded physician and caring enough will instill those good habits in you as a patient. Absolutely. For you to be able to advocate for yourself, it's model behavior, right?

00:21:46:06 - 00:22:05:20
Unknown
If you feel like you're getting that in your physician is, you know, rooting for you like they're always in your corner, then. There are many, many studies that show that you are way more likely to, you know, do the things that that you have discussed in that patient doctor relationship. And so all that means the outcome is that you're healthier overall and that you're more aware.

00:22:06:01 - 00:22:31:07
Unknown
Yeah, yeah. Outside of the residency clinic, what other areas do you train in as a part of your family medicine residency? I have done orthopedics so far. I did some inpatient. What else have I done here? And cardiology? Yes. How could I forget? That doctor is going to be very.

00:22:31:09 - 00:22:51:16
Unknown
Is an amazing physician. Yeah. So you really do get a very well rounded picture of. Absolutely. Yes. And I think that was one of the goals when we sat down and tried to be very thoughtful about the curriculum. There are some things from Acgme that we have to have, and that's going to be across the board for every family medicine residency program.

00:22:51:16 - 00:23:10:09
Unknown
And then there are some that we can actually play with and kind of, you know, personalize. But my goal when you leave here is that you can practice family medicine anywhere in the world that you want to go. Right. And so you're going to have the foundational skills to do that. You're going to have the experiences that that will allow you to do that.

00:23:10:09 - 00:23:31:20
Unknown
It won't be, you know, you only do inpatient or you only do outpatient. You're going to be well rounded. And it's in service of the future patients you will see 100%. That's awesome. I was talking to Doctor Bias before we came on here, and he is the medical director, I guess, at our continuity clinic for the internal medicine program.

00:23:31:20 - 00:23:52:05
Unknown
And we were just talking about how fast it has grown, all the different residencies. You know, we started with eight residents just a few years ago, and now was our total compliment, like almost 30. Well, I made 55 for the whole everyone. So just thinking all specialties and then that just it grows every single year. Like exponentially. It's wild to see.

00:23:52:06 - 00:24:10:02
Unknown
I think the next incoming is 12. Yes, yes. I mean it's just the growth right now is is just an awesome thing to be a part of I think. Right. Yeah. I mean, it just feels really cool to be able to witness that from having nothing to now, you know, having the first class and then the second and then more in different specialties.

00:24:10:02 - 00:24:37:15
Unknown
And then they're still looking at other specialties to bring. So but the dynamic that that brings to the health system in general overall is really cool. From the culture for physicians and even patient care. It's just been interesting to see that evolve. Yes, I'm excited to get some new colleagues to practice with. Yes, yes. Looking ahead, how do you how do you see it growing and developing over the next couple of years?

00:24:37:18 - 00:24:59:00
Unknown
Yeah, I mean, I think I'm just excited for when we have a full complement of 24. I think that's going to kind of be the sweet spot for family medicine. Not that it isn't now. Okay. Don't be 24 means that we are graduated by one year. Yeah. And I think that's really when we'll start to see a lot of the impact from a community standpoint too.

00:24:59:05 - 00:25:16:15
Unknown
And I think that's what I'm most excited about is maybe, you know, when I talk to people who have young kids and it's not the conversation of, oh my gosh, I can't get my kid in, I'm hoping it's going to be a conversation of, hey, my kid was actually seen at the family medicine residency clinic, and they did a good job, and we're getting good care.

00:25:16:17 - 00:25:39:19
Unknown
That is what I'm looking forward to is those conversations, albeit small. That's where we have like changed the culture in the community, right? And not to say that like nobody's not to dis any of the physicians that are in the community, right? Everyone is they're working hard and seeing as many patients as they absolutely can. It is just that we don't have enough physicians in our community.

00:25:39:19 - 00:26:07:23
Unknown
So this serves as to help attract, train. And then hopefully some of those positions will stay here and want to continue their careers in our community. So truly creating that access so that our physicians in the community can have lives as well outside of providing care. So and if it goes anything like the internal medicine residency, we're about to graduate our second class and half of the first class and half of the second class already committed to stay here at health.

00:26:08:05 - 00:26:25:15
Unknown
So that's what we hope is that our family medicine residents choose that same path, or at least stay here in South Georgia and care of our region. So we'll come back in a couple of years and we'll see. Okay. How many have stayed? How many offices. Don't hold it again.

00:26:25:17 - 00:26:45:15
Unknown
For just kind of wrapping up here for somebody who does not have a primary care provider, what would you tell them? Give us a call. Good answer. Good answer. Short and sweet. Don't wait. Just go ahead and do it. I feel like it's kind of one of those things. As humans, I feel like we can just delay, like, oh, I don't have anything.

00:26:45:16 - 00:27:01:13
Unknown
Yeah, and there's something. People are anxious about it. Right? Especially if you hadn't had one for many years. Some people say, oh my gosh, like it's going to be such a burden. I don't want to like have to go through all these things. We make it really easy. It's very similar to like it is today. It's just a conversation.

00:27:01:15 - 00:27:18:02
Unknown
Yeah. Don't wait until it's too late. That way you can see primary care. Not a specialty. Yeah, absolutely. Well, thank you both for joining us. Thank you for having us. All right. Well, until next time you can subscribe to.