Scholarship Recipients Explore Family Medicine At Independence Health System

Five aspiring family physicians are the recipients of this year’s Andrew D. Bagby Family Medicine Scholarship. Each participated in a month-long program this summer through Independence Health System and the Latrobe Hospital Family Medicine Residency Program in which they gained inpatient and outpatient experience, in addition to exploring career options in primary care.

The Bagby Scholarship was established by family and friends in memory of first-year resident Dr. Andrew Bagby, who died tragically in November 2001.

The scholarship fund has increased substantially over the 21 years the scholarship has been awarded. It is supported by the Bagby family, as well as private donors, to give opportunities to aspiring family medicine physicians. The scholarship is administered by the Latrobe Area Hospital Charitable Foundation.

Participants include Elizabeth Close, Emma Dougherty, Edwin Matthews, Jessica Persin and Martin Te. All but Persin areenrolled at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) at Seton Hill University, while she is at LECOM’s Erie campus. Close and Persin also have ties to southwestern Pennsylvania.

Elizabeth Close appreciates growing up in the tight-knit community of Somerset, PA. It was not uncommon to see her family doctor in the grocery store, or have her doctor’s office sponsor the track team on which she competed. When she worked as a medical assistant in the doctor’s office, she saw how practicing kindness, compassion and empathy helped build long-lasting relationships and led to positive doctor-patient interactions.

Originally considering a career in law, Close found her calling during the COVID pandemic as she witnessed care being delivered in the most difficult of circumstances. Her grandmother’s career as a nurse in both the operating room and home care, and her latter years as a resident within The Patriot senior community in Somerset further solidified Close’s plan for the future. “I have seen the benefits of how a community-based physician can thrive in a small rural town. Family medicine makes medical care accessible and allows the provider to develop deep and meaningful connections and be a pillar of their patients’ health,” she said.

Close completed her undergraduate studies at Lincoln Memorial University in eastern Tennessee. The 24-year-old is the daughter of Polly Close, music and kindergarten aide, St. Peter School and Scott Close, dean of students at Somerset Area School District.

A personal love of science coupled with strong family influences are at the heart of Emma Dougherty’s decision to pursue a career as a family physician. Dougherty’s mother, Ellen, is a pediatric emergency physician at University Hospital associated with Rutgers and her father, James, teaches organic chemistry at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, NJ. The 22-year-old also attended Fairleigh Dickinson at the school’s Madison campus where she completed undergraduate studies in a combined degree program with LECOM. One of four siblings, Dougherty’s older sister is a biology teacher, and her triplet sister also will be coming to LECOM.

Rather than follow in her mother’s footsteps where providers have little opportunity to develop longtime patient relationships, Dougherty prefers the continuity of family medicine. “Seeing patients throughout their lives, I become the strong foundation for their physical and mental health,” she said. “With that comes tremendous responsibility and mutual trust. I want to care for patients through all walks of life, from prenatal care to delivery to pediatrics, on to teen years and adult years, and into geriatric care, growing and learning with them.”

Family influence is strong for Edwin Matthews, whose grandfather was a family medicine physician practicing in rural South Carolina. The year between graduation from Wofford College in Spartansburg and the start of medical school, Matthews worked as a medical assistant in the same office where his grandfather had practiced. “I was amazed that his principles, philosophy and stories were still evident in every member of the healthcare team even years after his passing.”

Matthews’ previous volunteer experience at a local free medical clinic while in Scouting also had a profound impact on him, as he heard stories of patient struggles with transportation, poverty and other stressors of day-to-day life. “Taking care of patients involves more than medical care,” stressed Matthews, who built benches at bus stops as his Eagle Scout project. “There is need to address access and accessibility. Having a long-term relationship with patients I will know what is going on in their lives and how a physician's interventions can improve their situation.”

Already taking a leadership role, Matthews is an officer of SAAO (Student American Association of Osteopathy) and the Primary Care Club at LECOM-Seton Hill. In both instances he is gaining greater insight to the qualities of the physician he hopes to become and helping fellow students prepare for their own careers. The 24-year-old is the youngest son of Mark and Nancy Matthews of Darlington, SC.

Jessica Persin comes from a family of emergency physicians. Her father, Mark Persin, DO, works in the Emergency Room at Independence Health System Westmoreland Hospital, and her mother, Kim Kemerer, DO, was part of the ED team at Independence Health Frick Hospital. before pausing to focus on their family of six. Persin’s brother, Luke, is continuing that tradition as he completes his residency in Emergency Medicine with Geisinger Health System in Danville, PA. Serendipitously, during his time as a medical student, he rotated through Saltsburg Family Medicine, where Dr. Bagby, the scholarship’s namesake, was assigned.

For her part, the 23-year-old served as a casual employee of Mutual Aid Ambulance Service, having become an emergency medical technician during her undergraduate days at Saint Vincent College where she also had the occasion to shadow in the health system’s emergency department.

“Whether in a high-stakes situation or not, I have had the opportunity to offer reassurance and support to patients and their families, which has left a mark on my consciousness,” she noted. “In its own way, I feel that my response to 911 calls is like a miniature house call I may make some day as a physician.”

The least satisfying aspect of her role as EMT is the brevity and lack of continuity of care. “I wish I could see how the patient does over time and follow up on their care, but instead I simply tend to wonder. I know that becoming a Family Medicine physician will allow me to follow up with my patients and monitor their well-being over a long period of time. I strive to reach this goal so I can care for my patients for years rather than minutes.”

Martin Te’s motivation to pursue family medicine is to help those from different cultures and backgrounds gain trust in America’s healthcare system. Having experienced firsthand how differences in cultural perspectives on medicine can influence a person’s health has inspired him to want to guide others who face such hardships. “This specialty [family medicine] would give me the unique opportunity to build lifelong relationships with my patients and act as a bridge as I advocate and heal not only illness, but incongruency between perspectives.”

A graduate of the University of California, Davis campus where he studied neurobiology, physiology and behavior, Te had wrestled for years with an undiagnosed condition that began in adolescence because of his family’s long-held notions about Western medicine. Te knew his mother wanted him to be well, but her perspective as a Chinese/Cambodian immigrant left him struggling for answers and acceptance. He eventually connected with a primary care physician who treated not only his condition but the family’s misunderstanding of mental health. “It was here that I learned I wanted to have the same healing effect for those who feel trapped by differing views. Family medicine would allow me to bond with families to make that happen.”

The son of Mang and Sandy Te of Sacramento also credits a global health internship in the Philippines with solidifying his interest in family medicine as he saw the bonds of trust in the longtime relationship between the patients and the clinic physician.

“Ultimately, as a family medicine physician, I hope to be the main provider a patient sees. As my goal is to help reestablish trust in healthcare whether the barriers are cultural, linguistic, or economic, I believe treating families and bridging the difference in views with each generation will help me ensure that future.”

Nationally recognized for quality care, Independence Health System comprise Butler Memorial, Clarion, Frick, Latrobe and Westmoreland Hospitals with a combined bed count of 925. With more than 1,000 physicians and advanced practice providers and 7,300 employees, the System is now the third largest in western Pennsylvania serving a population base of 750,000 in a footprint spanning more than 10 counties.

The System includes tertiary programs that are rated among America’s best for cardiac care and surgery by Healthgrades in its Top 100 and Top 50 designations, and one of only five in Pennsylvania to achieve a five-star rating in cardiac surgery. In similar fashion, the prestigious Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) bestowed its top three-star rating. Historically, less than 10 percent of programs within the STS data base achieve this elite standing. The hospitals of Independence Health System also have earned a host of accolades from such prestigious outlets and sources as US News and World Report, Newsweek Magazine, the American College of Radiology, the American College of Cardiology, the American College of Surgeons, the Joint Commission, Leapfrog and the American Heart/Stroke Association.

Locally owned and locally controlled, Independence Health System offers its patients low-cost, high-quality care across the care spectrum in such specialties as cardiology, cardiovascular and thoracic surgery, orthopedics and sports medicine, minimally invasive and robotic surgery, women’s health and obstetrics, emergency medicine, behavioral health and primary care. Its network of outpatient centers sees more than 1.2 million visits annually. The homecare division further supports patients at all stages of life with home health and hospice services.

Independence Health System continues to change the healthcare landscape in western Pennsylvania by meeting patient needs through superb physician expertise, outstanding nursing, the latest in technology and programmatic depth.