McLaren Port Huron welcoming 10 new doctors with 2 residency clinics this summer

St. Clair County’s biggest healthcare provider is introducing two medical residency clinics for new doctors to help better access to primary care services for the region’s rural residents.

According to an announcement from the statewide McLaren Health Care organization, McLaren Port Huron is expanding its graduate medical education program with 10 residnets in two specialities for an inaugural program year beginning July 1.

The hospital system was OK’d by the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education in January and this month for internal and family medicine programs, respectively.

“From a number of physicians retiring or leaving the area to a growing population, we know that we’re dealing with shortages today that are expected to worsen in the future,” McLaren Port Huron President and CEO Eric Cecava said in an emailed statement Friday. “… As the region’s largest health care provider, we feel it’s our responsibility to continue to bring new services and physicians to the area. Ensuring there is access to primary care providers is a critical part of making sure we have a healthy, vibrant community, and we’re grateful (for) the support we received from physicians and the community to build this program.”

Four family medicine residents will join six internal residents this summer with Dr. Gary James serving as the program’s director.

Core faculty for the program, according to a news release, will include doctors Myuren Gunaratnam, Hira Khan, and Reid Stromberg. Ellen Hoover will be the program administrator.

The residents will work under the leadership of family medicine physician Dr. Beau Dowden, seeing patients at McLaren Port Huron Academic Center for Family Medicine, 1313 Stone St., in Port Huron.

Cecava said primary care relates to patients’ overall wellness through regular physicals and screenings, as well as timely referrals to more specialty care as needed.

“The role of primary care is critical for patients’ overall care management, and what our team has done is increase access to this vital service while also bringing future attending physicians to our community,” Dr. John Brooks, McLaren Port Huron’s chief medical officer, said in his own statement. “We are incredibly grateful to the members of our team who made this achievement possible, and we are excited at the benefits this asset brings our region.”

A three-year program, 10 new residents total will be brought in annually, reaching the combined family and internal medicine programs’ maturation in 2026 with 30 residents.

In addition residency clinics under a medical directorship of an experienced attending physician, Cecava said, “The core faculty in each clinic includes well-known, well-respected physicians in our community, so patients can expect the same level of attentive, high-quality care they currently receive. With the addition of these two clinics this summer, we expect people to be able to get in to see a primary care provider much sooner than they can today.”

Contact Jackie Smith at (810) 989-6270 or jssmith@gannett.com.