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Our Family Medicine Center is a 16,700 square foot outpatient center across the street from Long Beach Memorial Medical Center. Located in the Buffum Medical Pavilion, it serves as the base for all of our continuity patient care. Here residents and faculty share one practice, seeing patients side-by-side as they take advantage of our 32 exam rooms. In the last academic year, our office saw over 29,000 patient visits.
In addition to routine, office-based patient care, we are able to provide all of the outpatient procedures which are an everyday part of family practice, including video colposcopy and flexible sigmoidoscopy, cryotherapy and other gynecologic procedures (e.g. IUD; diaphragm, EMB), minor surgical and dermatologic procedures, casting and splinting, spirometry, arthrocentesis and joint injections, etc. In addition, we have regular specialty clinics in gynecology and 'lumps and bumps surgery' for those of our patients with more complex needs, and a weekly flexible sigmoidoscopy clinic as well.
The residents' patient care is supervised at all times by two full-time faculty members, with volunteer faculty members contributing as well. Consultation is also available from our psychologist, Dr. Andy Stewart, and from our on-site social worker.
Admittedly most, if not all, residency programs provide services in a similar model family practice center setting. What we think sets our practice apart is the clientele. These charts give at least an idea of the tremendous ethnic and age diversity of the population we serve:
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In addition, the payor mix in our practice (though at times daunting) provides much needed experience as our residents learn the business side of medicine:
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All in all, we find it an educational (and fun) place to practice.
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