UTAH HEALTH SCHOLARS ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

“In Utah Health Scholars, I particularly enjoyed volunteering at the foot clinic in a homeless shelter in St. George. Here I was able to practice medical skills like obtaining blood pressures and performing foot exams, all while interacting with the people living there. I admire the physicians that donate their time and their example influenced the kind of provider I have tried to become in the community in which I live now.”

-Eric Hammer, PA

Raised in both rural and suburban Utah, Eric Hammer was drawn to serve in Gunnison by his wife’s rural roots. Through Utah Area Health Education Center (AHEC), Eric has participated in Rural Health Scholars in college, a graduate rotation in PA school, and is currently active in recruiting healthcare providers to rural places through 3RNet. In addition, he volunteers his time each semester to teach a course at the Snow College Rural Health Scholars program, allowing him to motivate college students to pursue rural practice as a PA.

While in college, he participated in several cultural immersion trips to Montezuma Creek, Utah and Shiprock, Arizona. Assisting in medical ways in these rural, underserved areas furthered his passion for his career as a PA Eric graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biology from Southern Utah University and a master’s degree in Physician Assistant Studies from Salus University in Philadelphia.

Currently, he specializes in family practice and obstetrics/ gynecology in rural Gunnison, as well as in the Emergency Room at the Gunnison Valley Hospital.