(Above) WRMC’s emergency room physicians include (left to right) Dr. Donald Montgomery, Dr. Gregory Somich, Dr. Blake Kendall, Dr. David Soria, Dr. Brandt Delhamer, Dr. Jay Kernus and Dr. Adam Bromberg. PHOTO BY DENNIS DEGNAN COURTESY WELLINGTON REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER
Emergency Medicine and has extensive training in the field, Soria said. To be eligible for certification, a doctor must complete his or her residency in emergency medicine after graduating medical school, he explained. “After your emergency residency, you still have to pass the board, which only a few physicians do,” he said. The seven-doctor team is unique not only in the credentials of its doctors, but also in their longevity within and dedication to the community they serve. “We’ve been together now for about eight years,” Soria said. “But there have been physicians here for more than 10 years. When it comes to the world of
emergency medicine, that is a lifetime. On average, doctors at other hospitals have been there for anywhere from two to three months.” Soria explained that most hospitals contract a team of physicians and see a high rate of turnover due to contract changes or doctor dissatisfaction. “It’s very unique for a group of physicians to be together upward of 10 years as a group in one facility,” he said. Wellington Regional instead works to recruit and sustain top-level physicians who will put down roots in the community. “This is a model that is very unique,”
Soria said. “We are a family of physicians who all have roots here in this community and in our hospital. We are not just an individual coming in and doing a shift. We are a team working together as a group and partnering with our community, our medical staff and our hospital.” Delhamer agreed. “Everyone that is here is outstanding clinically,” he said. “Each one of us brings a different approach to the totality of what it means to have and run a communitybased emergency department. We are committed to the western communities. This is our home.” Having a cohesive team of doctors working together benefits patients by |wellington the magazine| July 2012
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