Cahaba Medical Care Primary Care Pipeline: Train Them and They Will Stay
A Series Highlighting Graduates from Cahaba Residency Programs now Practicing at Cahaba Medical Care Clinics in Alabama
“God, I trust you with all my heart. Wherever you want me to go, I will go. Even if it is not where I have planned. Lead me and I will follow.” (adapted from Proverbs 3:5-6)
Back in 2004, within a small rural clinic in Bibb County, Cahaba Medical Care’s visionary leader, Dr. John B. Waits, had a glimpse of the future of healthcare in Central Alabama. He had a vision of building a pipeline of primary care medical providers that would be instrumental in redeveloping the health landscape in rural and urban underserved communities. Communities that were plagued with uncontrolled chronic diseases, inequity in healthcare, and unrelenting poverty.
New, up-and-coming doctors often overlooked these areas for more luxurious lifestyles and more lucrative career prospects. But Dr. Waits was convinced that if medical providers were trained in the area where they were to eventually work, they were more inclined to set up practice in these areas. With that vision in mind, Dr. Waits and Dr. Lacy Smith established the Cahaba Medical Care Teaching Health Center with an accredited family medicine residency in 2013.
With funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Teaching Health Center Program, the Cahaba Family Medicine Residency began in Centreville, AL in July 2013 with four brave souls looking to make a difference in the lives of people needing the best and most affordable care but unable to afford or access it. The first class of interns was Kervin Doctor, MD, Andreia Williams White, DO, Alexsandra Murauska Baptista, MD, and Nathan Way, MD. Out of the graduates of this inaugural class, Dr. Andreia Williams White, DO, continued to practice medicine as a member of the Cahaba Medical Care family in the newly established clinic in Maplesville in 2016.
Planting that first seed has set the pathway for many more to follow. Since 2013, a decade of nurturing, and cultivating the minds of doctors and nurse practitioners, the Cahaba + UAB Family Medicine Residency with four family medicine tracks (Rural, Urban, Frontier, and the Highlands) and the Cahaba Nurse Practitioner Residency (established in 2017) have been growing doctors and planting them in rural and urban underserved communities right here in Alabama. Through this series of articles, we will highlight the doctors and nurse practitioners that have stayed and continue to provide care within the communities from which they were trained.
Class of 2016
Dr. Andreia Williams White, DO
Dr. Andreia Williams White is a board-certified family medicine physician through the American Osteopathic Board of Family Physicians and the American Board of Family Medicine. She was raised in rural Marengo County, Alabama, and is a proud graduate of A. L. Johnson High School, Thomaston, AL. Dr. White completed her undergraduate studies in Biology at Tuskegee University and she earned her doctorate from the University of Pikeville- Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine. During her family medicine residency at Cahaba Family Medicine Residency, she served as one of the chief residents. Dr. White was awarded the Humanism in Medicine award. She has traveled on medical mission trips to the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Haiti, and Africa. Upon completing residency she joined the Cahaba Medical Care - Maplesville Clinic in Maplesville, AL. Dr. White currently serves as Assistant Chief Medical Officer and in telehealth at Cahaba. In a recent interview, Dr. White was asked:
Why did you choose Cahaba Family Medicine Residency over other residency programs especially since it was not a traditional residency program?
I grew up in rural Alabama and I knew that I wanted to stay in Alabama after completing residency. CFMR allowed me to receive great medical training while simultaneously learning skills to be able to meet the unique needs of the underserved population.
How did training in a rural area contribute to your decision to practice in a rural area?
Training at CFMR was extremely advantageous because even though I learned how to treat everyone, it also had a special focus on meeting the needs of the rural and underserved population. I grew up in a rural area, so practicing in a rural area felt like home.
What impact has your residency experience had on how you care for your patients?
I already had compassion for people even before I became a doctor. My residency experience allowed me to see that on an even deeper level. As a family physician, you have the unique opportunity to not only connect with that one person but many times that person’s entire family. Being a resident at CFMR allowed me to see the true meaning of what “Caring for the Generations” truly means.
What was your most memorable experience while in residency? Why?
One of my most memorable experiences was when I saw my first hospital patient die. I was one of the doctors that helped to take care of him throughout his health journey. As he transitioned the team stood around his bed while one of his favorite songs played. He was a ward of the state and did not have any family that was active in his life, but we made sure he felt loved. I try to treat my patients like I want my family to be treated. On that day, we were his family.