SUMTER COUNTY, S.C. — Four new resident physicians have joined Prisma Health Tuomey Hospital, offering more health care access to locals through Prisma Health's new Sumter-based residency program.
A residency is an opportunity for college graduates to earn specialized training in a particular area of expertise.
For the next three years, these four new physicians will be strengthening their knowledge of family medicine, while offering their skills to locals in need of care at Prisma Health Tuomey and the Tandem Family Health Center.
"All the doctors at the hospital and here at Tandem are glad to have us here. They’re always helping us out to get through whatever little problems we run into," Richard Huneycutt, a resident physician in the program, said. "I think we’re able to do some good here, you know, for the community here in Sumter, helping some of the patients.”
The new program is a fully accredited expansion of the Prisma Health-Midlands residency program that is based in Columbia. Organizers hope the expansion will help fill a gap in medical services available in rural areas of the state like Sumter.
"Most of the rural counties in the state are under served, so we're looking to help increase the physician supply for rural, under served South Carolina," Dr. Rick Stone, Sumter's residency program director, said. "When people call for an appointment (or) need a new doctor, we offer our services and we've already been starting to build our patient population even getting some patients to come in for return visits."
Another set of residency students are expected to arrive in Sumter next summer, according to Stone. Program organizers hope that all of the students will choose to stay and continue to work in Sumter after completing the program.