A new face at South Jersey Healthcare

The South Jersey Healthcare hospital system gave life to its first full residency program Tuesday, marking the start of years of hands-on lessons for 38 men and women fresh out of medical school. “I’m just excited to finally get started,” said Chris Finley, D.O., ’11, a 27-year-old graduate from Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine. “It’s been a lot of talking and training. I’m excited to finally apply those skills.” While medical school offers its students some time in the field, a residency program takes the new doctors out of the classroom and fully submerges them in the hospital setting, system spokesman Paul Simon said. Chet Kaletkowski, South Jersey Healthcare’s president and CEO, said at a recent open house for the residency program that his vision to create a teaching hospital was made a reality thanks to a supportive board and staff. Now through 2014, the hospital system aims to grow the residency program to have more than 62 medical residents in its hospitals. “We’re accountable for every resident here,” Kaletkowski said. “We want to make sure they have the best experience, whether it’s three years or five years, with us.” These residencies are the first that South Jersey Healthcare is starting on its own. The hospital system took on a podiatry residency that started at the now-closed William B. Kessler Memorial Hospital in Hammonton, system spokesman Greg Potter said. The newest residents came to South Jersey Healthcare from all over the state and country, Victoria Gracia, residency coordinator for South Jersey Healthcare, said.