Residency Graduation and Awards
The University of Illinois College of Medicine at Rockford is proud to announce its residency program graduates and award winners.
Residency Program Graduates - Rockford Program:
Elisabeth Afor Anumu, MD
Melissa Villanueva Garcia, MD
Meenu Grover, MD
Amandeep Kaur, MD
Dominee Cruz Miranda, MD
Magdalena Pietrzak-Nowak, MD
Residency Program Graduates - Dixon Program:
Ivan Yordanov Boyadzhiev, MD
Lisa M. Denobriga., MD
Resident of the Year:
Melissa Villanueva Garcia, MD
This award is given to the resident who is the best example of exemplary patient care, professionalism, and mentorship to residents and/or students, as voted on by all residents.
Society of Teachers of Famiy Medicine (STFM) Resident Teaching Award:
Amandeep Kaur, MD
This award, voted on by Family Health Center faculty and first year residents, is given to a third year resident who demonstrates interest in teaching/precepting medical students,and interest and excellence in teaching nursing students, pharmacy students, etc. The award winner participates in patient education or residency education committee and peer teaching, presents consistent quality grand rounds and/or conferences, is valued as a teacher by patients and peers, gives evidence of community teaching and delivers presentations at regional or national family medicine meetings.
Outstanding Community Faculty Teaching Awards:
Paul Wedel, MD (Family Medicine)
Leslie Dean, MD (Family Medicine)
Jeffrey Behr, MD (Orthopedics)
Jeffrey Royce, MD (Family Medicine)
Lisa Malone, MD (Obstetrics)
This award is given to a non-core residency faculty who has contributed most to residents education.
Family Health Center Core Faculty of the Year:
Michael Polizzotto, MD
Attending of the Year:
Farion Williams, MD
This award is voted on by third year residents as is open to all faculty both core and non-core community preceptors.
Dixon Awards:
Faculty Physician of the Year:
George Georgiev, MD (Family Medicine)
This award is voted on by all Dixon residents.
Outstanding Community Faculty award:
Stephen Gabriel, MD (Orthopedics)
The L. P. Johnson Family Health Center (FHC) is a comprehensive family medicine teaching facility associated with the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Rockford's Family Medicine Residency Program. The FHC is staffed with board-certified faculty physicians who supervise resident physicians and proudly integrates physical and mental health services. The resident physicians typically spend about three years at FHC as they advance their patient-care oriented training.
Dr. L.P. Johnson, a pioneer in family medicine education, started the College of Medicine at Rockford's residency program in 1972. Since that time, the program has graduated more than 300 family medicine doctors, most practicing in both rural and urban under-served communities. We have graduates working in academic teaching centers and some even living and practicing internationally. Residents are taught by faculty from all departments at the College of Medicine, ensuring a quality, high-volume experience. Our core family medicine faculty has expertise in patient-centered care, chronic illness, rural healthcare, quality improvement initiatives, obstetrics, alternative and complementary therapies and research. Most of our core rotations are located at SwedishAmerican Hospital. SwedishAmerican is a Top 100 quality hospital. We enjoy the full support of the hospital administration and medical staff, led by the CEO, who is a graduate of our program. Students in the Dixon track become involved in patient care activities in both the outpatient family medicine office and with inpatients at Katherine Shaw Bethea Hospital in Dixon.