OHSU-St. Charles Three Sisters Rural Track Program trains family medicine physicians, aims to improve health care access in rural Oregon

PORTLAND, Oregon -- Three newly minted physicians are the first trainees of the Three Sisters Rural Track Program, or RTP, a three-year family medicine residency program that is Central Oregon’s first graduate medical education program.

Oregon Health & Science University and St. Charles Health System jointly established Three Sisters RTP to help grow Central Oregon’s health care workforce and meet the unique health needs of rural Oregonians. Organizers hope many of the new program’s participants will continue to live and work in Central Oregon after they complete their residency.

The trio of residents began their advanced medical training at OHSU this month. Next summer, the residents will head to St. Charles Madras — a 25-bed critical access hospital located about 50 miles north of Bend — for two more years of training.

“We are excited to welcome the first residents of the Three Sisters Rural Track Program, and eager to help them provide thoughtful, comprehensive health care for the people of Central Oregon,” said Three Sisters Rural Track Program Director Jinnell Lewis, M.D., who is also a family medicine physician with St. Charles. “Once at St. Charles, the residents will immediately help fill a need in the region, providing care for an estimated 900 patients a year.”

The program creates a pathway for specially trained physicians to dramatically improve health care access in Central Oregon, where many towns have a shortage of providers. Research has shown that about 55% of physicians stay within a 100-mile radius of their residency site. This means, within 10 years, Three Sisters RTP is estimated to produce 23 physicians who would reside in Central Oregon and provide care for 20,000 to 40,000 patients in the region.

“It’s hard to overstate the powerful positive impact this program can have,” Lewis said.

Lewis moved to Central Oregon about a decade ago, after she completed another OHSU residency program that is focused on rural health: the Cascades East Family Medicine Residency in Klamath Falls. Three Sisters RTP is partly modeled after Cascades East’s more than three decades of success.

Residency programs provide additional training for physicians who recently completed medical school. Three Sisters RTP focuses on family medicine, a primary care medical specialty that involves caring for the whole family, ranging from children to pregnant people to seniors. Family medicine physicians offer broad care, and help patients both manage existing health conditions and prevent others. In rural areas where there are fewer physicians, primary care providers play a particularly important role in keeping their communities healthy. In addition to primary care, Three Sisters RTP residents will also train in family birthing, emergency medicine, behavioral health and hospital medicine.

One of the new Three Sisters RTP residents, Callie Krewson, D.O., was born at St. Charles Bend and graduated from Bend’s Mountain View High School in 2008. Krewson said she is excited to be part of the program’s inaugural class and would like to stay in Central Oregon after her residency.

“I look forward to returning to the places that I know and love,” Krewson said. “I want to give back to the community that raised me.”

During the residents’ first year in Portland, they will work and learn at OHSU hospitals and various outpatient clinics, as well as at the VA Portland Health Care System. And when the residents move to Madras for the final two years of their training, they will care for patients at the St. Charles Family Care Clinic in Madras and Mosaic Community Health’s Madras Health Center. They will also have learning opportunities at the Indian Health Services’ Warm Springs Health and Wellness Center.

OHSU is the host institution for Three Sisters RTP, and St. Charles is its primary training site. The program’s launch was made possible by a $750,000 grant from the U.S Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources & Service Administration, and a $1 million Healthy Oregon Workforce Training Opportunity grant. Donations to St. Charles Foundation will support ongoing training and recruitment efforts, technology upgrades and additional needs as the residency program grows.

The program’s launch is part of larger efforts to expand residency programs statewide. OHSU recently achieved the milestone of having more than 100 accredited residency and fellowship programs.

Meet the residents

Name: Callie Krewson, D.O.

• Age: 33

• Hometown: Bend, Oregon

• Family: Husband, two dogs

• Medical school: Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences, Yakima, Washington

• Looking forward to: Returning to and working in Central Oregon, including working at the Indian Health Services clinic on the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation.

• Miscellaneous: She has helped lead rafting trips on the Deschutes River with her husband, who is a river guide.

Name: Ben Khalil, M.D.

• Age: 34

• Hometown: Richland, Washington

• Family: Wife, two cats

• Medical school: Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon

• Looking forward to: Combining love of outdoors with passion for providing comprehensive health care.

• Miscellaneous: While he enjoys trying new things, his favorite dessert will always be ice cream.

Name: Christopher Sutton, D.O.

• Age: 32

• Hometown: Warren, Pennsylvania

• Family: Girlfriend, one dog, one cat

• Medical school: University of the Incarnate Word School of Osteopathic Medicine, San Antonio, Texas

• Looking forward to: Working closely with patients in a rural setting like home, and enjoying Central Oregon’s outdoor recreation opportunities.

• Miscellaneous: Previously worked in the oil, gas and natural resources industries.