Three Sisters Rural Track Program Residents Arrive in Madras

Drs. Callie Krewson and Ben Khalil arrived in Madras earlier this month to care for local patients as part of the Three Sisters Rural Track Program, the first graduate education medical program in Central Oregon.

The doctors are caring for patients while training as specialists in rural family medicine.

Residents in the Three Sisters Rural Track Program (RTP) arrived in Madras earlier this month and are immediately helping fill a need in the community by providing care for up to 900 patients a year in local primary care clinics and at St. Charles Madras. Drs. Ben Khalil and Callie Krewson are the first two residents to participate in the program, which is sponsored by Oregon Health & Science University and is the first graduate medical education program in Central Oregon.

“It’s thrilling to see these doctors caring for community members. We have been planning and eagerly awaiting this moment for many years and now it’s here,” said Dr. Jinnell Lewis, RTP director and St. Charles family doctor. “This program is helping us to develop and train providers who will specialize in rural family medicine and also helps us fill a shortage of primary care doctors in the region.”

Residents spend the first year of the program completing advanced training at OHSU before spending two years training and caring for patients in Jefferson County with a focus on rural family medicine. Khalil is caring for patients at Mosaic Community Health, while Krewson is caring for patients at St. Charles Family Clinic in Madras. Both doctors conduct rotations at the hospital and with area specialists where they train in family medicine, family birthing, emergency medicine, behavioral health and hospital medicine. They will also have learning opportunities at the Indian Health Services’ Warm Springs Health and Wellness Center.

“Drs. Krewson and Khalil have hit the ground running and are already enhancing the care of patients in our region,” said Dr. Katie Snyder, clinical medical director for Mosaic’s Madras Health Center and residency program teaching physician. “I look forward to continuing to partner with this critical program and train physicians locally to benefit our community for years to come.”

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 more than 20 physicians who would reside in Central Oregon and provide care for 20,000 to 40,000 patients in the region.

Learn more about Three Sisters RTP

About St. Charles Health System
St. Charles Health System, Inc., headquartered in Bend, Ore., owns and operates St. Charles Bend, Madras, Prineville and Redmond. It also owns family care and specialty clinics in Bend, La Pine, Madras, Prineville, Redmond and Sisters. St. Charles is a private, nonprofit Oregon corporation and is the largest employer in Central Oregon with more than 5,000 caregivers. In addition, there are more than 400 active medical staff members and nearly 200 visiting medical staff members who partner with the health system to provide a wide range of care and service to our communities.

About Mosaic Community Health

Mosaic Community Health is a nonprofit community health center that serves Central Oregonians from all walks of life. Through a network of more than a dozen clinics across the region, we offer integrated health services that address each patient’s medical, dental, behavioral health, nutrition and medication needs. Our care is never influenced by how much money our patients make, what language they speak or the status of their insurance coverage. Mosaic Community Health provides quality care for all. For more information, please visit MosaicCH.org.