Marian announces graduation of OB-GYN Residency Program physicians

Marian Regional Medical Center’s first class of Obstetrics & Gynecology Residency Program physicians will graduate June 25 in an outdoor ceremony at Presqu’ile Winery. 

Marian welcomed its first class of OB-GYN physician residents in 2018. Marian delivers the highest number of infants throughout  the Central Coast with more than an average of 257 deliveries a month, according to a news release.

The first physician graduates are Rebecca Lynn Ruebsamen, D.O., and Kavita Jain, M.D.

Following graduation, Dr. Rebecca Ruebsamen will join the Santa Maria Women’s Health Clinic to provide full-time care to the OB-GYN patients of the Santa Maria Valley.

“The inaugural class of Marian’s OB-GYN Residency Program, in addition to the Residency Program’s future graduating physicians, will undoubtedly help to alleviate the local physician shortage in the Santa Maria Valley,” said Sue Andersen, president & CEO of Marian Regional Medical Center, in the news release. 

A recent study by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists reveals there is a shortage of 8,800 obstetricians and gynecologists nationwide and projects a shortage of 22,000 by 2050. Half of all US counties do not have any OB-GYN physicians.

The Santa Maria Valley has 12 obstetricians and gynecologists for a population of 250,000, complemented by the nine residents in Marian’s OB/GYN Residency Program. According to a 2015 study published in the Journal of Family Medicine, 55% of resident physicians remain within 100 miles of their residencies. 

“The mission of Marian’s OB-GYN Residency Program at Marian is to train excellent women’s healthcare physicians, with the hope that our graduating residents stay in the area to provide care to the community members in Santa Maria and surrounding areas,” said Anne Kennard, DO, associate program director for the Marian OB-GYN Residency Program, in the news release. 

email: kzehnder@newspress.com