Dr. Kristin Ray and Dr. Rachael Candela to Practice in the Atrium Health Floyd Community
ROME, Ga., June 28, 2024 – Eight physicians have graduated from the Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center Family Medicine Residency program.
The graduates are Dr. Rachael Candela, Dr. Chris Elias, Dr. Ahmed Mahmood, Dr. Kristin Ray, Dr. Luke Terry, Dr. Samuel Tweardy, Dr. Hannah Williams and Dr. Christopher Wood.
Candela and Williams served as chief residents of the graduating class.
Two residents will stay in the Atrium Health Floyd community providing care.
Candela will join IN Compass Health as a hospitalist at Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center in Rome. She earned a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine from Nova Southeastern University, Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Ray will join Atrium Health Floyd Primary Care Family Medicine #102, 28 John Davenport Drive, in Rome. She earned a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine from Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine in Auburn, Alabama.
Elias earned a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine from University of North Texas Health Science Center, Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine in Fort Worth, Texas. He will be joining Village Health Partners in Dallas, Texas.
Mahmood earned a Doctor of Medicine from St. George's University School of Medicine in Grenada, West Indies. He will join Wellstar Powder Springs Medical Center in Powder Springs, Georgia.
Terry earned a Doctor of Medicine from Mercer University School of Medicine in Macon, Georgia. He will join Wellstar Primary Care in Kennesaw, Georgia.
Tweardy earned a Doctor of Medicine from St. George's University School of Medicine in Grenada, West Indies. He will join ChenMed in Atlanta, Georgia.
Williams earned a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine from William Carey University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. She will join Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Department of Family and Community Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, with an Academic Medicine Fellowship.
Wood earned a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine from Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine in Auburn, Alabama. He will join Gadsden Regional Medical Center in Gadsden, Alabama, as a hospitalist.
"At Atrium Health Floyd we continue the legacy of training amazing, talented physicians to provide healing and care for patients. This year we graduated eight individuals," said Dr. Kelly Culbertson, Program Director and Designated Institutional Official of Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center Family Medicine Residency. “Five graduates will remain in Georgia, one in Alabama, one in Texas and one will go to North Carolina. Our graduates continue to serve in many capacities and strengthen the primary care workforce. Five will be pursuing primary care, two will be hospitalists and one will go on to work with Atrium Health at Wake Forest to complete an academic fellowship. We are so proud of all of them and the great work they will do."
About the Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center Family Medicine Residency Program
The Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center Family Medicine Residency Program trains physicians in the specialty of family medicine. The program provides three years of academic and clinical post-doctoral education to medical school graduates and offers hands-on experience to residents in preparation for full-time medical careers.
About Atrium Health Floyd
The Atrium Health Floyd family of health care services is a leading medical provider and economic force in northwest Georgia and northeast Alabama. Atrium Health Floyd is part of Charlotte, North Carolina-based Advocate Health, the third-largest nonprofit health system in the United States, created from the combination of Atrium Health and Advocate Aurora Health. Atrium Health Floyd employs more than 3,500 teammates who provide care in over 40 medical specialties at three hospitals: Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center – a 304-bed full-service, acute care hospital and regional referral center in Rome, Georgia; Atrium Health Floyd Polk Medical Center in Cedartown, Georgia; and Atrium Health Floyd Cherokee Medical Center in Centre, Alabama; as well as Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center Behavioral Health – a freestanding 53-bed behavioral health facility in Rome – and also primary care and urgent care network locations throughout northwest Georgia and northeast Alabama. Atrium Health Floyd also operates a stand-alone emergency department in Chattooga County, the first such facility to be built from the ground-up in Georgia.
About Atrium Health
Atrium Health is a nationally recognized leader in shaping health outcomes through innovative research, education and compassionate patient care. Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Atrium Health is part of Advocate Health, the third-largest nonprofit health system in the United States, which was created from the combination with Advocate Aurora Health. A recognized leader in experiential medical education and groundbreaking research, Wake Forest University School of Medicine is its academic core. Atrium Health is renowned for its top-ranked pediatric, cancer and heart care, as well as organ transplants, burn treatments and specialized musculoskeletal programs. Atrium Health is also a leading-edge innovator in virtual care and mobile medicine, providing care close to home and in the home. Ranked nationally among U.S. News & World Report's Best Hospitals in eight pediatric specialties and for rehabilitation, Atrium Health has also received the American Hospital Association's Quest for Quality Prize and its 2021 Carolyn Boone Lewis Equity of Care Award, as well as the 2020 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Health Equity Award for its efforts to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in care. With a commitment to every community it serves, Atrium Health seeks to improve health, elevate hope and advance healing – for all, providing $2.8 billion last year in free and uncompensated care and other community benefits.
About Advocate Health
Advocate Health is the third-largest nonprofit integrated health system in the United States – created from the combination of Advocate Aurora Health and Atrium Health. Providing care under the names Advocate Health Care in Illinois, Atrium Health in the Carolinas, Georgia and Alabama, and Aurora Health Care in Wisconsin, Advocate Health is a national leader in clinical innovation, health outcomes, consumer experience and value-based care. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Advocate Health services nearly 6 million patients and is engaged in hundreds of clinical trials and research studies, with Wake Forest University School of Medicine serving as the academic core of the enterprise. It is nationally recognized for its expertise in cardiology, neurosciences, oncology, pediatrics and rehabilitation, as well as organ transplants, burn treatments and specialized musculoskeletal programs. Advocate Health employs 155,000 teammates across 69 hospitals and over 1,000 care locations, and offers one of the nation's largest graduate medical education programs with over 2,000 residents and fellows across more than 200 programs. Committed to providing equitable care for all, Advocate Health provides nearly $6 billion in annual community benefits.