George Fritch, MD
Program Director
Medical School: Indiana University School of Medicine
Residency: Union Hospital Family Medicine Residency
Clinical Interests: Procedures, OB/women's health, colposcopy, forensic medical examination, addiction medicine, academic medicine, administrative medicine
Personal Interests: Family time (wife and 2 children), golf, tennis, yard work, reading fiction
Why I Chose Union Hospital Family Medicine Residency: Comprehensive unopposed training, friendliness of the staff, camaraderie, close to home, wanting to see the program succeed since I graduated from my residency training here.
Eric Beachy, MD
Assistant Program Director
Medical School: Indiana University School of Medicine
Residency: Union Hospital Family Medicine Residency
Clinical Interests: Like most family physicians, I enjoy the opportunity to build relationships with patients as individuals and to handle nearly any presenting complaint with competence. I want to teach residents to do the same. I am particularly passionate about rural family medicine with its unique challenges and joys, and I love doing and teaching outpatient procedures.
Personal Interests: The two most important things in my life are my faith and my family. My family and I are quite involved in our church and I can honestly say that there is no one on Earth I would rather spend time with than my wonderful wife and the five children we have been blessed with. We homeschool our children and have enjoyed seeing them grow and learn. As a family, we enjoy reading together, playing strategy games, and outdoor activities such as camping, hiking, canoeing, and cutting firewood.
Why I Chose Union Hospital Family Medicine Residency: I came here as a resident because I felt it would prepare me well to practice in a rural community and I was not disappointed. After several years in a rural private practice, I came back to Union Hospital Family Medicine Residency to help train the next generation of family physicians and I have found that I absolutely love the opportunity I have to see inexperienced interns grow into competent, compassionate physicians who are well prepared to provide care in the Wabash Valley community and beyond.
Robert Ehresman, MD
Faculty
Medical School: IU School of Medicine
Residency: Union Hospital Family Medicine Residency
Professional Interests: Sports Medicine, Travel Medicine
Personal Interests: Fishing, history, and a diehard Chicago Bears and Cubs fan
Eugene Epplin, MD
Faculty
Medical School: Southern Illinois University
Residency: Union Hospital Family Medicine Residency
Professional Interests: General In-Patient and Out-Patient family medicine, Alcoholism
Personal Interests: Disc golf and Numismatics
Kenneth Kigorwe, MD
Faculty
Medical School: Moi University, Kenya
Residency: Union Hospital Family Medicine Residency
Clinical Interests: My clinical interests include full spectrum, preventive and promotive, family medicine with special interest in OB, pediatrics, and continuing medical education. I believe in being a true life-long learner.
Personal Interests: My personal interests include participating in my children's sporting activities, especially soccer and athletics. We love to travel as a family. I also participate in a Father-Son Club that promotes youth character development and take part in other church activities as well.
Why I Chose Union Hospital Family Medicine Residency: I felt absolutely welcome by the Union Hospital Family Medicine Residency when I migrated with my young family from Kenya to start residency training. My career dream was academic medicine. I believe I can do more good if I participate in training future physicians (multiplier effect). After 5 years of group private practice in rural Indiana, I was honored to join the residency as faculty. There is great leadership at the residency program and Union Health enables each person to realize their best potential while pulling together to reach a common goal.
Benjamin LaHood, MD
Faculty
Medical School: American University of Integrative Sciences - St. Maarten
Residency: Union Hospital Family Medicine Residency
Professional Interests: Procedures, Point-of-Care Ultrasound
Personal Interests: I am passionate about my faith and enjoy the learning and fellowship which takes place during bible study. I also run a few miles outside everyday no matter the weather and will train for a long distance race if I have enough time. Other hobbies of mine include going to the movies, hiking, and collecting rare rocks.
Steve McDonald, MD
Faculty
Medical School: Southern Illinois University
Residency: Union Hospital Family Medicine Residency
Clinical Interests: My clinical interests are Alzheimer's Disease, teaching, and practice management. I direct a weekly Alzheimer's Clinic, the Memory and Aging Center, with the help of the 3rd year residents and a strong interprofessional team. Having been in a private practice for over 30 years, I have developed a strong interest and skill set and practice management.
Personal Interests: I love to travel, particularly to the Caribbean in the winter time, leaving behind the snow in Indiana. I have 14 grandchildren scattered around the country and enjoy keeping up with their lives. In my mind, I'm a gourmet chef and enjoy trying new recipes on family and unsuspecting guests. In addition, staying physically fit is important to me.
Why I Chose Union Hospital Family Medicine Residency: Having graduated with the inaugural group at the residency, the program has been close to me for nearly 40 years. I've held multiple hospital and medical group leadership positions and felt I had the capability to direct the program. I joined the program in 2011 and find teaching to be a long-lost art I have become passionate about. Our program has been called the "hidden gem" in the Midwest. We are one of the very strong Indiana programs, innovative and financially sound, known for our collegiality, strong and engaged core faculty, resident autonomy, and tailored educational experiences.
Andrew McDonald, MD
Faculty
Medical School: Indiana University School of Medicine
Residency: Pediatric Residency at St. Louis Children's Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine
Clinical Interests: Concussion, Scoliosis, Sports Injuries and Rehabilitation
Personal Interests: Baseball, Mystery Novels, and 80s Films
Why I Chose Union Hospital Family Medicine Residency: I want to help train the future doctors of our community in pediatric medicine and sports medicine.
Puja Sharma, MD
Faculty
Medical School: Lady Hardinge Medical College
Residency: (OBGYN), Union Hospital Family Medicine Residency
Research Fellowships: Columbia University, NY; Mayo Clinic, MN (Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility).
Clinical Interests: Women's health; preventive care
Personal Interests: I often enjoy traveling, gardening, and reading.
Why I Chose Union Hospital Family Medicine Residency: Union Hospital Family Medicine Residency is where I began my career and it has been my career home for over 9 years. I have a strong interest in academic medicine and I enjoy interaction with the residents. UHFMR provides a multidisciplinary approach to patient care that I believe provides our residents with the skill set they need to graduate and practice in a rural setting. The faculty and staff are dedicated to resident education and everyone has their own areas of strength and work to achieve their maximum potential.
Amber Cadick, PhD, HSPP
Faculty / Behavioral Science Coordinator
Doctoral Education: Indiana State University, Counseling Psychology
Internship: Illiana VA Health Care System
Clinical Interests: Health Promotion Disease Prevention, Motivational Interviewing, Chronic Disease Management, Patient-Centered Care, Weight-loss/Weight Management, Lean Systems, and the impact of Social Class and Culture on the Health Care Experience.
Personal Interests: I love spending time with my family. I enjoy physical fitness, especially Crossfit. Moreover, I like to nerd out with Star Wars, Dr. Who, and Game of Thrones.
Why I Chose Union Hospital Family Medicine Residency: I chose Union Hospital Family Medicine Residency because of the culture of growth, collaboration, and dedication to learning. I enjoy coming to work everyday and being a part of this work family. I also love the doctors we produce. We produce competent, academically strong, and compassionate physicians. I am proud of the work we do.
Hannah Helman, PharmD
Faculty / Clinical Pharmacist
Doctoral Education: Butler University
Clinical Interests: My focus is to optimize the use of medications and promote health, wellness, and disease prevention. My key clinical interests include transitions in care, chronic disease state management, medication safety, medication reconciliation, and educating students, providers, and patients.
Personal Interests: I was raised in Linton, IN then attended college in Indianapolis at Butler University. I currently live in Terre Haute with my husband, step-son, son, daughter, and three dogs. My favorite hobbies include Crossfit, gardening and landscaping, Cubs baseball, and exploring new restaurants. Other hobbies include attending concerts, musicals, ballets, movies, and sporting events. Although with two toddlers and a teenager, I don't have time for much other than chasing them around.
Why You Chose Union Hospital Family Medicine Residency: I grew up in Indiana and have worked in Terre Haute for 10 years. Terre Haute is my home now and this program offers everything I want in a career in my home town. Our program grows strong clinicians, involves a multidisciplinary approach to education and patient care, and offers many resources to patients in our community. Our faculty and staff are approachable and always willing to guide, educate, or help in any way.
Nicole McGuire, DHSc, MS, RRT, CNP
Faculty / Education Specialist
Doctoral Education: Indiana State University
Clinical Interests: Teaching residents about population health is one of my clinical interests. I enjoy helping them design quality improvement projects and watching as they learn to interpret data for their patient panels. Our residents have the best ideas and it's always fun to see many small interventions add up to great overall improvements.
Personal Interests: Besides spending time with family, I love to read. I also enjoy Crossfit, running, biking, and walking my dogs. I am a huge superhero enthusiast. I look forward to summer for days at the ballpark and nights at the movie theater. On rainy days, there is nothing better than a fuzzy blanket and a cat or two in my lap. My house is a zoo, but it's my zoo and I love it!
Why You Chose Union Hospital Family Medicine Residency: Deciding to work for Union Hospital was one of the easiest decisions in the world. The program has all of the qualities I value in an organization and it has only gotten better with time. At the top of my list is a sense of camaraderie among faculty and strong leadership. Working with residents is immensely rewarding and the meaningful relationships I have built with other faculty is an added bonus. I can't imagine being anywhere else.