During the inauguration, three ER residents and two attending physicians from Osceola Regional will run a treatment and triage area adjacent to the viewing area on the National Mall, in partnership with other first responders. The doctors – Adam Benzing, Amninder Singh and Amanda Webb – are among a handful of physicians nationwide to be chosen to staff this event.
“Providing medical services at the presidential inauguration is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Benzing, a first-year resident whose previous employment with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in Washington D.C. connected the residents to this opportunity. “Getting to experience this as a medical resident is an honor, and it speaks volumes about the expertise and dedication of our program and faculty.”
Residents and their faculty physicians said they expect to provide a variety of emergency services given the thousands of attendees and protestors expected for this year’s inauguration and the cold weather in the nation’s capital.
“We’re proud to represent the University of Central Florida at this historic event,” said Dr. Bethany Ballinger, director of the UCF and Osceola Regional Emergency Medicine Residency Program. “Osceola Regional Medical Center is a Level II Trauma Center, so our residents are well-prepared to serve in emergency situations.”
The emergency medicine residency is part of a Graduate Medical Education consortium between HCA’s North Florida division and the College of Medicine, which launched in Fall 2015 with the goal of addressing Florida’s shortage of physician residencies. Over the next four years, the consortium seeks to enroll more than 580 residents and fellows, and graduate up to 150 residents per year.