The Affinia Healthcare Family Medicine Residency program is now recruiting applicants for the inaugural 2026-2027 academic year.

Affinia Healthcare received a $500,000 Teaching Health Center Planning and Development Program grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to create a residency program to train the next generation of Family Medicine physicians for community health centers.

Affinia Healthcare’s Family Medicine residency program is in partnership with A.T. Still University, Christian Hospital and SSM Health DePaul Hospital. The planning and implementation will have a focus on training future primary care physicians for service at Affinia Healthcare and in the community health center environment.

“Statistics show that many patients in underserved communities suffer or experience a lower standard of care when seeing providers who don’t understand or have bias toward certain populations,” said Dr. Melissa Tepe, Affinia Healthcare Chief Medical Officer. “It is imperative that we cultivate a new generation of clinicians who will know how to serve these populations. The Family Medicine Residency program is another way Affinia Healthcare can help provide a better quality of care for our patients and communities.”

The Affinia Healthcare Family Medicine Residency program is pending accreditation by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. Residency program leaders plan to start the recruitment process this spring, lining up visits to colleges and universities in the Midwest.

“The right students in this program will not only help establish our program as a premier training opportunity, it will also help define what community medicine looks like in the future,” said Dr. Kenneth Hemba, Family Medicine Residency Program Director. “Our faculty members are committed to providing high-quality care in the community health center setting and consider it an honor to help prepare the next generation of community medicine physicians.”

The inaugural class of residents will also step into the program as trailblazers, the first to embark on this unique training model. The residency curriculum centers on Primary Care and Community Medicine (PCCM), a longitudinal outpatient experience spanning all three years of residency. PCCM incorporates training in elements of primary care such as pediatrics, sports medicine and behavioral health with ample time for each resident’s continuity panel. This format prepares residents for the dynamic requirements of independent full-spectrum Family Medicine practice.

“The Family Medicine Residency curriculum will provide a well-rounded and rigorous experience, allowing residents to acquire the skills, compassion and resilience needed to care for under-resourced and marginalized populations,” Dr. Hemba continued.

Family Medicine Residency Faculty

• Kenneth Hemba, Residency Program Director, is originally from southeastern Wisconsin, and earned his undergraduate degree from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisc., followed by Jefferson Medical College and the Jefferson Family Medicine Residency, both in Philadelphia, PA.
• Kristia Abernathy earned a bachelor’s degree in biology at Xavier University in Louisiana. She earned her doctorate in medicine (with distinction in Community Service) from Saint Louis University School of Medicine, and completed her residency training at Southern Illinois University Center for Family Medicine in Springfield, Ill.
• Alexa Arastoo, a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, completed her doctorate in Osteopathic Medicine at A.T. Still University in Kirksville, Mo. She trained at the Community-Based Family Medicine Residency at the Texas Institute for Graduate Medical Education and Research in San Antonio, Texas.
• Mihiret Belihu earned her medical degree from the University of Gondar in Gondar, Ethiopia, and completed her Family Medicine residency at Mercy Family Medicine in St. Louis, Mo. Additionally, Dr. Belihu holds a diploma from the Institute for International Medicine and Public Health. She is board-certified in Family Medicine.
• Laura Williams is the program coordinator. She is a veteran Affinia Healthcare staffer and has previous experience in credentialing and human resources.

For more information about the Affinia Healthcare Family Medicine Residency, please contact Dr. Kenneth Hemba, khemba@affiniahealthcare.org. The residency program will also launch a new website to share information about the program with prospective residents and others interested in learning more about this exciting new initiative.