Articles

The new year brought with it the planned succession in program leadership of the Internal Medicine residency program at Baptist Memorial Hospital – North Mississippi. On January 1, Estefania Lara Garcia, MD, assumed the role of Program Director, with the continued support of founding Program Director Seger Morris, DO. The change ensures that the program continues to be positioned for long-term success.

A native of Venezuela, Dr. Lara Garcia received her medical degree from the Universidad Central de Venezuela Escuela de Medicina Luis Razetti in Caracas, Venezeula. She completed her Internal Medicine residency training at Southern Illinois University in Springfield, Illinois. 

She also served as an intern at the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education in Chicago, Illinois, working with the senior Scholars-in-Residence group in areas such as resident well-being, interprofessional team-based training, physician workforce issues, health policy, and leadership training. 

Dr. Lara Garcia spends her clinical time as a Hospitalist on both the academic and non-academic services at Baptist North Mississippi, as well as in the Baptist Medical Group Oxford Internal Medical clinic. She joined the residency program as a core faculty member immediately upon her appointment to the medical staff, and led the substantial successes in scholarly activity within the program through curriculum and resource development. Most recently, Dr. Lara Garcia served as Associate Program Director. 

Dr. Morris will continue to serve both the program locally as an Associate Program Director and Baptist system Graduate Medical Education efforts as the Division Chief of Mississippi Internal Medicine Programs and Chief of Mississippi Program Development. 

PGY2 resident physicians Kelley Bellia, DO, and Zachary Ellis, DO, were selected as Chief Residents and will serve in the leadership roles in the upcoming academic year. To support the expansion of the program and full complement of 36 resident physicians, the position was opened to two trainees this year.  

They were selected for the positions by Program Director Estefania Lara Garcia, MD, after a nomination and feedback process that included input from faculty and resident physicians, as well as program administration. 

Drs. Bellia and Ellis will be involved in administrative operations of the program, coordinating residents’ clinical and didactic schedules, and serving as leaders in the training of resident physicians and medical students, among other duties. They have begun making plans for the upcoming academic year and have been working with current Chief Resident Garrett Hadley, DO, on transition planning as he graduates the program in June 2024. 

In preparation for their new roles, both Dr. Bellia and Dr. Ellis will travel to Columbus, Ohio, to attend the annual Chief Residents Meeting hosted by the Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine in April. 

Dr. Bellia hails from Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, and received Bachelor’s of Arts degrees in both Neuroscience and Psychology from Thiel College in Greenville, Pennsylvania. She went on to earn a Master’s degree in Biology from Chatham University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and completed her Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree at Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Lynchburg, Virginia, in 2022. 

Dr. Ellis is a native of San Clemente, California, and attended Chapman University in Orange, California, where he earned his Bachelor’s of Science degrees in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Environmental Science. He earned his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree from William Carey University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, in 2022. 

Both joined the program in the summer of 2022 as part of the second class of resident physicians at Baptist North Mississippi.