Administration
48 Sanderson Street, Suite 203
Greenfield, MA 01301
Phone: 413-773-2022
3601 Main Street, Room 322
Springfield, MA 01107
Leadership
Robert Baldor, MD, Department Chair
Chandra Hartman, MD, Residency Program Director
Sherry Weitzen, MD, PhD, Research Director
Welcome from the Chair
The Department of Family Medicine at UMass Chan-Baystate was established in 2019 to support and develop Family Medicine in the Pioneer Valley.
Credentialed family physicians are practicing through the Pioneer Valley in a variety of settings such as traditional family medicine practices and urgent care centers, but are also found providing sports medicine, addressing addictions, school health and palliative care.
We seek to be the leading academic department for educating and recruiting family physicians who will provide the highest value primary care services to the people of western Massachusetts.
Family Medicine is the largest primary care specialty, with physicians practicing from the largest urban areas to small rural communities. Our discipline is based on a trusting doctor-patient relationship, using the biopsychosocial model to also address wellness and the behavioral health needs of our patients. In order to improve the health of patients and their families, health care systems rely upon a strong primary care base—family physicians fulfill that role by providing high quality, cost-conscious, accessible health care.
Our Department's Mission
Explore innovative methods for population healthcare delivery while:
- Educating PURCH students in the basic tenants of family medicine
- Developing a family medicine residency program based in Greenfield, MA
- Assisting with recruiting family physicians to the Pioneer Valley in western Massachusetts
- Supporting our faculty to achieve their professional goals
- Partnering with innovative organizations for practice redesign
Education Programs
Residency
Greenfield Family Medicine Residency
(Our inaugural four residents will start July 2022.)
Medical Student Core Clerkship
Family Medicine
Our department manages the required Family Medicine Clerkship for the PURCH medical students under the leadership of Dr. Katherine S. Gerstle. Students mainly rotate through the two Baystate Medical Family Medicine Practices located in Northampton and Greenfield, with additional precepting opportunities provided by other community-based family physicians throughout the Pioneer Valley.
Education Sites
Research
Department of Family Medicine research initiatives are being established and grants totaling almost 1 million dollars have been secured to support rural-based family practice.
- Practice innovation
- Enhanced use of information technology
- Shared decision making
- Community engagement
- Telehealth
- Distance learning
Outside Faculty
Clinical Faculty
Our department is growing, with over a dozen family physicians holding formal UMass Chan-Baystate faculty appointments as of the end of 2021.