Marian Announces Graduation of the Hospital’s Inaugural OB-GYN Residency Program Physicians

Marian’s upcoming OB-GYN Residency Program Graduation event will make history as the first class of OB-GYN physician residents graduate in an effort to alleviate the local and nationwide physician shortage

SANTA MARIA, CA – April 11, 2022 – Marian Regional Medical Center is proud to announce that the hospital’s inaugural class of Obstetrics & Gynecology (OB-GYN) Residency Program physicians will graduate on June 25, 2022, in an outdoor ceremony at Presqu’ile Winery. 

Marian welcomed its first class of OB-GYN physician residents in 2018. Marian has long been a local health leader in Santa Maria and delivers the highest number of infants throughout the Central Coast with more than an average of 257 deliveries a month.

“The inaugural class of Marian’s OB-GYN Residency Program, in addition to the Residency Program’s future graduating physicians, will undoubtedly help to alleviate the local physician shortage in the Santa Maria Valley,” says Sue Andersen, President & CEO of Marian Regional Medical Center. 

A recent study by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists reveals there is a shortage of 8,800 obstetricians and gynecologists nationwide and projects a shortage of 22,000 by 2050. Half of all US counties do not have any OB-GYN physicians at all. The Santa Maria Valley has just 12 obstetricians and gynecologists for a population of 250,000, complemented by the 9 residents in Marian’s OB/GYN Residency Program. According to a 2015 study published in the Journal of Family Medicine, 55% of resident physicians remain within 100 miles of their completed their residencies. 

Data from the National Residency Match Program has revealed that there is a growing concern regarding the inadequate number of residents in OB-GYN training programs to meet the demands of the growing adult female population in the United States. 

“The mission of Marian’s OB-GYN Residency Program at Marian is to train excellent women’s healthcare physicians, with the hope that our graduating residents stay in the area to provide care to the community members in Santa Maria and surrounding areas,” states Anne Kennard, DO, Associate Program Director for the Marian OB-GYN Residency Program. “The OB-GYN Residency Program provides both culturally sensitive and comprehensive care for the community; care which otherwise may not be medically available. Comprehensive prenatal care not only improves pregnancy outcomes for the mother, but is proven to also have a positive generational impact for the entire family.” 

The inaugural OB-GYN Residency Program physician graduates are Rebecca Lynn Ruebsamen, DO, and Kavita Jain, MD. Following graduation, Dr. Rebecca Ruebsamen will join the Santa Maria Women's Health Clinic to provide full-time care to the OB-GYN patients of the Santa Maria Valley.

To learn more about the Marian OB-GYN Residency Program and the upcoming inaugural graduation event, please call (805) 739-8580. 

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About Marian Regional Medical Center

Marian Regional Medical Center is a state-of-the-art, 191-bed medical center located in Santa Maria, California. The modern facility is home to a broad array of services including a level III trauma center, a level III neonatal intensive care unit, a nationally recognized cardiac care center, and boasts the Central Coast’s only Comprehensive Community Cancer Program as recognized by the Commission on Cancer. Marian has been recognized for quality and patient safety and named one of America’s 250 Best Hospitals by Healthgrades®.

Marian Regional Medical Center together with Arroyo Grande Community Hospital in Arroyo Grande, and French Hospital Medical Center in San Luis Obispo, comprise Dignity Health Central Coast, a network of hospitals, physicians, and outpatient services including physician offices, ambulatory surgery centers, technologically-advanced laboratories and imaging centers, and a full service home health agency. Learn more at dignityhealth.org/marianregional.