Star Community Health Family Medicine - Bethlehem

All Family Medicine residents and faculty see their continuity patients at Star Community Health Family Medicine - Bethlehem, a 13,000-square foot office located approximately 4 miles from St. Lukeʼs University Hospital in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. When our founders, family physicians Wilfred Vogler, MD and Donald Follmer, MD, donated their practices to create St. Lukeʼs Family Medicine Residency over 20 years ago, they selected this site to carry on the tradition of great primary care in the Lehigh Valley that dates to the 1950’s.

Star Community Health is a Federally Qualified Health Center look alike. As an FQHC, residents are embedded in robust Quality Improvement processes, residents are educated in addressing health disparities and residents receive enhanced data about patient outcomes and practice habits.

In addition, FQHCs are health centers that benefit communities in several ways:

• Ability to provide primary and preventative care to patients regardless of insurance or ability to pay using a sliding fee scale
• Enhanced Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement to address health disparities
• Eligibility to purchase prescription and non-prescription medications for outpatients at reduced cost through the 340B Drug Pricing Program
• Strict adherence to quality measures and guidelines
• Comprehensive access to care including social work and behavioral health

Residents have access to a clinical pharmacist, a social worker and nurse case manager for help with socially or medically complex patients, a patient centered financial counselor and more resources at the outpatient office.

Residents see patients as a class: PGY-1 on Wednesdays, PGY-2 on Mondays and Fridays, and PGY-3 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Working side-by-side with your classmates every week regardless of your rotation, you will experience a sense of camaraderie, well-being, and teamwork that is a keystone to your success as a family physician. You will have the autonomy of seeing your own patients and acting as their personal physician from day 1. The faculty is 100% invested in your education, and this is on display every day in the office as they advise, support, challenge, and work alongside you. Ultimately, you will follow in the footsteps of the 116 graduates before you and leave St. Lukeʼs prepared to practice great family medicine!