StemCell Therapy

Deke Eberhard knew as a teen he probably wouldn't work in the lumber business started by his grandfather.

The childhood cancer survivor, who was born and raised in New Braunfels, had a different career path in mind.

He remembers leaving an appointment at a San Antonio hospital where he learned he had officially beat cancer.

"We're driving home and I said, 'Mom, I want to be a doctor,'" he recalled.

He would spend most of his 20s working toward that goal, and this summer, he joined the DeTar Family Medicine Residency program.

The DeTar Healthcare System program is affiliated with the Texas A&M Health Science Center and welcomed its first class of six in 2016.

This year, 2,000 medical school graduates applied for the three-year residency program in Victoria.

One hundred doctors were interviewed, and six physicians were selected.

During the next three years, the doctors work at the DeTar Family Medicine Center clinic as well as rotate through different specialties.

But a rigorous work schedule isn't new for these doctors, 12 now, several of whom earned master's degrees during medical school.

"It's not an easy road," said Eberhard, 32. "It's a lot of gut checking."

He's not the type to give up and advocates for finding a way to do what you love.

That kind of resolve and focus can be found in the doctors who have made it this far.

Dr. Frances Ebo-Anagor, 48, was born and raised in Nigeria to parents who were teachers.

"Education was a top priority," she said. She earned a bachelor's degree in medical lab sciences but didn't like being stuck in a lab.

Ebo and her husband moved to Toronto, and she went to nursing school.

She started working as an ICU nurse until a job fair drew her to move the family to Texas.

The mother of four worked as a nurse in Houston before going to medical school in the Caribbean, which was more affordable.

Ebo said becoming a doctor was always part of the plan, but after the death of her parents, she became more determined.

Her father died in 2009 because of high blood pressure.

"I was a nurse then, and I thought, 'You know what, I can do more,'" she said.

Her passion now is preventative medicine and treating the geriatric population.

The journey included going back to school and sitting in classes with students who were half her age.

But despite the challenges, she loves being a family medicine doctor.

She recently saw a patient in her late 70s who really didn't need another prescription. She was lonely and just wanted someone to listen and help her find ways to make friends.

"I have to be able to connect with them," she said. "You have to be really patient."

William R. Blanchard, CEO of DeTar Healthcare System, said the doctors in the program have expanded patient access to care during the past two years.

As part of the Region 5 Texas 1115 Medicaid Transformation Waiver, DeTar established the residency program to bring primary care physicians to an underserved area.

Blanchard said his goal is to continue the family medicine residency and add more residency programs in the future.

"We're extremely pleased with the quality of the physicians we've been able to supply the community through this residency and other recruitment efforts," he said.

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Family medicine residents worked their way to Victoria - Victoria Advocate

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