Podiatry
Bridgeport Hospital, part of Yale New Haven Health System, is a community teaching hospital affiliated with the Yale University School of Medicine. The hospital’s Podiatric medicine and surgery residency program (PMSR/RRA) is fully accredited.
The program enables residents to experience a variety of lower extremity conditions in an inpatient and outpatient setting. Conditions include trauma, all forefoot, midfoot and rearfoot deformities, lower-limb complications from diabetes, infections, biomechanical deformities and major limb deformities.
The residency program works closely with the Center for Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Medicine, which specializes in all wounds, especially those that do not heal with standard treatments. Residents also manage burn patients in The Connecticut Burn Center, the only burn center in Connecticut.
Residency provides an interdisciplinary experience with rotations such as internal medicine, radiology, critical care, pediatrics, emergency medicine, psychiatry, wound care, endocrinology, general surgery, burn, anesthesiology, infectious disease and vascular surgery. Emphasis is placed on academics and surgery. Activities include monthly journal clubs, resident lectures, complications review, board review, workshops and guest lecture presentations. All are required to conduct research and attend academic conferences.
The Division of Podiatry manages a hospital-based podiatry clinic, wound care center and operating room schedules. There are six full-time podiatric resident surgeons (two first year, two second year, two third year residents). Bridgeport Hospital is a PMSR/RRA program with residents performing surgeries at the Bridgeport and Milford Hospital campuses and its affiliated surgery center.
How to apply
Bridgeport Hospital participates in CASPR/CRIP (The Central Application Service for Podiatric Residencies). Students are encouraged to apply to the externship program. Externship information may be found at
www.dpmclerkships.org/.
Dr. Ceasar Irby
Program Director
Current Residents
PGY-3
Naomi Choi, DPM
Ahmad Saad, DPM
PGY-2
Orlexia Thomas, DPM
Francois Lokenye, DP
PGY-1
Leslie Owusu, DPM
Lauren Stevens, DPM
Facilities
The Connecticut Burn Center at Bridgeport Hospital
The Connecticut Burn Center at Bridgeport Hospital is the state’s only dedicated, nationally-accredited burn center. In fact, it meets the highest standards of the American Burn Association and the American College of Surgeons and is one of the only 64 verified burn centers in the United States. The burn center treats nearly 200 inpatients and receives more than 1,700 outpatient visits each year. Pediatric burn patients room in Bridgeport Hospital’s separate pediatric unit, which is part of Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital. This provides them with access to the highest-level burn and pediatric experts in the region as well as specialized pediatric anesthesia and child life therapy services.
The burn center’s multidisciplinary team includes surgeons, physician assistants, nurses, physical and occupational therapists, dietitians, social workers and other healthcare professionals.
In 2011-2012, the burn center underwent a $1.5 million modernization to create a more private, comfortable and functional environment for patients and families. Highlights of the renovation include: the addition of an overnight suite for families of patients, redesigned patient rooms for greater privacy and comfort, a renovated rehabilitation room and specially equipped shower room, and a larger nursing station.
The Center for Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Medicine
Wound CareThe Center for Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Medicine at Bridgeport Hospital has a multidisciplinary team that guides patients through an outpatient wound care program that has produced outstanding results since it was introduced in 2007. The center’s wound care specialists include physicians, surgeons, podiatrists, APRNs, RNs, physical and occupational therapists, dietitians and technicians who work together to promote complete healing and a return to regular activities.
The center specializes in all types of wounds, especially those that do not heal with standard treatments. These include leg ulcers from poor circulation, pressure ulcers (bed sores), venous stasis ulcers, diabetic foot wounds, burns, scars, ostomies, surgical wounds, traumatic injuries, insect or animal bites, chronic bone infections, radiation-damaged tissue or bone, and other types of wounds.
In addition to providing a full range of tradition wound care treatments, the center is home to southern Connecticut’s only multi-person hyperbaric oxygen therapy chamber, which promotes faster healing of stubborn wounds. Unlike other hyperbaric chambers in the state that treat one patient at a time, the Bridgeport Hospital chamber can comfortably accommodate six patients and a technician during the same treatment session.
