Former Army resident joins Hanford Family Residency program

Dr. Eugene Aquino will see patients at the residency’s family practice clinic at Central Valley General Hospital. Dr. Aquino will also take call at the Hanford hospitals and serve as a first assist on surgeries while learning from a faculty made up of about 40 local general practitioners and specialists.

The program is affiliated with the prestigious Loma Linda University, where residents spend their first six months of training. Unlike many other residencies, Hanford’s curriculum is organized to mimic the schedule of a rural family medicine physician and helps address the Valley’s chronic shortage of physicians.

“This is a very beautiful area with very nice people,” says Dr. Aquino. “I hope I can make a difference in the community.”

Dr. Aquino, a Chicago native, spent 12 years making a difference in the U.S. Army. The last nine years of his service he trained as a medical specialist, providing initial stabilizing medical care to the wounded on the battlefield, then evacuating them to higher levels of medical care. He also served during a peacekeeping mission in Bosnia.

While in the Army, Dr. Aquino attended Cameron University in Lawton, Okla., where he earned his Associates Degree in interdisciplinary studies. He earned his Bachelor’s in philosophy from University of Illinois at Chicago and a Masters in bioethics and health policy from Loyola University of Chicago.

Dr. Aquino wants his patients to know he’s kind and compassionate and stays true to the program’s goal of focusing on wholeness when caring for patients.

He may be reached at the Hanford Residency clinic, 1122 N. Harris St., Suite 105, with a phone number of 559-537-0224.