RUMFORD – Seven newly minted MDs, in their first year of family medicine residency at Central Maine Medical Center, toured Rumford Hospital, Swift River Health Care, Irving Forest Products and Rumford Falls near the information center, where they had a picnic near the Indian sculptures recently.

The residents even got to meet the sculptures’ creator when Gene Boivin happened along.

The group came to Rumford to get a feel for the hospital and its providers, as they will likely spend short rotations of about a month here during their Lewiston-based residencies.

Their tour of Irving Forest Products gave them a taste of community medicine. Irving is one of the businesses served by Swift River Health Care’s Occupational Health Service, managed by Linda Jamison.

One of the visiting residents will be in the area more permanently when she begins the Rural Residency Program at Rumford Hospital about a year from now. Dr. Jessie Reynolds will spend her first year of residency at Central Maine Medical Center, then train in Rumford for the remaining two years. Another resident will already be training at Swift River Health Care when Reynolds arrives in July of 2006. Dr. Stephen Kennedy will start in March 2006.

The Rural Residency Program was designed to allow physicians who are interested in establishing practices outside urban areas to better understand the challenges and rewards of practice in less populated areas.