Wednesday at the Great Southern Club, the new medical residents completed a rite of passage by receiving their white coats. For the next three years, these medical school graduates will continue their training as physicians at Memorial Health System.

The new Family Medicine residents include:

• Dr. Ornella Saborido Battaglia
• Dr. Heriberto Casanova, Jr.
• Dr. Alex Cole
• Dr. Hunter Cooper
• Dr. Shawn Friedland
• Dr. Charles Furlan, Jr.
• Dr. Giannina Rodriguez-Golderos
• Dr. Abraham Gobel
• Dr. Sana Jaffery
• Dr. Kyle Strickland
• Dr. Praseeda Akella

The inaugural class of Internal Medicine residents includes:

• Dr. Rahila Ali
• Dr. Taylor Brewer
• Dr. Bolos Gerges
• Dr. Ryan Moses
• Dr. Ansh Purohit
• Dr. Deepak Raj

Dr. Hunter Cooper, a new Family Medicine resident, told WLOX the road to being a medical professional has been long, but worth it.

“You know, Mississippi is last in a lot of things, and our physician numbers- our disparities- are some of the worst in the nation, so I felt like it’s worth it,” Dr. Cooper said. “To be able to work back in Mississippi… I’m really glad Memorial opened a residency where I can train and eventually practice where I want to be- which is the Mississippi coast.”

With the addition of these classes, Memorial now boasts 36 medical residents.