For the second consecutive year, HCA Florida Ocala Hospital introduced a new specialty within Graduate Medical Education by launching the inaugural class of the Pulmonary Disease and Critical Care Medicine Fellowship.
HCA Florida Ocala Hospital is also pleased to announce that six physicians from the 2025-26 class opted to remain in Marion County to practice medicine, bringing to 55 the number of doctors who started their careers in the community since the inception of the Graduate Medical Education program in 2015.
“Training and developing young physicians through our Graduate Medical Education program is important to our mission to improve lives and serve our community,” said Alan Keesee, chief executive officer of HCA Florida Ocala Hospital. “That mission is greatly enhanced when our graduates remain in Marion County because they are now utilizing the skills and knowledge we provided them to give back to the community.”
HCA Florida Ocala Hospital is part of the University of Central Florida–HCA Florida Healthcare Graduate Medical Education Consortium. The hospital now has 181 residents and fellows enrolled in high-demand specialties, including anesthesiology, cardiology, emergency medicine, family medicine, general surgery, internal medicine, orthopedic surgery, pulmonary critical care, surgical critical care and a transitional year program – a one-year program that provides broad clinical training before physicians enter a specialized residency.
Throughout their training, residents and fellows will care for patients under the guidance of experienced physician faculty while gaining hands-on experience with advanced technologies, evidence-based medicine and multidisciplinary care teams. Their training helps ensure patients receive high-quality, compassionate care while preparing physicians to practice their chosen specialties.
Dr. Lindsey Ferko, a 2025 graduate of HCA Florida Ocala Hospital’s Graduate Medical Education program, was among those who chose to start her career in Ocala. Ferko is a hospitalist at HCA Florida Ocala Hospital. She and her husband, an Ocala native, now have two young children.
“I knew that this is where I wanted to be. Ocala has been such a great place to raise our family because of the great support system we have here but also because of the actual city itself — the area, the people, and the team at the hospital and how accommodating they are, allowing me to be a doctor and a mom. That’s not something you get everywhere, so staying in Ocala was a no-brainer,” said Ferko. “It’s a really nice town to live in and be close to other major cities but not have those challenges. Ocala’s growing and there’s everything you need, but it still has that small town feel. It’s the perfect balance.”
“Our graduates choose to stay because they develop a strong connection with both the community and the people they work alongside. They receive excellent clinical training, build meaningful relationships with faculty, staff, and patients, and experience a collaborative culture where they feel supported and valued,” said Dr. Chandan Mitra, director of the Internal Medicine Residency at HCA Florida Ocala Hospital.
“Many also appreciate the opportunity to begin their careers in a growing healthcare system while enjoying the quality of life that Ocala and Marion County offer,” Mitra added. “When our graduates remain in the community, everyone benefits. This helps improve access to care, strengthens continuity for patients, and contributes to a stable, highly trained physician workforce dedicated to serving our community for years to come.”
The UCF-HCA Graduate Medical Education Consortium is the fastest growing residency and fellowship program in Florida, and as of this summer, is training more than 800 physicians in Greater Orlando, Sanford, Tallahassee, Gainesville, Ocala, Pensacola and Fort Walton Beach.
“HCA Florida Healthcare is committed to developing tomorrow’s physician leaders,” said HCA Healthcare North Florida Division vice president of graduate medical education Cheryll Albold, Ph.D. “By investing in graduate medical education, we’re not only training exceptional physicians, we are also strengthening the future of healthcare across North Florida.”
HCA Florida Healthcare’s graduate medical education programs train more new doctors than any other program in the state. With 153 GME programs across 29 teaching hospitals, HCA Florida Healthcare’s 2,580 residents and fellows are the next generation of doctors local communities will depend on for care.
