Apr 1, 2013 3 min read

Cornerstone Care announced a new physician will join its staff this summer.

Dr. Amber Warren of Mt. Morris will provide family medicine to area residents in both Mt. Morris and Rogersville and she will participate in Cornerstone Care’s new residency program headquartered in its Mt. Morris Primary Care Center.

“I am excited to become a part of Cornerstone Care and the new residency program that is developing. I look forward to teaching residents and students while helping facilitate learning throughout the years,” Warren said.

After attending West Virginia University and graduating with a degree in exercise physiology, Warren received her medical degree from the West Virginia School of Medicine. She completed her family medical residency training at Carilion Clinic in Roanoke, Va.

In terms of her practice philosophy, Warren said, “I believe in my osteopathic principles that the mind, body and spirit are all interrelated and should be treated as a whole.” She also believes in “treating others how you would want to be treated.”

In her spare time, Warren enjoys hunting, farming, running, skiing and traveling with her husband, John. They have been married since June of 2012 and have two dogs and a cat.

Earlier this year, Cornerstone Care entered into a partnership with Mon General Hospital of Morgantown, W.Va., and Mountain State Osteopathic Postdoctoral Training Institutions Inc. Teaching Health Center to offer a Family Medicine Residency program scheduled to begin July 1.

The three-year program is approved for 12 positions and can accept up to four qualified residents each year.

During the first year of training, the resident will be exposed to a broad range of disciplines. Rotations will be spent at Mon General Hospital in the hospitalist service, emergency medicine, general surgery, cardiology, anesthesiology, radiology, obstetrics and gynecology with the specialist teaching faculty. Pediatrics, family medicine, sports medicine, pain management and dermatology will be primarily office-based rotations.

During the second and third years of training, opportunities will be available to spend more focused rotation time in special training tracts for sports medicine, hospitalist medicine, behavioral medicine, geriatrics or women’s health.

According to Cornerstone Care’s CEO Robert MtJoy, “Increasing the number of health care professionals willing to work in underserved areas means more people will have access to primary care and healthcare that is organized to prevent more expensive care down the road.”

Cornerstone Care is a federally qualified health center with central offices located in Greensboro. Cornerstone Care provides a full range of primary care and preventative health, dental and mental health care in eight locations in Southwestern Pennsylvania, including offices in Mount Morris, Waynesburg, Uniontown, Burgettstown, Rogersville and Washington. The Mt. Morris Primary Care Center just north of the West Virginia-Pennsylvania state line will host the Teaching Center.

“According to information from the Pennsylvania Department of Health, of 67 Pennsylvania counties, 50 have health professional shortages and 63 are medically underserved,” MtJoy said.

“A recent study from the West Virginia Rural Health Association and the Rural Health Research Center shows the state continues to lack medical coverage in 50 out of 55 counties,” said Lorenzo Pence, D.O., dean and vice president for academic affairs at the West Virginia School of Medicine. Demand for health care providers will continue to grow as nearly 500,000 Pennsylvania residents and more than 300,000 West Virginia residents become insured under the Affordable Care Act.