Adventist Health Glendale Family Medicine Residency Program Honored by Keck School of Medicine for Two Decades of Excellence

Adventist Health Glendale’s Family Medicine Residency Program was recognized by the University of Southern California (USC) Keck School of Medicine for 20 years of exceptional dedication to mentoring and training future physicians.

On Thursday, April 24, the Adventist Health Glendale Family Medicine Residency program was honored at the Annual USC Keck Family Medicine Dinner for its longstanding commitment to clinical education and its impact on generations of Keck medical students.

This recognition reflects a two-decade partnership between Adventist Health Glendale and the Keck School of Medicine — one built on a shared mission to advance academic excellence, expand clinical education, and serve the health needs of our diverse local communities through family medicine.

Our Family Medicine residents play a key role in this collaboration by providing clinical training and mentorship to Keck medical students during their third-year outpatient rotations and elective clerkships. In partnership with local clinics, these inpatient and outpatient experiences provide hands-on exposure to a broad range of specialties, including sports medicine, geriatrics, prenatal care, addiction medicine, psychiatric care, and lifestyle medicine.

The benefits of this collaboration are mutual. Adventist Health Glendale’s Family Medicine residents also gain valuable opportunities to sharpen their clinical knowledge and leadership skills as they guide the next generation of physicians, creating an evergreen cycle of mentorship and professional growth among students, residents, and faculty alike.

In a full-circle moment, Dr. Jolie Cooperman — Co-Associate Program Director and Director of Women’s Health & Family Medicine in Obstetrics at Adventist Health Glendale — accepted the award on behalf of the residency program. A Keck alumna herself, Dr. Cooperman was also recognized for her unwavering commitment to mentoring and educating future physicians, continuing the legacy that once shaped her career.

Looking ahead, our Family Medicine Residency Program aims to expand its collaboration with Keck through a new initiative: the Primary Care Senior Seminar, an annual post-clerkship elective designed for third- and fourth-year medical students passionate about primary care. The seminar blends hands-on clinical experience in primary care clinics with lectures and workshops to give students a deeper understanding of real-world family medicine. Our program here in Glendale has been approved as a training site for this elective, and enrollment is already under way.

“This achievement exemplifies Adventist Health Glendale’s mission to inspire health, wholeness, and hope,” said Dr. Cooperman. “It reflects our core values of excellence, integrity, and compassion, manifested through our commitment to education, innovation, and caring for the underserved.”