FEATURE

Baystate Physician Spouses Association a Welcome Addition

BPSA Holiday Partygoers Christine Freda, BPSA President, and Shelby Mundy, Vice-President, are third and fourth from left.

Over the last year, an association for the spouses and families of Baystate residents and fellows has been formed. Christine Freda, whose husband is an attending physician in Nephrology, is the group’s president, and Shelby Mundy, whose husband is a Surgery resident, is vice-president. Sponsored by Academic Affairs, BPSA aims to:

• provide a welcoming community for families new to the area and help them transition to Western Massachusetts

• foster friendships between families to create a support network

• develop meaningful traditions that will strengthen the association and its ties to members.

BPSA has already organized several social events over the past 3 months, such as “mix and mingles” for members, couples nights for members and their spouses, and a holiday party at Freda’s home that was attended by 25 – 30 people. They plan to continue those activities monthly and, starting in the new year, try and start up some play groups. In addition, BPSA adopted a family of 6 through Westover Air Reserve Base’s Angel Tree program that was enthusiastically supported by members.

BPSA President Inspired by Cleveland Clinic Spouse Association

Ms. Freda was involved for 6 years in Cleveland Clinic’s housestaff association when her husband was a resident there, serving as president for 2 ½ years. The impetus for BPSA came after she compared residency training experiences with the wife of a Baystate resident with whom she had become friends. Those conversations reinforced how much a spouses association had enhanced her family’s time in Cleveland. After learning that Baystate didn't have a similar organization, she felt confident she could help get one started because of her deep involvement at the Clinic.  She contacted the GME office and was excited to find out that Baystate was interested in starting a spouses group and welcomed her involvement.  

Baystate's Second Try at Spouse Association

According to Paula Wayne, GME Registrar, there had been a short-lived spouses group at Baystate in the late 1980’s that fizzled out when the resident whose wife was the president graduated. But Academic Affairs recognizes the value of such a group in not only meeting the social networking needs of new residents and fellows, but in the significant role it can play in recruiting them to Baystate in the first place. So, Martha Anderson, GME Program Analyst, got involved, connecting Freda to Physician Recruitment, Marketing Communications, and the Office of Diversity, which all lent assistance in starting up and growing the association.

Freda is encouraged by the progress BPSA has made so far, saying that she is excited to see “the organization grow from an idea to a working group. We’re heading in the right direction, starting to develop our community. Next year, existing members, who are mostly spouses of first year residents, can support the newcomers.”

Plans for 2010

Plans for next year include, meeting with interviewees’ spouses, putting new residents and fellows in touch with someone living in communities they are interested in, and staffing a table at orientation to distribute information and collect spouses’ contact information.

Feedback from members has been positive so far. According to Freda, people have thanked her for organizing BPSA because they feel they really need an organization like this to help them meet and connect with each other.

For more information about BPSA, email: PhysicianSpouseAssociation@BaystateHealth.org