Instant community: Auxiliary creates immediate support system for partners, families of residents and fellows

When Alex Cooper had to take her child to the Emergency Department, her husband Neal was in the OR performing vascular surgery at Geisinger Medical Center. The family had just moved to Danville from South Carolina. If they had been almost anywhere else, Ms. Cooper would have felt isolated and overwhelmed; Dr. Cooper might have felt guilt and stress. Instead, thanks to a robust Residents Auxiliary at Geisinger, Ms. Cooper already had a friend to accompany her, and her husband knew she was in good hands.

Doctors move a lot for medical school, residency training and fellowship training. And most of those moves are dependent on the Match, meaning doctors don’t control where they’re going. It can be chaotic, and when there is a partner or family involved, it can be disruptive and stressful.

The Residents Auxiliary is there for these families.

“Everybody knows that residency is really hard,” Ms. Cooper said. “But this auxiliary — because it’s helping families — is helping the physician, too. In the end, patients benefit because when the resident is at work, they need to be focused 110% on the job.”

Since the Coopers arrived in Danville, the auxiliary has been growing. Today, support is available through programs that provide meals to new parents and help for residents facing personal challenges, like grief.

Resident families who have relied on the auxiliary take the idea with them when they move on. And the auxiliary has been expanding its mission, starting with becoming a 501c3 nonprofit that allows the group to move into the broader community.

“We work with the Ronald McDonald House. We clean up parks. We hold clothing drives and work at the food pantry,” said Ivette Bugarini, co-president. “We love being here, and we want to be part of this community.”