New fellows begin residency training at St. Francis Health-Mooresville

MOORESVILLE, Ind. -- Mark Casillas Jr., M.D., and Luis Oceguera, M.D., have begun their fellowships in the Indiana University School of Medicine Colon and Rectal Residency Program at Kendrick Colon and Rectal Center at Franciscan St. Francis Health-Mooresville.

This is the third year of the program, the first of its kind in central Indiana. Each previous year, Kendrick hosted only one fellow.

Casillas received his master’s degree from the University of Alabama and his medical degree from the University of Alabama School of Medicine in Birmingham. He is completing his general surgery residency at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Oceguera received bachelor’s degree at La Sierra University, Riverside, Calif. He received a master’s degree in anatomy from Loma Linda (Calif.) University, where he also attained his medical degree from the School of Medicine.

Upon completing their fellowship training, Casillas and Oceguera will be eligible for the qualifying and certifying exams of the American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery.

The residency program was established in 2008 through a partnership between IU, Franciscan St. Francis and Kendrick and marks the first educational joint venture between Franciscan St. Francis and the medical school, the nation’s second-largest academic medical institution.

The teaching staff comprises surgeons with Kendrick Regional Center and assistant clinical professors with the IU School of Medicine’s Department of Surgery. They are Drs. Olaf Johansen, Fred Lane, R. Barry Melbert, Bridget Sanders, Dipen Maun and Ben Tsai from Kendrick; and Drs. Bruce Robb and Virgilio George from IU.

More information about the fellowship is available by calling 317-834-9618 or at the Kendrick website www.kendrickcenter.com, or the IU School of Medicine site, www.medicine.iu.edu.

In 2007, St. Francis established the Colorectal Cancer Center center of excellence for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of colorectal cancer. It’s one of the largest programs of its kind in Indiana. To learn more about its services, go to www.stfrancishospitals.org/Cancer/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=38