Residency Programs

Hanford Family Practice Residency Program—Rural Track

Meet Our Residents

Danny R. Cruz, MD

Dr. Cruz grew up in Compostela, Cebu, Philippines, and earned his M.D. from the Cebu Institute of Medicine. He also earned an MBA at the University of the Redlands. He speaks Tagalog, Visayan and English. Hanford appealed to him for his residency program because it reminds him of the Philippines, he said. He was born and raised in a rural community and wanted to raise his daughter in a similar environment.

 

Nahid Eskandari, MD

Dr. Eskandari, who speaks Farsi and English, was born in Tehran, Iran, and earned her M.D. from Shiraz University in Iran. She moved to the United States for opportunities and for a better life for her son. Dr. Eskandari said she chose Hanford for her residency because she likes small towns.

 

Candice Golez, MD

Dr. Golez, who grew up in the Philippines, earned her medical degree from the University of the East in Manila and practiced a year there before moving to the United States. "It was the wish of my grandfather that I come here. He was here and he had cancer, and he wanted me to come. It was such a blessing because I learned a lot." The Hanford program's mission of whole-person care attracted her here, she said. "To be able to truly care for my patients, I have to understand the whole person."

 

John "Seth" Lukens, MD

Dr. Lukens was attracted to this program's longitudinal curriculum and focus on rural medicine, he said. "I want to work in the mission field, probably in Africa. You get a wide range of experience here, and you get to have a lot of hands-on experience, compared with a lot of other residencies."

He earned his M.D. from Loma Linda University. He spent part of his childhood in Lesotho, southern Africa and hopes to return there. "There’s such a great need," he said.

Mi Ran Park, MD

Dr. Park is from South Korea and graduated with a BS in Natural Science and received her MD from Chonbuk National University.

One of the reasons Dr. Park chose Hanford is because it reminded her of South Korea’s rural towns, she says. “When I came to Hanford, I felt that it was very familiar to me. You get to know people for a very long time.” She says she came to be a doctor because she likes working with patients and other doctors.

Back to top