Following National Match Day 2026 in March, HCA Florida Ocala Hospital will soon welcome more than 70 new doctors to begin residencies and fellowships in one of several in-demand specialties — anesthesiology, emergency medicine, family medicine, general surgery, internal medicine, orthopedic surgery, cardiology, pulmonary critical care, and surgical critical care.
“Match Day is always an exciting moment — not only for medical students but also for those of us at HCA Florida Ocala Hospital who guide them on this new path in their careers in medicine,” said Alan Keesee, chief executive officer of HCA Florida Ocala Hospital, a member of the University of Central Florida–HCA Florida Healthcare Graduate Medical Education (GME) Consortium.
“At HCA Florida Ocala Hospital, we are proud of our role in training new physicians, educating them in the latest techniques, therapies and technology. We look forward to the arrival of this class and watching them grow in confidence, knowledge and skill as they serve our patients and our community.”
Juanito Abrigo, from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, will be among those new doctors. He has enrolled in the Family Medicine GME program at HCA Florida Ocala Hospital.
“I was just really excited and honored to match with HCA Florida Ocala Hospital. This was the program I ranked at the top, so the fact that they also chose me made me incredibly grateful. It felt like everything aligned,” Abrigo said. “I really connected with the program’s culture. The attending physicians, residents, and staff were all genuinely welcoming and invested in teaching, which made a big impression on me. I also appreciated the wide range of clinical exposure and electives, which really aligns with the kind of training I’m looking for in my future career.”
“By the time I graduate, I hope to be a well-rounded and capable Family Medicine physician, with strong clinical skills and the ability to manage a wide variety of conditions,” Abrigo added. “If possible, I’d even love the opportunity to stay on, continue training, and hopefully start my career within the same community. Overall, it just felt like a place where I could grow and felt at home, and now I just have to get some cowboy boots to fully fit in.”
The University of Central Florida–HCA Florida Healthcare GME Consortium is the fastest growing residency and fellowship program in Florida. By this summer, the consortium will be training more than 800 physicians in Ocala, greater Orlando, Sanford, Tallahassee, Gainesville, Pensacola and Fort Walton Beach.
When the 2026-27 academic year begins in July, HCA Florida Ocala Hospital will host a total of 181 residents and fellows in its GME program. That includes 65 new residents and eight new doctors for fellowships.
Within that group, HCA Florida Ocala Hospital’s program includes:
- Three doctors in the inaugural class of the Pulmonary Critical Care fellowship, which eventually will grow to a total of nine physicians.
- Three additional participants in the Emergency Medicine program, which has expanded from seven total residencies each year to 10.
- 13 new doctors slated for the Transitional Year program, which provides recent medical school graduates with a year of comprehensive clinical skills training before
- they focus on more specialized training.
“HCA Florida Healthcare congratulates all of the exceptional medical students who matched with our residency and fellowship programs across Florida,” said Dr. Cheryll Albold, vice president of graduate medical education for HCA Healthcare’s North Florida Division. “We are excited to welcome the next generation of physicians who will carry forward our mission – above all else, to care for and improve human life – and deliver compassionate, patient-centered care in the communities we are honored to serve.”
“As the need for physicians grows in Florida, with an estimated physician shortage of 18,000 projected over the next decade, we are helping to meet those needs,” said Dr. Stephen Cico, UCF’s associate dean of graduate medical education and the UCF-HCA Florida Healthcare GME Consortium’s designated institutional officer. “We are focused on medical specialties that are or are going to be in the highest demand.”
With more than 300 residency and fellowship programs across the U.S., HCA Healthcare leads the nation in graduate medical education. Learn more about HCA Florida Healthcare and find your nearest healthcare provider.