Center For Family Medicine Celebrates 50th Anniversary

Center for Family Medicine (CFM) and the Sioux Falls Family Medicine Residency (SFFMR) announces its 50th anniversary as a family medicine clinic and residency program in 2023. 

CFM is a non-profit corporation originally formed in 1973 as the “Family Practice Center”, jointly and equally sponsored and supported by Avera and Sanford Hospitals. The offices and practice of Lloyd Sweeney, MD, founding director, served as the program’s initial base, with the first two residents graduating in 1975. CFM moved to its current location on the Avera campus in 2002.  

The program’s mission has been clear from the start: “It's our mission to train allopathic and osteopathic Family Physicians – emphasizing excellence in evidence-based medicine, patient care, and community service – in preparation for practice in South Dakota and other areas of the rural Upper Midwest.” Since 1973, over 400 doctors have graduated from the SFFMR program, many of which continue practice in South Dakota and the immediately adjacent states. Presently, 33 doctors are residents of the program, including 6 doctors at the Pierre Rural Family Medicine Residency in Pierre, SD.  

CFM and SFFMR will celebrate “5 Decades of Giving” with a 50th Anniversary celebration in October 2023. For more information on Center for Family Medicine and the Sioux Falls Family Medicine Residency, please visit centerforfamilymed.org