Honor Community Health residents earn national ACGME grant for culinary diabetes program. Honor launched Michigan's first FQHC residency program in 2023. PONTIAC, Mich.-(July 23, 2026)-Honor Community Health, Oakland County's largest Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), today announced that two of its residents have been awarded a national Back to Bedside grant from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) to launch a culinary diabetes program built around patients' own stories, kitchens and cultures. Dr. Srija Kesireddy and Dr. Carlos Godinez Rodriguez will lead the project, which convenes patients in group sessions that combine cooking, storytelling and reflection. Residents will work alongside them to co-create low-cost, culturally appropriate meal plans grounded in the food practices patients already have. "As an FQHC teaching facility, Honor is working to expand our residency program to increase access to care in Oakland County," said Deb Brinson, Honor CEO. "For too long, our community has had too few primary care providers, and our residency program is dedicated to training physicians who are compassionate, skilled, and ready to shape the future of medicine. The Back to Bedside grant is a perfect example of that work in action." In addition to providing culturally competent care for patients, the program will also help enhance residents' skills in active listening, cultural humility, goal-setting, and patient-centered communication through experiential learning. "Honor's patients come from many different cultures and food traditions," said Dr. Nikhil Hemady, Chief Medical Officer at Honor. "Dr. Kesireddy and Dr. Godinez Rodriguez built a program based around listening, which helps build trust and will empower patients to take on a bigger role in their own care. I want to congratulate Dr. Kesireddy, Dr. Godinez Rodriguez, and Dr. Jason Ramos, Program Director, for their thoughtful and compassionate efforts." Back to Bedside is designed to empower residents and fellows to develop projects that transform their clinical learning environment and foster meaning and joy in work by allowing them to engage and connect on a deeper level with what is at the heart of medicine: their patients. Supported by the ACGME, Back to Bedside provides a competitive funding opportunity for resident- and/or fellow-led teams to develop innovative, cost-effective projects to strengthen the physician-patient relationship. The initiative is also intended to create a learning collaborative of resident-/fellow-led research teams. Honor launched its Family Medicine Residency Program in 2023. It is Michigan's first residency program located in a FQHC and will help expand access to care in Oakland County. Honor Community Health, the largest Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in Oakland County, is committed to treating patients with the utmost respect and dignity, while empowering them to take charge of their health since establishment in 2011. Honor Community Health strive to be your trusted healthcare partner, offering high-quality, compassionate care through clinical excellence, community involvement and patient engagement, designed to create a lasting impact in the lives of its patients and their families. Honor Community Health believe everyone deserves to feel safe, heard, and empowered on their health journey. For more information about its services, please visit: honorcommunityhealth.org/.