December 10, 2019
Increase in GME commitments intended to help address Metroplex shortage of physicians, boost access to care and improve quality outcomes
Research papers

ARLINGTON, TEXAS — When it comes to comparably sized markets, Dallas-Fort Worth has fewer residency slots per 100,000 people than Chicago, Houston, New York and Los Angeles. With an aging physician workforce in North Texas and among the highest numbers of uninsured and medically underserved in the country, this investment in GME slots will allow Texas Health to address many critical access issues facing consumers in Texas Health’s service area.

According to a study by the American Association of Medical Colleges, the United States will face a shortage of between 42,600 and 121,300 physicians by 2030. A primary care physician shortage of 21,100 to 55,200 physicians is projected by 2032.

Texas Health’s GME program will focus primarily on training more physicians in the primary care specialties such as internal medicine, family medicine, and obstetrics and gynecology, as well as in general surgery, psychiatry and emergency medicine.

“This is another step in Texas Health’s vision of partnering with our communities for a lifetime of health and well-being,” said Barclay E. Berdan, FACHE, chief executive officer. “Since residents often continue their careers where they train, we expect this effort will help our communities for decades to come. These residents also will help expand the services we can provide to the community inside our hospital walls, in our clinics and other patient care settings.”

The graduate medical education program will roll out over the course of the next three years, culminating in more than 350 residents working in Texas Health hospitals across North Texas. Today, the system has more than 40 residents working at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas.

Residents will begin working at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth in mid-2021 with additional hospital and outpatient continuity clinics and locations following afterward. In addition to working in urban settings, Texas Health expects residents to rotate to rural and underserved communities, such as Erath County.

Residency programs have been shown to improve health outcomes by lowering hospital readmission rates, reducing emergency room use, increasing access to care for medically underserved populations and improving quality and outcomes.

“Creating residency programs benefits consumers, enhances our culture of excellence by promoting lifelong learning and expanding continuing medical education opportunities for physicians on the medical staffs,” said Jeffrey Canose, M.D., chief operating officer and senior executive vice president of Texas Health. “We deeply value the physicians already caring for patients at Texas Health. Bringing more residents to our campuses complements our robust medical staffs as well as the physicians and advanced practice providers in Texas Health Physicians Group.”

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About Texas Health Resources

Texas Health Resources is a faith-based, nonprofit health system that cares for more patients in North Texas than any other provider. With a service area that consists of 16 counties and more than 7 million people, the system is committed to providing quality, coordinated care through its Texas Health Physicians Group and 29 hospital locations under the banners of Texas Health Presbyterian, Texas Health Arlington Memorial, Texas Health Harris Methodist and Texas Health Huguley. Texas Health access points and services, ranging from acute-care hospitals and trauma centers to outpatient facilities and home health and preventive services, provide the full continuum of care for all stages of life. The system has more than 4,100 licensed hospital beds, 6,400 physicians with active staff privileges and more than 26,000 employees. For more information about Texas Health, call 1-877-THR-WELL, or visit www.TexasHealth.org.  

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