Charlotte, N.C.-based Novant Health received $1.5 million from the Golden LEAF Foundation to expand a rural physician training program.
Novant Health Pender Medical Center and Black River Health Services, both in Burgaw, N.C., will collaborate to achieve and maintain accreditation for physicians interested in rural medicine. The first trainees will begin the program in July 2024, according to a Feb. 8 health system news release.
More than 30 jobs will be created as a result of this renovation and expansion program, including jobs for physicians, health professionals and allied health positions among the residency program, the release said.
"The training of primary care physicians is a priority because there is data to demonstrate those who train in rural settings seek practice opportunities in similar rural settings afterward, so our goal is to keep them in Pender County," Ruth Glaser, president and COO of Novant Health Pender Medical Center, said in the release.