HHS has invested nearly $11 million to create new residency programs in rural communities throughout the U.S.
Fifteen awardees will receive up to $750,000 to establish new rural residency programs, three of which will be new family medicine residency programs focused on obstetrical training. The funding is meant to support accreditation costs, curriculum development, faculty recruitment and retention, among other stages of program development.
"Training residents in rural areas leads more medical school graduates to stay and practice in rural settings" HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a news release. "There's a shortage of doctors across the nation, especially in our most underserved communities, and these rural residency development grants will help address this shortage."
Residency slots in the U.S. haven't kept pace with growing enrollment in medical schools, largely due to a federally imposed cap from 1996 on support for residencies. To address this challenge, particularly in rural areas, CMS awarded the first 200 of 1,000 new Medicare-funded residency slots in January.