Over the next six years, Norfolk, Va.-based Sentara Healthcare plans to establish new residency programs at four hospitals, and expand several existing training programs.
The expansion will bring the number of residency positions at Sentara to more than 400, up from the 240 slots it currently hosts, according to an Aug. 1 news release. The number of Medicare-funded Graduate Medical Education slots hospitals receive is set by CMS. Sentara's cap is 122.90 full-time equivalent residents, a spokesperson confirmed to Becker's.
The health system will expand training programs in cardiology, anesthesia and neurology at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. In addition, it will establish new residency programs at Sentara CarePlex Hospital in Hampton (Va.); Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center; Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center in Woodbridge (Va.); and Sentara Albemarle Medical Center in Elizabeth City, N.C.
"We are working to train the specialties that the community needs," Michael Hooper, MD, senior vice president and chief academic officer at Sentara, said in a news release. "We believe strongly that if we train more physicians locally in our markets, we're more likely to keep physicians locally in our markets."
The health system is partnering with Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion University on the expansion. It will invest $350 million over the next 10 years to support the center, which is the result of a partnership between ODU and Eastern Virginia Medical School. The integration brought together five academic colleges and schools under the new health sciences center.