HSHS St. John's Hospital in Springfield, Ill., plans to cut the number of residents and fellows employed in training programs at Springfield-based Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, according to a report from The State Journal-Register.
Here are four things to know about the plans.
1. Twenty slots will be eliminated over a six-year period, St. John's officials told The State Journal-Register. That represents a reduction of 15 percent.
2. The plan is expected to take effect this summer and take full effect in 2021.
3. St. John's officials told The State Journal-Register that reducing the number of physician residents and fellows employed in training programs would help the hospital control costs at a time when payments from private insurance plans, Medicare and Medicaid are stagnant, being cut or not rising as much as they once were.
4. Jerry Kruse, MD, dean and provost of the medical school, said in the report the plan will eventually reduce options for patients who need care from medical specialists, as 40 percent to 50 percent of physicians who finish SIU residency and fellowship programs remain in the Springfield area and other parts of central and southern Illinois to practice. "So in the long run, these reductions will mean that there probably won't be some practitioners in these various specialties that would be in this area," he told The State Journal-Register. But Dr. Kruse added that SIU officials "understand the reasons" cited by St. John's in requesting cuts.