News

First Family Medicine Residency Program in New York in 15 Years Receives National Accreditation

(September 13, 2011) A new residency program in Family Medicine has recently received national accreditation and is expected to help meet the growing shortage of primary care physicians in the U.S., as well as reduce healthcare costs. The first such program to be established in New York State since 1995, the NYMC Phelps Family Medicine Residency Program is a collaboration between three major health institutions in suburban Westchester County: New York Medical College, Phelps Memorial Hospital Center and Open Door Family Medical Centers.

“Our organizations are committed to this program because of the growing need for primary care services in the U.S.,” said Keith F. Safian, president and CEO of Phelps Memorial Hospital Center, the community hospital where the new residency program will be based. “In 2014, when insurance coverage is extended to millions of people who are now uninsured, there will be a sharp increase in demand for services and an estimated national shortage of 60,000 primary care physicians.”

Accreditation was granted June 1 by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, the national organization that oversees all residency training programs in the U.S. “Accreditation distinguishes the NYMC Phelps Family Medicine Residency Program as having met the high standards for graduate medical education,” said Richard G. McCarrick, vice dean for graduate medical education at New York Medical College.

The college will serve as the sponsoring academic institution for the new program. More than 80 Phelps physicians will supervise and teach the residents during their three years of training. Residents will see outpatients at Open Door Family Medical Centers, a community health center organization that is known for providing care under the “patient-centered medical home model,” according to Executive Director Lindsay Farrell.

“Family Medicine is the lynchpin in what is becoming an increasingly complex healthcare system,” said Dr. Montgomery Douglas, Chairman of the Department of Family and Community Medicine at New York Medical College. “Healthcare costs are lowered as patients of family physicians make less frequent visits to higher-cost specialists and emergency rooms.”
“Family physicians care for people across their life spectrum, including prenatal care, delivering babies, and caring for children, adolescents and adults,” said Dr. Shantie Harkisoon, director of the new residency program. “We bring a holistic perspective to healthcare and advocate prevention alongside disease management.”

Applications are now being accepted for the first class of 6 residents who will start their training in July 2012. Recently representatives of the NYMC Phelps program introduced prospective residents to the new program at the National Conference of Family Medicine Residents and Medical Students in Kansas City, MO. A heightened interest in Family Medicine was demonstrated as 2,300 residents and medical students attended the conference from across the country.

Further information on the NYMC Phelps Family Medicine Residency Program is available at www.nymcphelpsresidency.org or by calling 914-366-5359.