UAMS will add 22 new residency slots in South Arkansas with $2.5M of state funds
New residency slots at two South Arkansas hospitals will provide needed medical training and services in that part of the state, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences said last week.
The state's primary medical school is adding 22 family medicine residency slots because of $2.5 million allocated by the Legislature in February, UAMS announced in a news release.
UAMS will use the money as 'start-up funds' for the first three years of the residency programs in Crossett and El Dorado, which includes an obstetrics fellowship, Chancellor Dr. Cam Patterson wrote in the university's funding request to the Joint Budget Committee's PEER Review subcommittee. The panel approved the request Feb. 26 with no discussion or dissent, and the full committee approved it the following day.
The number of students graduating from Arkansas medical schools has outpaced the state's number of residencies in recent years, but Arkansas leaders in medical education have been working to add more slots at hospitals throughout the state.
Most physicians practice in the same state where they complete their residencies, and UAMS sponsors roughly 85% of residencies statewide, said Dr. Molly Gathright, executive associate dean for Graduate Medical Education in UAMS' College of Medicine.
Arkansas leaders work to close gap between medical school graduates and in-state residencies
The health system announced in May 2023 that it would train residents at the South Arkansas Regional Hospital in El Dorado in partnership with a local nonprofit. Last week's news release said UAMS plans to obtain accreditation for the El Dorado facility this year and enroll its first residents in the summer of 2026. The Crossett facility enrolled its first residents last year.
'Expanding training opportunities in this region helps address health care needs and strengthens the local workforce,' Gathright said in a statement to the Advocate. 'At the same time, every residency program plays a vital role in improving access to care across the state, and our goal is to support a broad distribution of training opportunities to meet diverse community needs.'
In addition to its main Little Rock campus and the Crossett campus, UAMS trains residents at six other regional campuses throughout the state: Batesville, Fayetteville, Fort Smith, Jonesboro, Pine Bluff and Texarkana. A seventh residency program in Magnolia closed in 2022.
Adding medical residencies to a community boosts the local economy, according to a study released this month by Heartland Forward. The Bentonville-based research organization estimates that gradually adding 275 new medical residents over six years — about 46 per year — would create an additional $465 million in economic activity for Arkansas.
Republican U.S. Sen. John Boozman, an optometrist from Rogers, sponsored multiple bipartisan bills during the last session of Congress to create more residency slots nationwide and retain the doctors that train in those positions, particularly in rural areas. The legislation stalled in committee.
UAMS' Fayetteville and Crossett locations specifically train family medicine specialists to practice in rural areas. Some of Arkansas' rural counties do not have hospitals, according to the Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care.
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Residents who train in El Dorado and Crossett will be 'immersed in south Arkansas-based rural clinical settings,' though they will complete some of their training in Little Rock at both UAMS and Arkansas Children's Hospital, according to the health system's announcement last week.
'The current structure of our UAMS sponsored rural training programs — one year in an urban hospital followed by two years at a rural training site — ensures residents gain broad clinical experience while becoming fully immersed in rural practice,' Gathright said. 'The hope is that this model increases the likelihood that they will stay and provide care in these communities, improving access for low-income patients and those who must travel long distances for medical services.'
Ashley County, where Crossett is the largest city, had fewer than five full-time primary care physicians per 10,000 people as of 2021, a slight decrease from 2020, according to data from the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement.
Additionally, Arkansas has a shortage of maternal health care providers, particularly in rural areas. Gathright said the obstetrics fellowship funded by the $2.5 million grant will be 'crucial to improving access to care' in rural South Arkansas. The fellowship will open July 1 in El Dorado.
The Bradley County Medical Center closed its labor and delivery unit within the past 18 months due to staffing struggles. Bradley County borders both Ashley County and Union County, where El Dorado is the county seat.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNN
8 hours ago
- CNN
Department of Veterans Affairs looks to end certain abortion services for veterans
The US Department of Veterans Affairs is proposing to end certain abortion services to veterans, rolling back a Biden-era move to expand abortion rights. In a proposed rule filed Friday, the department said that it is seeking to revoke access to abortions and abortion counseling for veterans and the beneficiaries of the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs. 'We take this action to ensure that VA provides only needed medical services to our nation's heroes and their families,' the department said in the filing. Under the Biden administration's rule, the department currently provides access to abortions when a pregnant veteran's life or health is at risk if their pregnancy were carried to term, or if the pregnancy was the result of rape or incest — regardless of state laws. The proposed rule would allow abortions in cases where 'a physician certifies that the life of the mother would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term,' which, according to the filing, had been permitted even before the 2022 expansion. The Biden-era rule was part of the administration's efforts to expand abortion access after Republican-led states pushed ahead with restrictions in the wake of the 2022 Supreme Court ruling that eliminated the federal right to an abortion. The VA argued at the time that it was necessary to give veterans access to abortions, saying, 'As abortion bans come into force across the country, veterans in many States are no longer assured access to abortion services in their communities, even when those services are needed.' But on Friday, President Donald Trump's VA slammed the Biden administration's rule, calling it federal overreach. 'The stated reason for (the expansion) was a reaction to a Supreme Court decision, Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization … that itself was intended to prevent federal overreach and return to States control over the provision of abortion services,' the filing states. 'Yet, the last administration used Dobbs to do the exact opposite of preventing overreach, creating a purported Federal entitlement to abortion for veterans where none had existed before and without regard to State law.' Twenty states have banned or limited access to abortion. States where abortion is limited report higher rates of maternal and infant mortality, as well as greater economic insecurity. The proposed rule will now be open for public comment for 30 days starting Monday. In his first term, Trump made good on campaign promises and appointed Supreme Court justices who helped overturn Roe v. Wade. Since that ruling, Trump has been keen to leave regulations over the issue to state governments. The Trump administration has overall been quiet on the issue of abortion in his second term. However, in June, the US Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services moved to rescind a 2022 federal guidance to health care providers specifying that people should be able to access an abortion in the event of a medical emergency, even if state laws restrict such procedures. CNN's Veronica Stracqualursi and Jen Christensen contributed to this report.
CNN
9 hours ago
- CNN
Department of Veterans Affairs looks to end certain abortion services for veterans
The US Department of Veterans Affairs is proposing to end certain abortion services to veterans, rolling back a Biden-era move to expand abortion rights. In a proposed rule filed Friday, the department said that it is seeking to revoke access to abortions and abortion counseling for veterans and the beneficiaries of the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs. 'We take this action to ensure that VA provides only needed medical services to our nation's heroes and their families,' the department said in the filing. Under the Biden administration's rule, the department currently provides access to abortions when a pregnant veteran's life or health is at risk if their pregnancy were carried to term, or if the pregnancy was the result of rape or incest — regardless of state laws. The proposed rule would allow abortions in cases where 'a physician certifies that the life of the mother would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term,' which, according to the filing, had been permitted even before the 2022 expansion. The Biden-era rule was part of the administration's efforts to expand abortion access after Republican-led states pushed ahead with restrictions in the wake of the 2022 Supreme Court ruling that eliminated the federal right to an abortion. The VA argued at the time that it was necessary to give veterans access to abortions, saying, 'As abortion bans come into force across the country, veterans in many States are no longer assured access to abortion services in their communities, even when those services are needed.' But on Friday, President Donald Trump's VA slammed the Biden administration's rule, calling it federal overreach. 'The stated reason for (the expansion) was a reaction to a Supreme Court decision, Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization … that itself was intended to prevent federal overreach and return to States control over the provision of abortion services,' the filing states. 'Yet, the last administration used Dobbs to do the exact opposite of preventing overreach, creating a purported Federal entitlement to abortion for veterans where none had existed before and without regard to State law.' Twenty states have banned or limited access to abortion. States where abortion is limited report higher rates of maternal and infant mortality, as well as greater economic insecurity. The proposed rule will now be open for public comment for 30 days starting Monday. In his first term, Trump made good on campaign promises and appointed Supreme Court justices who helped overturn Roe v. Wade. Since that ruling, Trump has been keen to leave regulations over the issue to state governments. The Trump administration has overall been quiet on the issue of abortion in his second term. However, in June, the US Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services moved to rescind a 2022 federal guidance to health care providers specifying that people should be able to access an abortion in the event of a medical emergency, even if state laws restrict such procedures. CNN's Veronica Stracqualursi and Jen Christensen contributed to this report.
CNN
9 hours ago
- CNN
Department of Veterans Affairs looks to end certain abortion services for veterans
The US Department of Veterans Affairs is proposing to end certain abortion services to veterans, rolling back a Biden-era move to expand abortion rights. In a proposed rule filed Friday, the department said that it is seeking to revoke access to abortions and abortion counseling for veterans and the beneficiaries of the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs. 'We take this action to ensure that VA provides only needed medical services to our nation's heroes and their families,' the department said in the filing. Under the Biden administration's rule, the department currently provides access to abortions when a pregnant veteran's life or health is at risk if their pregnancy were carried to term, or if the pregnancy was the result of rape or incest — regardless of state laws. The proposed rule would allow abortions in cases where 'a physician certifies that the life of the mother would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term,' which, according to the filing, had been permitted even before the 2022 expansion. The Biden-era rule was part of the administration's efforts to expand abortion access after Republican-led states pushed ahead with restrictions in the wake of the 2022 Supreme Court ruling that eliminated the federal right to an abortion. The VA argued at the time that it was necessary to give veterans access to abortions, saying, 'As abortion bans come into force across the country, veterans in many States are no longer assured access to abortion services in their communities, even when those services are needed.' But on Friday, President Donald Trump's VA slammed the Biden administration's rule, calling it federal overreach. 'The stated reason for (the expansion) was a reaction to a Supreme Court decision, Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization … that itself was intended to prevent federal overreach and return to States control over the provision of abortion services,' the filing states. 'Yet, the last administration used Dobbs to do the exact opposite of preventing overreach, creating a purported Federal entitlement to abortion for veterans where none had existed before and without regard to State law.' Twenty states have banned or limited access to abortion. States where abortion is limited report higher rates of maternal and infant mortality, as well as greater economic insecurity. The proposed rule will now be open for public comment for 30 days starting Monday. In his first term, Trump made good on campaign promises and appointed Supreme Court justices who helped overturn Roe v. Wade. Since that ruling, Trump has been keen to leave regulations over the issue to state governments. The Trump administration has overall been quiet on the issue of abortion in his second term. However, in June, the US Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services moved to rescind a 2022 federal guidance to health care providers specifying that people should be able to access an abortion in the event of a medical emergency, even if state laws restrict such procedures. CNN's Veronica Stracqualursi and Jen Christensen contributed to this report.
