Rural Residency Planning and Development Program - Eligible Entity Type: Graduate medical education consortium Project Director Contact Information: Bryan Hodge, DO, bryan.hodge@mahec.net, Residency Program Director Contact Information: TBH Residency Specialty & Type: Ob/Gyn (2-2 RTT); Internal Medicine (1-2 RTT); Psychiatry (2-2 RTT); Family Medicine (1-2 RTT) Sponsoring Institution: The WNC SM-RTT Consortium sponsoring institution is Mountain Area Health Education Center (MAHEC), and Harris Regional Hospital and Cherokee Indian Hospital Authority (CIHA) are rural training partners. Rural Target Area(s): Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Jackson, Macon, and Swain counties in Western North Carolina Funding Amount Requested: $749,005 Program Sustainability Option: Option 1 Projected Number of Residents: 16 Expected ACGME Accreditation and Residency Matriculation Dates: Ob/Gyn Accreditation: 12/08/2021, Matriculation: 07/01/2026; Internal Medicine Accreditation: 01/14/2021, Matriculation: 07/01/2025; Psychiatry Accreditation: 01/20/2021, Matriculation: 07/01/2026; Family Medicine Accreditation: 04/26/2022, Matriculation: 07/01/2025 To transform the rural workforce and improve health outcomes in rural, underserved Western North Carolina (WNC), we propose the development of the nation’s first Shared Multi-specialty Rural Training Track (SMRTT) in this high-need community to create a rural cohort combining the Graduate Medical Education training programs of Obstetrics/Gynecology, Internal Medicine, Psychiatry, and Family Medicine. WNC is home to 786,214 people across 16 counties, 88% of which are rural. It covers 6,685 square miles and the target patient population of the region represents a subset of rural Southern Appalachia. The service area for the rural training track is primarily Swain, Jackson, and surrounding rural counties. This region struggles with diseases of despair, poor access to primary care, and persistent health outcome inequities. As of the 2020 census, WNC is 89.9% White, 4.3% Black or African American, 1.5% American Indian/Alaskan Native, and 6% Hispanic or Latino (of any race). Of particular importance to the region and project, WNC is home to 10,700 members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians who live both on and off Tribal lands. The WNC SMRTT Consortium includes Mountain Area Health Education Center (MAHEC) as the sponsoring training institution, and Harris Regional Hospital and Cherokee Indian Health Authority (CIHA) as rural training partners and primary training sites. The target outcome is to create a shared training infrastructure in which greater than 50% of training occurs in this shared rural training track. The proposed project aims to establish at least 3 ACGME accredited rural Residency Training Tracks (RTT) in the rural counties of Swain, Jackson, and Macon within the grant period. When at full complement, the program will produce at least 16 residents in 4 specialties focused on serving the needs of the region. This approach capitalizes on a common rural-specific curriculum emphasizing team-based care delivery, community engagement, social determinants of health, clinical leadership, and expanded clinical skills. The measurable outcomes expected include • <75% rural placement rate, graduating 16 Primary Care Physicians annually • Increased primary care physician density (PCP: population ratio) in direct and surrounding rural counties • Improved regional access to comprehensive health services in high-need HPSA score counties with rural health disparities • Demonstrating a radical approach to sustained interdisciplinary workforce training that is replicable in other rural environments and can inform policy changes We have been awarded the following relevant HRSA health workforce, rural, or training awards: 1 G25RH40046¬01¬00 - RCORP Planning Award with Haywood County Meridian; 5 T25HP37604-02-00 - Addiction Medicine Fellowship (AMF) Program; D58HP37578 - PCTE- 5 year 2021-2022; and as yet unnumbered - HRSA Teaching Health Center Hendersonville.
