Sunday, May 18, 2025
5/18/2025
Rural Residency Planning and Development Program - Address: 1220 Jefferson ST, Laurel, MS, 39440-4355 Eligible Entity/Facility Type: Rural hospital Project Director/Residency Program Director Name and Contact Information: Dr. Deepu Thoppil, MD 504-247-8692 DThoppil@scrmc.com Website Address: https://scrmc.com/ Program Pathway: General Primary Care and High Need Specialty Pathway Residency Residency Specialty: Internal Medicine (IM) and Family Medicine (FM) Residency Format: New RTP (New Program Accreditation) Sponsoring Institution Name, Location, ACGME Program Code: South Central Regional Medical Center; 1220 Jefferson ST, Laurel, MS, 39440-4355; 270042 Rural Target Areas: Jones County, MS (entire county); Jasper, Smith, Wayne County, MS (partial counties) Funding Amount Requested: $749,959.20 Program Sustainability Option: Option 1 and 4 Projected Total Number of Residents: 26 Expected ACGME Accreditation: June 30, 2025 (IM); June 30, 2026 (FM) Residency Matriculation Dates: July 1, 2025 (IM); July 1, 2026 (FM) Funding Priority: n/a List of Recent HRSA Awards in Past 5 Yrs: (1) COVID-19 HRSA COVID-19 Uninsured Program (93.461) for $1,634,236 in 2021; (2) COVID-19 HRSA Claims Reimbursement for Uninsured Program and the COVID-19 Coverage (93.461) for $310,468 in 2022 The overarching goal of the Healthcare Access through Rural Residency Training in Mississippi (HARRT MS) project is to increase access to and improve the quality of health care for residents living in rural Jones County, Mississippi (MS), and parts of three neighboring rural MS Counties: Jasper, Smith, and Wayne. The target service area, located in south-central MS, is highly diverse, with African Americans representing 35% of the population averaged across the four counties. Residents exhibit grave health disparities, with rates of death and disease prevalence that outpace statewide averages, which are already among the highest in the nation. A greater proportion of residents live in poverty compared to state and national rates, with children and African Americans shouldering a disproportionate burden; in Jones County, 32.9% of children and 40.7% of African Americans live in poverty. HARRT MS will achieve its goal through the establishment of two ACGME-accredited rural track programs (RTPs) at South Central Regional Medical Center (SCRMC) in the General Primary Care pathway—specifically, internal medicine (IM) and family medicine (FM)—that are sustainable through a combination of Medicare and public funding mechanisms. Although 75% of training will occur at SCRMC, clinical training partners will also support the project, including Covington County Hospital, Magee General Hospital, and Simpson General Hospital—three hospitals in surrounding rural counties that currently share a management contract with SCRMC. A clinical training partner for four specialties not offered by SCRMC will be identified. Key objectives include meeting all requirements (clinical capacity, program governance, faculty and resident recruitment and development, curriculum development and training implementation, and program evaluation) necessary to achieve ACGME accreditation for the IM and FM programs; expanding cultural and linguistic competency approaches; implementing a system for graduate tracking; and articulating a long-term sustainability plan. Expected short-term outcomes include ACGME accreditation for both RTPs; a finalized pro forma for program; a graduate tracking system; and the matriculation of 20 IM residents and 6 FM residents by the end of the grant period. Long-term outcomes include increased recruitment and retention of qualified, well-trained IM and FM physicians to rural south-central MS, with a projection of at least 40% of residents practicing in rural areas post-graduate medical education (GME) completion; increased availability and quality of primary care in both inpatient and outpatient settings for the target population; and decreased patient referrals from SCRMC to regional or out-of-state hospitals.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).