Rural Residency Planning and Development Program - Program Pathway: General Primary Cary and High Need Specialty pathway residency Residency Specialty: Family Medicine Residency Format: Rural track program expansion Sponsoring Institution: University of Nevada, Reno ACGME code: 310111 Rural Target County: Churchill County (benefits adjacent counties: Eureka, Pershing, Lander, Mineral) Funding request: $750,000 Sustainability: We will diversify funding streams by collaborating with federal, state, and local partners, applying for CMS and Medicaid GME funds, and seeking additional support from the State Legislature and local entities. Number of residents: 4 (2-2) Expected ACGME accreditation and first resident matriculation dates: January 2026 Matriculation to rural July 2027 (July 2028 at the latest) Funding priority, 1 for geographic distribution. Our proposed RTP expansion will train residents for greater than 50 percent of total training time in Churchill County, NV. List of Recent HRSA Awards The Project will be working directly with our State Office of Rural Health located in the School of Medicine which has active grants for Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility (U2W), Small Rural Hospital Improvement Program (H3H), State Offices of Rural Health (H95), Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) Program (U77), Primary Care Training and Enhancement-Community Prevention and Maternal Health (T34), Grants to States for Loan Repayment Abstract Narrative The purpose of this project is to investigate, establish and strengthen the needed infrastructure to establish a rural family medicine training program in Fallon, a community with about 10,000 population in Northern Nevada. The proposed residency training site, Banner Churchill Community Hospital, serves Churchill County (pop. 27,188), and it is also an important healthcare facility for the 100,000 people living in the adjacent counties of Lander, Lyon, Mineral, and Pershing. The project team has already created a Stakeholder Consortium for the program, including the University of Nevada Reno, Banner Health, Banner Medical Group, Renown Health, Office of Statewide Initiatives and Rural Health, Central Nevada Health District, the Mayor of Fallon, and Churchill County Commissioners. Other groups engaged for support and input include Tribal Health leaders, long-term care, the federally-qualified health clinics in Reno, and colleagues at the Winnemucca program that is part of the University of Nevada Las Vegas. The project will prepare and submit the application materials in order to achieve accreditation status from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) for the rural family medicine training program. The project will assess and advance rural physician workforce development. Funds will be used to provide faculty support and leadership development for current and future teaching physicians, Program Directors, and support staff. The project leader and team members will collaborate to enhance regional resident recruitment and retention efforts for graduates in the region. Major activities to be funded include maintaining and enhancing the current project management team, hiring and/or training program leadership and directors, securing legal consultations, developing faculty and leadership, and establishing financial support through GME (Medicare and Medicaid) and other community and state support. This project will support the population health needs of the rural communities in Northern Nevada through the recruitment, training, placement, and retention of board-certified family physicians within the region. Graduates will be prepared to care for infants, children, and adults of all ages, in inpatient, outpatient, public health, and long-term care settings.
