Rural Residency Planning and Development Program - Eligible Entity Type: Rural Hospital Program Pathways: Maternal Health and Obstetrics Pathway Residency Residency medical specialties: Family medicine with enhanced obstetrical training Residency Format. Select one – Rural Residency Program Sponsoring Institution Name, Location, and ACGME Sponsor Program Code: if applicable ACGME Sponsoring Intuition Code (SCMA GME Consortium): 450143 Rural Target Area(s): Newberry County, SC Funding Amount Requested: $750,000 Program sustainability option: Graduate Medical Education payments, including Direct Graduate Medical Education (DGME) and Indirect Medical Education (IME) payments. Also qualifying for Medicaid GME state support. Projected Total Number of Residents: Complement increase of at least 3 per year, 9 residents total Expected ACGME Accreditation and Residency Matriculation dates: ACGME Accreditation – 7/1/2026 2026 (Newberry County, SC); Residency Matriculation – 7/1/2027 (Newberry County, SC). Funding Priority Points Requested: Priority 2 – Maternal Health List of Recent HRSA Awards received within the last 5 years, by Program Name and Grant Number: None Narrative Content: Overview: Newberry County Memorial Hospital, rebranded as Newberry Health, seeks HRSA Rural Residency Planning and Development Program funding to establish the Newberry Health Family and Obstetrics Residency Center of Excellence (NH-FORCE) - a new ACGME-accredited rural residency program (RRP) in Family Medicine with enhanced obstetrical training. Located in a medically underserved and maternity care desert in rural South Carolina, NH-FORCE will serve as a sustainable pipeline for training and retaining physicians in a hospital and geographical location with no residency program. NH-FORCE will accomplish this through collaboration with urban partner Piedmont Medical Center (Rock Hill, SC), rural outpatient sites including Lovelace Family Medicine (Prosperity, SC), and academic partner Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) in Spartanburg. Additional partnerships with the South Carolina Medical Association (SCMA), South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, and Area Health Education Consortium (AHEC) will ensure policy alignment, community engagement, and faculty development. Measurable Objectives: The program’s goals align with HRSA’s objectives: - Objective 1: Establish an ACGME-accredited rural track program in family medicine with enhanced obstetrics by July 31, 2028. - Objective 2: Create RRP programs that qualify for Medicare and Medicaid GME payments with a validated sustainability plan by July 31, 2026, leveraging Medicare GME payments (DGME) and Medicaid GME payments. - Objective 3: Implement a tracking plan to monitor workforce retention in rural communities. Publicly report resident career outcomes post-graduation for a period of at least five years after to determine retention in rural communities. Expected Outcomes: Newberry County, with over half of residents living in medically underserved areas, faces critical maternal and primary care access gaps. The closure of nearby delivery rooms has forced pregnant individuals to travel 45–60 minutes for care. NH-FORCE aims to reverse these trends by training providers in rural-based continuity clinics and inpatient settings, emphasizing comprehensive maternal care, chronic disease management, and culturally competent practice. This planning grant will allow Newberry Health to build core faculty, finalize partnerships, prepare the ACGME application, and establish a financially sustainable model to train the first NH-FORCE resident class by AY 2027. Ultimately the program will have initial residents matriculated by July 2027 and a resident complement of at least 3 residents per class (9 total). NH-FORCE will strengthen South Carolina’s rural physician workforce and improve long-term health outcomes for mothers, children, and underserved populations.
