Teaching Health Center Planning and Development Program - PROJECT ABSTRACT Project Title: Family Medicine Residency of Community Health Centers, Inc. Applicant Organization Name and Address: Community Health Centers, Inc., 2621 South 3270 West West Valley City, Utah 84119-1119 Eligible Entity Type: Federally Qualified Health Center, to operate residency program alone Project Director: Frank Powers, MD, Voice 801-669-2376; email fpowers@chc-ut.org Residency Type: Family medicine Funding preference: Existing affiliation with Area Health Education Center Population Target Area: Urban and Rural Health Professional Shortage Areas in Utah Grant Funds Requested: $500,000 Projected Number of Resident Positions: 4 annually, 12 total Expected ACGME Accreditation Date: March 1, 2025 Expected Residency Matriculation Date: June 29, 2026 Utah suffers a shortage of primary care physicians in both rural and urban underserved areas, leading to negative health outcomes that disproportionately affect racial and/or ethnic minorities and uninsured persons. Despite numerous Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) in both rural and urban areas, Utah does not currently have any Teaching Health Centers (THCs). Community Health Centers, Inc. (CHC) is the state’s largest Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), and is optimally positioned to become a THC. CHC, established in 1979, operates 8 clinics, and provides high-quality integrated medical, behavioral (including substance use disorder), and dental care. Furthermore, CHC physicians, as adjunct faculty in the University of Utah Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, have 20+ years of experience training and mentoring health professions learners, in both the outpatient and inpatient setting. We envision a new family medicine residency in which a total of 12 residents will enjoy a full-spectrum community-based practice serving a diverse urban population at CHC. CHC will leverage longstanding partnerships with two large health systems, University of Utah Health and Intermountain Healthcare, for specialty and inpatient rotations. Our proposal aims to capitalize on the clinical excellence, large patient volumes, and experienced faculty at CHC to establish CHC as a new THC. We plan to: 1. Create curriculum and obtain ACGME accreditation (with CHC as the Sponsoring Institution) for a new 4/4/4 family medicine residency, with an emphasis on equipping residents with the skills and knowledge needed to care for diverse urban and underserved populations 2. Recruit a diverse class of family medicine residents to enter training in summer of 2026, 3. Achieve sustainability through a combination of HRSA THC funding, state and private grants, and in-kind support. With twofold expected measurable outcomes: 1. Improved access to care for the patients within CHC’s direct service area, and 2. Improved family medicine physician retention in rural or urban underserved areas in the intermountain west
