FOR ANTIGO TIMES

Grants totaling more than $1.9 million to support eight Graduate Medical Education (GME) residents were announced today by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS). The grants continue the state’s investment in training physicians in rural areas which research suggests significantly increases the likelihood of graduates remaining in such areas to practice.

“Increasing the number of primary care physicians, general surgeons, and addiction medicine physicians is a key strategy for increasing access to quality health care,” DHS Secretary-designee Andrea Palm said. “These new awards also help us address our growing physician shortage due to an aging population, increases in chronic diseases, and retirements.”

Existing accredited GME programs receiving funding for new resident positions for the length of their residency and primary sites for the rural training are:

• Family Medicine Rural Equity Track, UW Madison Department of Family Medicine and Community Health (DFMCH) – Belleville Clinic and surrounding area.
• Rural General Surgery Residency Track, UW Health – ThedaCare Memorial Hospital, Neenah and Waupun, and Memorial Hospital, Waupun.
• Addiction Medicine Fellowship, UW Madison Department of Family Medicine and Community Health (DFMCH) to focus on supporting primary care physicians in rural Wisconsin via consultation (Project Echo(link is external)) and physician helplines; and Rogers Behavioral Health, Oconomowoc.

“These nationally recognized programs embody the ‘Wisconsin Idea,’ said Governor Tony Evers. “They are excellent models of promoting academic rigor and intellectual activities while working closely with forward-thinking community partners. We applaud these programs and their partners and other GME programs that have stepped forward to train residents in our rural communities.”

Launched in 2014 targeting primary care, surgery, and psychiatry, the GME Residency Expansion Grants and the New GME Program Grants have been expanded in the 2019-2021 biennial budget to include additional specialties, e.g., obstetrics, gerontology, and other high demand physicians needed in rural areas.