Texas’ doctor shortage and Fort Worth’s economy could benefit from this new program
A new residency program at Baylor Scott & White All Saints Medical Center, in partnership with the TCU and University of North Texas Health Science Center School of Medicine, will elevate Fort Worth’s profile as a center for medical research, officials said Wednesday, while helping to address a statewide physician shortage.
The program is a major step forward for the medical school, said Dean Dr. Stuart Flynn, and will help attract talented young doctors from across Texas and the country to Fort Worth. Some graduates of the TCU and UNT medical school, which accepted its first class last year, may qualify for the residency program.
“Residence plays a significant role in patient care, notably expanding patient access and care for underserved populations,” Flynn, the medical school dean, said. “Residents contribute to innovation in a variety of areas, including quality and patient safety initiatives.”
The joint endeavor will be capable of training 150 new doctors a year by 2028, with the first residency class starting in July 2021.
In its first year, the program will focus on training 15 doctors in internal medicine and eight in emergency medicine. The program will add an OBGYN residency and a general surgery residency by 2023. Once the surgery program is established, an anesthesiology program will be added, said Dr. Kip Hinkle, who will oversee the program.
These programs can last between three and seven years. Fellowships specialized for a specific field of study, like cardiology, are also possible, he said.
The program is meant to complement a large residency program already in place at John Peter Smith Hospital. Emergency medicine residents can rotate between the two hospitals, Hinkle said. Baylor Scott & White doesn’t plan to add a family medicine program because JPS already has a robust program, he said.
Mike Sanborn, president of Baylor Scott & White - Fort Worth, said that will go a long way to addressing a doctor shortage.
Texas ranks 41st in the U.S. with 219.4 physicians per 100,000 residents, and the national median is 257.6, according to the American Association of Medical Colleges.
The state has made strides to address the shortage, according to data from the Texas Medical Association released Wednesday. The gap between the number of residents and the number of physicians has been closing for 10 straight years. The state added 4,869 newly licensed physicians in 2019, an increase of 7.9% over 2018.
About 60% of physicians who do a residency in Texas stay in the state, Sanborn said. That number grows to over 80% if the student did both medical school and residency in Texas. He said he’s hopeful 70% to 90% of the Baylor Scott & White residents will stay in DFW.
Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price said the residency program is vital to health care in the region as the city continues to grow, but it may also boost the city’s economy.
The All Saints Medical Center is on the edge of Fort Worth’s medical district in the Near Southside, branded iter8 Health Innovation Community. The city leaders hope to market Fort Worth as a hub for medical and biotech industries, but the district needs to beef up educational, research and laboratory space.
“This will put Fort Worth on the map,” Price said.
The venture comes with a major financial investment for Baylor Scott & White.
Initially, the hospital will spend $4.5 million renovating the main hospital and annex building to accommodate the new residents, Sanborn said. Additional facilities may be needed as the program expands.
The program itself also carries a cost.
Sanborn said, nationally, residency programs can expect to spend about $130,000 per resident on living stipends, benefits and other expenses. The federal government provides some funding, so he said the hospital plans to invest $3 million to $5 million in the program.
This story was originally published February 5, 2020 at 2:48 PM.
